New Delhi, January 20:

With over 50,000 watches ticking away under one roof it would be the ultimate nightmare for the procrastinator, but for the discerning watch lover the International Watch and Clock Fair here would be time well spent.

Returning to the national capital after a gap of 19 years the watch fair - Samay Bharati 2006 - has over 70 brands ranging from the diamond encrusted Rs 1.64 million Cartier ladies watch to the functional Rs 99 Arrow make on public display.

“This watch fair is for both the masses and the classes as it has on display a wide variety of watches from the very exclusive to the most commonplace,” show organiser Tradepost’s executive director Hemal M Kharod said.

“This is our attempt to educate people and raise awareness levels on the various brands available in the market, where they are available and what are they priced at. “Fakes are rampant in the industry and unless people are able to know the real from the fake, the watch industry will suffer.”

Brands from good old HMT to very exclusive Swiss made Harry Winston are exhibited. Also participating in the four-day fair that began at the city’s Ashok Hotel Thursday are makers of ancillary products such as cases, dials, bracelets, watch movements, straps, crowns and power cells.

With the Indian watch market presently standing at 35 million watches a year and expected to grow up to between 30-35 per cent by 2008 fuelled by the increasing purchasing power of the Indian buyer, such events only reflect on an increasingly affluent society.

“The year-on-year growth will be about 15-20 per cent but the real growth will be in the lifestyle segment and luxury segment as its is still relatively untapped. We expect at least 40-50 per cent growth in this segment,” Kharod said.

Distributors and retailers agree and are keen to cash in on this trend and if the beeline made by international players in the past few years are anything to go by, the action could only hot up in the next few years.

“Functional watches are fast loosing their allure due to the increase in the aspirational value and purchasing power of younger buyers. The watch is no longer a time piece, it is now a fashion accessory,” said Manisha Sangani, director of Priority Marketing, the sole distributors of the American brand Fossil in India.