3 storied watches you can buy this festive season without breaking the bank

Joshi is an aviation geek. The madness, he says, was triggered after witnessing a Sea Harrier perform a vertical takeoff in Chennai a couple of decades ago. Joshi and Amalraj also saw the MiG 21, India’s first supersonic fighter jet that was retired in 2013, as a story that needed to be celebrated.

“We first worked on timepieces that were inspired by the aircraft, but as we went deeper into it, we wondered if we could actually work with parts of a decommissioned MiG for a special edition.

In the end we did find a supplier and then collaborated with an aerospace company that machined the aircraft-grade aluminium to our specifications,” says Joshi. With a case size of 42mm, the Mach 1, which measures 48mm lug to lug, is a nice and big pilot watch. It is powered by a Swiss-made Sellita movement, which can also be found in more expensive brands.

The visual cues are understated but tastefully rendered – the IAF fin flash at 9 o’clock is one; the crown, which takes inspiration from the nozzle of the MiG 21’s afterburner is another. “And we’re especially proud of the engraving on the caseback – of three MiGs flying in a V formation,” says Joshi.

The Bangalore Watch Company’s Mach 1X, which features dials made out of the skin of a MiG 21, was sold out within a day of its launch last month.

The New York Times calls Glashutte, which lies along Germany’s border with the Czech Republic, a village based on time, and that is an apt description. Glashutte is home to several manufactures, some as storied as A Lange & Sohne and Tutima.

Then, there is Nomos, which first served notice in the early 1990s with minimalistic mechanical watches that are also extraordinarily inventive. A case in point is the Tangente Neomatik 41 Update, which, like every Nomos watch, is inspired by Bauhaus design.

Form follows function, and it is, as is apparent from the photo, a quietly beautiful timepiece. The watch is powered by an innovative, slender automatic movement, the DUW 6101, which is now equipped with a date mechanism that shows the date on the rim of the dial via a pair of red dots. And Nomos says that it only takes half a turn of the crown to change the date forward or backward.

The watch is powered by an innovative, slender automatic movement, the DUW 6101, which is now equipped with a date mechanism that shows the date on the rim of the dial via a pair of red dots.

When it comes to motorsport-inspired watches, the Carrera is at the top of the pile. The iconic watch was first made in 1963 for drivers taking part in the legendary Carrera Panamericana race in Mexico, and since then, it has been constantly updated by the manufacture.

The latest iteration is among the less showy updates to have been launched by Tag Heuer, but it’s got the trademark Carrera fundamentals such as the tachymeter scale on the bezel in place. Carrera lovers can choose from two dials – in sunray black or sunray blue -- and we especially love the application of orange accents on the tips of the central second hand and sub-dial hands, the start-stop pusher, and the flange from 12 to 3 ‘o clock on timepieces with the blue dial. (Sunray black dials get red accents).

The 41mm watch is powered by an eponymous chronograph movement with a power reserve of 42 hours, and comes with either a perforated leather strap with a folding clasp or a 3-link steel bracelet.

When it comes to motorsport-inspired watches, the Carrera is at the top of the pile. The iconic watch was first made in 1963 for drivers taking part in the legendary Carrera Panamericana race in Mexico, and since then, it has been constantly updated by the manufacture.