P19. hmt Tarun hand wind 17 Jewels (Citizen design, Indian manufacture) -- Cricket ball series -- 28. August 2007

hmt - Hindustan Machinery and Tools - Model "Tarun" (Youth) Hand wind, 17 Jewel Citizen movement
Photos by Reto Castellazzi
Camera:	Nikon Coolpix 995
Light:	Neon ceiling light plus National 20 W neon desk lamp reflector cards. Overcast skies allowed for very little ambient light, thus these pictures can be considered indoor
Setup:	Working table

About this Series, Wednesday 28th August 2007
A watch that I really love. But actually I like all my hmt watches very much. Always brings back the very good memories from my several working stages in Bombay. And also again, it is time to thank my friend Xerxes for the map where to find the largest hmt dealer in Bombay. The buying experience is documented here. And last but not least, our great company driver there who was not only able to find every location in Bombay, but found the time to try to teach me some Hindi. Shukria Mr. Salim, I still have your notes and the homework you have prepared for me almost every day!
And last but not least, I do hope that all watchmaker's at Bangalore's Hindustan Machinery and Tools found new good jobs. Because sadly enough, the production of these lovely watches has been seized. Over a red Dunhill, I told another good friend in Bombay my dream: to find investors to keep the production of these marvels - yes, I really think they are marvels - going. However at the time we shared that cigarette, the production had already seized. Maybe the hmt mechanical watches come back one day. Just like countless Swiss brands returned after the Quartz "revolt".

PS There is also a very nice article from Paul Delury in the TimeZone.com archives where he describes six watches, one of them, a hmt mechanical watch.

Reto Castellazzi, Bangkok, Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Please use your browser's back button to come back here

I collected some Indian accessories to create this overview photo	The used (!) Cricket ball was a gift from a dear friend in Bombay	The Tarun (means Youth in Hindi) holds the cracked (wooden with leather skin) ball together	Another view with Indian incense sticks
A bit of Blu Tack (Fun-Tak in the US) keeps the flexband (bought locally) on the pack		A little tour around the dial starts here
		Now back to the nice looking innards of the watch: a Citizen designed movement manufactured by hmt in India	The inner case back looks OK. Just a slight discoloration in one area. Not bad at all given this is new old stock from the 80ies (my guess)
A closer look at the clean looking movement	And the view towards the crown	The light was not great, but the "hmt" engraving is clean and crisp	As close as the Coolpix 995E could go: the Balance
The watch was wound when I took these pictures and the center second wheel was turning continuously	The case back is now back on	A detail of the hands and dial inscriptions	I had bought this flexband - which is a great match IMO - locally here in Bangkok
Thanks to this flexband, the setup for the next couple of shots was really easy. It balanced the watch nicely for me		And last but not least, the hairy wrist shot sequence.
Thank you for "watch"ing and visit India if you have a chance. It's definitely worth the travel

My entire hmt collection is here