Why Titan Capital invested in Bruno Milano?

Great watch brands are rare, and they share four traits.

Only a handful of new watch brands have broken through anywhere in the world in the last 15 years.

The same pattern repeats in every row. The founders understood fashion and retail. They sold design at an accessible price. They launched new styles faster than anyone else, and they found a new way to reach buyers before the incumbents did. None of them came from India. We believe Bruno Milano is early, and built on all four traits.

Why India, why now

India spent about USD 4.2 billion on watches in 2025, by Mordor Intelligence's estimate, and watches under ₹10,000 make up roughly three quarters of it. Most of that still sells in stores, but online is growing at around 12% a year and is expected to reach roughly a third of spending by 2031. Gifting carries much of the volume, especially in north India, where an analog watch is a standard present for celebrations.

The Indian buyer is ready for design. "The customer has already caught up with global design," says Rachit Jain, Bruno Milano's co-founder, and that is as true in tier 2 and tier 3 towns as in the metros. The ₹2,000 to ₹5,000 band, where people buy watches as gifts and as style, is wide open for a brand people ask for by name.

The new way to reach those buyers is quick commerce. A dark store stocks a few dozen watches at most, and the shopper usually needs a gift within the hour. Kanwaljit Singh of Fireside Ventures calls quick commerce brand-first for this reason: shelf space is scarce and shoppers arrive ready to buy, so only products with real pull keep their place. For a watch brand, earning that slot means being seen at the exact moment someone decides to buy.

Why marketplace sellers stay sellers

A marketplace is a fine place to sell a watch and a hard place to build a brand. Every listing sits next to a cheaper one. The customer remembers the platform that delivered it, and the next purchase starts with a fresh search. Sellers respond the way the page rewards them, with lower prices, more SKUs and more ad spend, which is why the category is crowded and still nameless.

Two shifts are changing that, and both favour a brand that already knows what sells.

The first is quick commerce. A dark store has room for a few dozen watches at most, and the person ordering usually needs a gift within the hour. Quick commerce as brand-first for this reason: shelf space is scarce and shoppers arrive ready to buy, so only products with real pull keep their slot. For a watch brand, that slot puts it in front of a buyer at the moment of intent. It is the closest thing we have seen to the early Instagram feed that built the last wave.

The second is data. A seller who has spent two years on marketplaces holds a record of which case sizes, dial colours and price points move, plus thousands of reviews explaining why. Most sellers use that to pick the next discount. Bruno Milano uses it to decide what to make.

Why Bruno Milano

Bruno Milanodesigns quartz and chronograph watches in collections like Vittorio Chrono, Ambrosiana Chic and Duomo Heritage. It sells through its own site, leading online marketplaces and quick commerce, and runs a corporate gifting line. Every watch is quality checked before it ships.

What stood out to us is how the team builds. Bruno Milano reads sales data and customer reviews across the category to spot shifts in colour, case shape and dial size, then turns those signals into new designs. Rachit still calls new customers himself to hear what made them choose Bruno Milano.

The team also moves fast. Designs are prototyped in house in Hong Kong, so a new style reaches customers in two to three months, with fresh launches planned every quarter.

And it sweats the details. Every watch arrives in a leather presentation box, because for a first watch, or a gift, the unboxing is where the brand begins.

The founders

Rachit Jainstudied electrical engineering at NSIT and did his MBA at ISB, then worked at Bain & Company on consumer and retail strategy. He also brings hands-on experience from his family's electronics trading business in Dubai, which sells on Gulf marketplaces.

Saurabh Agarwal brings more than 20 years in watch design and manufacturing. Together they cover consumer strategy, marketplace operations and watchmaking, a mix we rarely see in one founding team.

Why we're excited

The last generation of watch brands found a new channel and used it better than anyone. Bruno Milano is doing the same in India, with a design engine that learns from every sale and a team that knows both the craft and the commerce. We're proud to back Rachit and Saurabh.

Looking for a watch to gift, or a corporate gifting partner? Start atbrunomilano.com.