CHENNAI: Nestled within the dense maze of serpentine streets of Tondiarpet is the house of stainless steel utensils manufacturer Mohan Sundaram. Step into his one-bedroom house, and one would be amazed to find vintage watches arranged in neat rows inside briefcases.
From a tiny ring watch with dial the size of a 50 paise coin to complicated watches that show the time in two dozen countries at a time, the pieces are many and diverse.
For Mohan Sundaram, who is now in his fifties, it all started when he received a Henry Sandoz watch from his father when he was in Class six. “Those days, nobody had a watch in my school, even the teachers wouldn’t have watches. I felt nice to be the only one having a watch. From then on, I got interested in watches and their mechanism. Since then, I have been collecting watches,” he says.
From pawn brokers to actors and politicians, Mohan Sundaram has knocked many doors to add to his collection. He has also asked his steel customers abroad to get watches for him. “There have been several cases when people from Mumbai and Bengaluru have sent me pictures of watches, stating that they are vintage. But when I go and see them for myself, I realise that they are fake. Though I have lost money in travel, I have gained a lot of experience through such instances. It helps you weed out the duplicate ones. If you look at the weight of the watch, the way the parts move or listen to the sound that it makes, you will know if it’s genuine or not,” he says.
Thanks to his experience, many take him along when they go to buy expensive watches for wedding or other occasions. He has imported equipment to buff up vintage watches to bring back their shine and old look — all of which he does for free as long as the watch is genuine.
Today, he has hundreds of watches. Apart from suitcases and cupboards, Mohan has watches kept below his bed and in cloth bags. Over the years, he has collected watches of Rolex to Rado, Seiko Cartier, Jaguar Le Culture and Longines.
A majority of his collection includes winding watches, that which work only when wound, like old clocks, and automatic watches that only work once worn. “A good watch is like a family heirloom. It can be passed on from generation to generation. These non-battery watches will last a lifetime. They are not like the battery watches that come these days, which stop working after a few years,” he says.
Despite a lack of interest among the younger generation, with the advent of mobile phones, Mohan has not lost hopes on the fascinating power of watches. Today, he has a set of friends, all watch collectors, who meet every week to discuss about watches. Mohan, who was the president of the Tamil Nadu Stainless Steel Utensils Manufacturers Association, is pinning his hopes on starting a registered organisation of horology. “There are at least 150 people I know who will be members. What I hope is to send regular newsletters, spread awareness about watches, about special watches and how to take care of them,” he says.