Legacy

It all started with our founder Shri. N.C Kutty’s passion for precision mechanics. It was the early 1930s and even in the little southern coastal town of Calicut, struggles for an independent India were strong. Between fighting for freedom and getting an education, Kutty would dedicate long hours towards understanding the pulse of the time telling machine that fascinated him.

In an era where the finest of the timekeeping world would stream into the country in the form of shiny Swiss watches and sturdy German timepieces, there was not enough expertise or equipment in Kerala to maintain or repair them. The year was 1936 and Kutty launched Dinakar Watch Works – one of the first of its kind in Malabar. The first shop was set up in the heart of Calicut city, beside Palayam – where the soldiers of The Zamorin’s royal era camped. We made our first sale with an imported Japanese clock which was sold at 6 Rupees. One could get him/herself a foreign made timepiece at just 50 paise back then!

Within three years from the launch of DWW, World War II had begun. As countries went into production halts and water transport lines were choked, spare parts for watches became scant and it was hard to source them. Kutty was in many ways a self-taught engineer. He manufactured precision parts by himself using a lathe and all the knowledge he had amassed from the horological texts he had collected from across the world. He would even engineer dome glasses of watches out of light bulbs! His flair for innovation earned him a membership at the British Horological Institute (MBHI).

Years may have passed by but one thing hasn’t changed – the family’s passion for the art of watchmaking.