Hyderabad: The market area of Abids in the city is a bustling area thanks to hundreds of business establishments that exist in the area. Among those on the main road include a string of new and old shops that sell and repair watches. It’s an easy find if you’re looking to purchase a new timepiece, but not if you’re on the hunt for vintage watches.
While there are a few options in the area and around, nothing quite comes close to the collection that the father-son duo of Amjad Hussain (53) and Mohd Zaid Khan (27) have. Literally hidden, finding their shop – ‘Pre-owned Luxury Watches’ – in Abids is not easy unless one really asks around or stumbles upon their social media channels. The shop is literally filled with hundreds of pre-owned watches, all on sale.
“We have a collection of around 14,000 watches in the shop and our storage. We mostly do business through our networks we have built, especially online. We can find customers whatever they want, and our watches come with a 14-month warranty as well with free shipping,” said Zaid. The shop was set up only half a decade ago, and they also run a workshop to undertake all kinds of repairs.
Stepping into their shop can be fun and overwhelming, given that there is so much to look through. Be it an in-demand HMT, or Seiko, or anything else, the shop has it all. The best things in this case, especially for horology lovers, is that there’s something for everyone. The prices of watches range between even Rs 800, upwards to thousands or lakhs of rupees depending on what one is looking for.
Each vintage watch is serviced and given at the time of purchase (as some may not necessarily be in working condition). In Hyderabad, unlike other bigger cities, is not very well known for its vintage watch scene. However, this shop in Abids is surely a haven for anyone who loves collecting or wearing vintage watches. “These days, the trend among people is to buy vintage Seiko and HMT (ever since it shut shop) watches,” noted Zaid.
How it began
A native of Mahbubnagar district, Amjad Hussain came to Hyderabad a few decades ago in his youth and began working as an Imam in Hyderabad. “I loved wearing watches, and in 2006 I got into this industry. In fact, I learnt how to repair watches at Bombay Watch Co,” he explained.
From there on, it was no looking back for Mr Hussain. “After I got into this business in 2006, we started a workshop. Any and every watch is fixed by us,” he quipped. The establishment also fixes luxury watches like Rolex and Omegas, to name a few. In the stock that is on display, their shop has a plethora of options ranging from Citizen, Seiko, HMT, Favre-Leuba, Orient, and a lot more (aside from non-vintage used watches which are also available).
“In fact, we once received a critical Rolex Presidential watch from Mr Khan Lateef Khan, which was not getting repaired anywhere else. We fixed it in 30 minutes for him,” laughed Zaid, while explaining that the watch collection with them was built over years.
His shop, part from selling watches, also has all the spare parts necessary to repair vintage watches like crystals and buttons. “Our current shop in Abids was set up in 4 years ago. We have plans to start and design our own in-house watches in the future like IWC and BWC,” Zaid told Siasat.com.
Those interested in visiting their store to buy watches can reach out to them at 8328233463/9000417927.
