The HMT Jhalak
I think everyone here knows the usual spiel about HMT, but I'm going to repeat the Cliff Notes version for those who don't: Hindustan Machine Tools were India's first ever watch company, incorporated in 1961 in collaboration with Citizen. They sold a shitton of watches (mostly mechanical), and became a household name. And then Titan came into being, sold cheap quartz watches and completely blew HMT out of the water. In 2016, the Govt. shut down most of their operations owing to severe losses. Today, they are but a sliver of what they used to be, mostly kept alive by a community of collectors (r/hmtwatches!).
I learnt about HMT about a month ago (I'm a zoomer, I know), and I immediately dove down the rabbithole. Mechanical watches at less than $50? Sign me the heck up! I instantly fell in love with the Jhalak—a 34.55mm hand-wound watch, sporting Roman numeral and gold dot markers, a gold HMT logotype, and the ever so mesmerizing window showing a "glimpse" ("jhalak" in Hindi) of the movement below. The icing on the cake is the transparent case back—a full unobstructed view of the in-house 023A HMT movement.
Pictured in this post is the Jhalak on a gray perlon strap.
I wish that some angel investor would reinvigorate HMT. There is a legacy market that wants HMT watches.
I am down the same rabbit hole. I thought I’d have a million Vostoks, but it turns out HMTs are my weakness. I have six on the way now, and the long wait is testing me! Thanks for riding me over by sharing your nice one!
Hey buddy, hope you're enjoying your watch everyday.
I just want to clarify this with you, as I have a Jhalak with me.
Does your watch back let's in sweat inside the movement ?
( only in the case of stock Transparent back case )