Manish Gupta shows the Rado watches at his showroom on Wednesday. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, June 15: Time is precious. Correct that. Your watch is.

The latest must-have in your closet these days is that luxury watch. It can, however, put you back by a few lakh.

Buying diamond-studded watches that cost at least Rs 4 lakh is the recent trend in the state capital. Even though the number of buyers is on the lower side, industry pundits believe soon Patna will step into the shoes of metros and people would buy these not to keep time but for style.

Manish Gupta, a jewellery shopowner, said: “Till few years ago, Rs 50 lakh-worth BMW and Mercedes were unthinkable on Patna roads. But it has happened. So, one can easily understand affordability of potential buyers, for whom money is no more a problem.”

Manish has also tasted success with a range of jewel-encrusted watches that was launched a few years ago.

He said: “Affordability is a factor when it comes to buying diamond-studded watches but then Patna, today, has many working professionals who visit other metros and have developed a taste for these kind of watches.”

Here’s one more chance for the residents to satiate their taste.

For the next 15 days, his shop will host an exhibition of Rado watches. The range of beautiful diamond-studded watches of the pioneering Swiss company was today unveiled for the residents. They have to shell between Rs 4 lakh and Rs 40 lakh for a prized Rado possession.

Nidhi Dhavan, a promoter of the Rado jewel-encrusted watches in the country, said now, these watches have become more than a status symbol. She said: “Today, a watch is the personification of success. These jewellery watches not only make a chic statement but also leave an indelible impact among peers and relatives, as they sparkle in diamond and gold.”

Nidhi also said: “After Bangalore, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Surat and Thiruvananthapuram, Patna is the sixth city I have come to promote these jewellery watches. We will be here for a 15-day exhibition and customers can buy their favourite watches by just placing an order. The item will be delivered within 15 days.”

Nidhi has reasons to believe she will find several takers for the range of jewellery watches, as Rado’s regular collection of watches has been a hit in the city.

She said: “The regular collection watches has around four to five diamonds. The range starts from Rs 30,000 but at this exhibition, the watches have as many as 480 diamonds. These come at a cost of around Rs 40 lakh.

Manish said the advantage of these jewel-encrusted watches is their distinctive character. “Not only are these exclusive jewellery watches diamond-studded, but the strap is also made with hi-tech ceramics, which are heat resistant. Even if we wear these watches all the time, there won’t be any wear and tear. They are scratch-resistant to keep up with the fast-paced lifestyle of people.”

“And if you want to make the watches even more special, just inscribe messages on the back. It makes for perfect gifts to loved ones,” said another owner of a branded watch showroom near Mauryalok Complex.