Person of Interest

From picking watchmaking as a hobby to transitioning into a full-time watchmaker working on commissioned pieces, the self-taught Aditya Sambhare has come a long way

- Somya Rauthan

While interviewing Aditya Sambhare via Zoom, I notice behind him his workspace— two tables chock-full of watchmaking tools and watch parts. When I ask him about it, Sambhare says he is planning on moving this workbench from its current place, the bedroom, to another room soon. Given that he spends all his time restoring, repairing, and watchmaking on his compact set-up, he barely ends up stepping out of his room.

The work that keeps Sambhare occupied is part of the Pune-based eponymous brand A D Sambhare Watches, which offers meticulously crafted mechanical wristwatches featuring handmade parts. Focusing on skeleton watches in particular, which Sambhare also customises, the brand currently offers seven timepieces. “With skeleton watches, I aim to bring the inside out. I love seeing how a watch works, which is why I chose to craft skeleton watches,” he adds. “One can also admire the beauty of the movement through the sapphire crystal caseback.” The other aspect of his work entails restoring and repairing watches.