Star Struck

From stone dials to wandering hours, design head honcho Mahendra Chauhan takes us inside Titan's most out-of-this-world collection, and how its latest avatar pushes the boundaries of Indian watchmaking

- Sharan Sanil

When Titan unveiled Stellar 1.0 in 2022, it felt like a quiet rupture in the brand's design language. Here was an Indian watchmaker leaning away from its reputation for accessible elegance and towards a new archetype—the explorer. The first Stellars borrowed their visual identity from the most distant of inspirations: black holes, supernovas, and galactic voids, reflecting a post-pandemic fascination with the skies. More importantly, they introduced a narrative thread Titan had rarely pursued before; that horology could be as much about storytelling as function.

That thread grew bolder in Stellar 2.0, unveiled the following year. The collection expanded into 13 references, each using unusual materials such as Swedish meteorite, Grade 5 titanium, and semiprecious stones like jasper and tigerseye. The watches were both cosmic in theme and tactile in execution, with dials that shimmered like starlit skies. As Head of Design Mahendra Chauhan explained then, it was about moving Titan from the 'lover's archetype' to the 'explorer's archetype'—positioning the brand not only in India's premium space but also on a global stage, as its GPHG debut signalled.

Fast forward to October 9th, 2025, when Titan gathered press, collectors, and enthusiasts at Bastian at the Top in Mumbai for the unveiling of Stellar 3.0. The event marked not just a seasonal launch but what Titan calls "a new chapter in Indian watchmaking." The nine-piece collection introduces three limited editions, with the Wandering Hours stealing the spotlight — the first time this complication has been attempted by an Indian brand. Its twin satellite discs, set in crystallised titanium and orbiting across a brushed copper bezel, glide across the dial like moons in transit, offering both mechanical intrigue and visual theatre.