West End watches found their way into the far reaches of the Indian Empire - East Africa, the Trucial States (now Oman), across the Indian subcontinent to Lower Burma (now Myanmar) and the Straits Settlements and from Nepal to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)
West End remained the leading supplier of watches to India after World War II selling around 150,000 there in 1948. After the breakup of the empire, the Republic of India instituted import controls, depriving people of their watches and West End of its market.
However, the seeds had been sown in the middle east and sales to Pakistan, Iran, Iraq and the newly oil rich states of the Arabian Peninsula started to compensate for the loss of the Indian market. Sales to the middle-east peaked in 1977, when West End delivered about 1 million watches.
Nevertheless, West End watches remained ever popular in India and were smuggled in from other markets. West End kept a repair centre going in India until 2001.
Today, with increased marker liberalisation, West End is getting back to new generations in its old markets. Watches that bore witness to an adventurous past will accompany them to an exciting future.
Below a photo of the West End Watch Co Bombay on Mahatma Gandhi Road, near Flora Fountain, Bombay, 1960
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