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The Rise Of An Instagram Star: Watch Anish

This article is more than 9 years old.

While I am not a watch weirdo, after speaking with Anish Bhatt he has certainly converted me. In two years he has amassed a following of 697,000 Instagram followers. He is the watch king and works with many brands, has serious followers such as movie star and comedian Kevin Hart, footballer Radamel Falcao soon to be Arsenal or Manchester City for 55 million pounds, super high net worth CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and many self-made multi-millionaires.

I spoke with Mr. Bhatt some 35,000 miles in the air on our flight to Los Angeles a few weeks back and our talk was so inspiring and engaging. I was reminded yet again, that a man who knows who he is and what looks good on him -- a true man of style -- will always be the most stylish man in the room, no matter what his age. My hunch is that most men would consider Steve McQueen’s footprint on menswear is undeniable, not because he was suave and debonair (which he was), but because he had style and his persona was a true inspiration. Steve’s name and image are associated with many watch brands.

By no means am I comparing the two gentlemen.  What comes to mind is a quote from Steve McQueen, "I worked hard, and if you work hard you get the goodies.” Anish is this.  Mr. Bhatt is not your prototypical British male. He’s the guy on the yacht, the guy alone. He moves by his own code of honor, his own rules of living. I found him crazy, fascinating, short-tempered, likable, fashionable and understands style is the way you talk, the way you move throughout the world; simply put, it’s how you express your inner self outward and Anish does this well with his many watches.

After spending several years working as a brand consultant and specializing in the fashion industry; menswear and womenswear. Mr. Bhatt left his corporate career and founded Watch Anish in 2012, an online luxury lifestyle publication based out of London. Anish, fascinated with luxury and fashion at an early age, in particular high-end watches. He began styling and directing photo-shoots that reflected his unique tastes. His idea was to not only shoot the products individually, but to also create eye-catching imagery that reflected the often over-the-top lifestyles these products were intended to be part of, focusing on creating a method of communication that would be well received by non-traditional watch enthusiasts and the next generation of young entrepreneurs.

Troy Alexander: What is the benchmark for a new watch brand to be included on Watch Anish?

Watch Anish: It's quite a simple decision making process...do I think it's cool! I look at all the factors including design aesthetics, mechanics, price position, history etc. I don't limit based on anything but I am quite picky with what I consider to be 'post worthy’.

Troy Alexander: You are a man of style and follow fashion heavily; do you take fashion brand watches seriously?

Watch Anish: There are some fashion brands that are investing into making serious watches. Louis Vuitton  made some very interesting pieces such as the Tambour Spin Time, and other brands have been really successful such as Chanel  with the J12. Unfortunately for most other fashion brands, the strategy is more about leveraging their names to produce cheap watches, which are sold at inflated prices. There are exceptions, but unfortunately they are few and far between.

Troy Alexander:  Would you credit your company with targeted viewership who make wearing a watch fashionable and cool?

Watch Anish: I think men are considerate of their own appearance much more now.  High horology watches have traditionally been marketed mostly by their technical prowess mixed with using celebrity endorsements to appeal to the mass public. In my opinion, this was quite an inefficient strategy. I looked at how to communicate to a young, affluent audience in a better way, mixing very complicated modern watches or some with a special history and elements of fashion and lifestyle allowing men and women that are put off initially by the technical details to appreciate the aesthetics and ask questions about movements, rarity, materials etc at their own pace and in a language they actually can understand.

Mr. Bhatt consults with a number of a high-end luxury watch and fashion brands, and is often invited to give presentations about the importance of social media and strategies for successfully growing and nurturing a community of followers.

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