Padigam · Pagal & Iravu
Pagal
Ref. PDG-PAGAL
“Pagal is Tamil for day — a white dial threaded with blue, every hour written in the classical Tamil numerals that were counting time in Madras long before the Arabic ones arrived.”
Last retail price
₹2.8K
◎
Case
40mm
SS304 Steel
◈
Movement
Quartz
Seiko Epson AX33A
◇
Crystal
Mineral
Standard hardness
≋
Water resistance
30m
Splash only
The Story
“Pagal is Tamil for day — a white dial threaded with blue, every hour written in the classical Tamil numerals that were counting time in Madras long before the Arabic ones arrived.
Pagal and its black twin Iravu were Padigam's debut in April 2026, and together they make one simple argument: an Indian watch can be read in an Indian language. Every hour marker is a Tamil numeral — and specifically the classical, non-positional system, so ten is its own sign (௰) and twelve is ௰௨, not ௧௨. Underneath it is a sensible 40mm steel case, hardened mineral crystal, a laser-engraved solid caseback and an Epson quartz with a day-date window. At ₹2,799 including shipping it is the cheapest watch in this catalogue with a genuinely original dial, and it sold out accordingly.
Specifications
Case
Movement
Dial & Strap
In the Journal
Read more about the Pagal
About the maker
Padigam
Founded 2026 · Chennai · Two Chennai friends — a vintage watch collector and a son of a multi-generational watchmaking family (names undisclosed)
Padigam began with a question its founders put plainly: why should time always be read in numbers that don't belong to us? The Chennai brand — formerly Madras Watch Company, and still signing off as 'Born out of Madras, Made in India, Made for India' — answers it by replacing every hour marker with a Tamil numeral. Not the modern positional kind, either: the dials use the classical Tamil system, in which ten has its own sign (௰), so eleven is written ௰௧ and twelve ௰௨. The debut pair, Pagal (day) and Iravu (night), arrived in April 2026; Mathi (moonlight), Sudar (first sunlight) and Thulir (first monsoon green) followed in September. Every piece is a 40mm SS304 steel case on an Epson quartz day-date movement for ₹2,799 including shipping — and every one of them has sold out.
“Time, in your language”
Sold out — but not a dead end
Close to the Pagal, and in stock
The Pagal is gone from Padigam. These are the nearest watches you can still buy today, matched on the same heritage territory, price bracket and movement.
No longer available
Pagal by Padigam
Padigam has no stock left of this reference. It stays in the index as a record of what was made.
If you came here for the watch, the closest thing you can buy today is above.