What Made Vivek Oberoi Call Rotoris the Most Exciting Bet of His Career

Vivek Anand Oberoi is not someone who lends his name to things lightly. Over the years he has built a reputation as a careful, conviction-led investor who looks for founders and stories he genuinely believes in. His decision to back Rotoris at the seed stage was no different.

When he recently spoke publicly about his investment, what came through was not just enthusiasm. It was the measured confidence of someone who had looked closely at the people building the company and came away with a clear view.

"Early-stage bets on a company aren't very easy. What gave me not just comfort but supreme confidence is the passion burning in the eyes of the founders."

The Founders He Is Talking About

Aakash Anand, founder and CEO, spent years building Bella Vita Organic into one of India's most recognised fragrance companies before turning his attention to watches. The experience of building a consumer brand from scratch, understanding what makes people attach meaning to objects they carry with them every day.

"The way he built his Bellavita empire, the sheer dedication, almost stubborn grit, that never-say-die attitude and constant innovation. It is a case study."

Harman Wadhwa, the brand's founding horologist, brings a different kind of credential. He is among the very few Indian watchmakers to have received formal training in horology abroad and carries with him a rigorous understanding of movement architecture, calibration, and finishing. He had the qualifications and the options to build his career anywhere in the world. He came back.

"A guy who was qualified enough to set up his own thing in the horological world, any part of the globe, decided to come back home, proudly Indian, and said we will make it from here."

What Oberoi Said About the Manifesta

When the conversation turned to the watches themselves, and specifically to the Manifesta, Oberoi's words shifted register entirely.

"When I look at the Manifesta, when I look at that beautiful beating open heart, the finesse, the beauty. It feels like when you are up in the mountains on a clear night sky at two in the morning, just looking up, manifesting, and you feel like you could grab a piece of that shiny, twinkling sky and press it between steel and glass. This is what gets created."

He closed with a reference to Kaizen, the Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement, and what it means to him personally. "Every day and every way, I am getting better and better." For Oberoi, the Manifesta is not simply a timepiece. It is a reflection of a way of thinking.

About the Manifesta

His Manifesta Watch is built with a Blue Aventurine dial, a rare mineral composite with a natural depth that shifts with light. The open-heart complication at the centre gives a direct view of the RSGA01 automatic movement working beneath it, oscillating at 21,600 beats per hour with a power reserve of approximately 45 hours.

The case measures 40 mm in diameter and 5.9 mm in thickness, machined from 316L stainless steel and finished with sapphire crystal. Water resistance is rated to 5ATM. The watch displays hours, minutes, and seconds, with an open heart as both a technical and visual centrepiece. It comes on an Italian leather strap with a butterfly clasp and is available in three variants: Blue Aventurine, Mother of Pearl, and Black Onyx.

Prospective owners apply through the brand's website and, if accepted, join a curated community of founders, artists, and cultural figures the brand calls its Friends and Partners. Read more

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What makes Rotoris different from other watch brands? 

Ans. Rotoris is designed and assembled in India, with every piece individually numbered and built to a specification that includes 316L stainless steel casing and sapphire crystal as standard across the entire range. Each watch also carries a lifetime movement guarantee, reflecting the engineering standards the brand holds itself to.

Q2. How does one acquire a Rotoris timepiece?

Ans. Rotoris operates on an invitation-first, access-request model. Prospective owners are invited to apply through www.rotoris.com, where approved applicants join a curated community of founders, artists, and cultural figures known as Friends and Partners.

Q3. Who is behind Rotoris? 

Ans. Rotoris is founded by Aakash Anand, who previously built one of India's most recognised fragrance companies, and Harman Wadhwa, a formally trained horologist who returned to India to build the brand's engineering and watchmaking foundations.