History delights, intrigues, and mesmerizes. Every Second in history holds a story and Jaipur Watch Company (JWC) attempts to connote these stories through a watch dial. Stories of the nation, stories of freedom, stories of elegance, stories of beauty, they all let one cherish moments and memories, everyday!
Harbouring the hobby of numismatics and turning it into a passion to create the extraordinary, led to the establishment of Jaipur Watch Company in 2013. The company aims at redefining horology with exceptional concepts revisiting an era to create mesmerising pieces of art. With the quest of creating something exceptional, coin enthusiast Gaurav Mehta created Jaipur Watch Company (JWC) as India’s first and only bespoke Watch Company.
“I had always been a passionate collector of coins. It is this collection that combined with my love for horology gave birth to the brand JWC and our premier collection, the coin watches”, says Mehta.
Coining the flavour of India
The intuitive and defining moment for Mehta was a realization that India is not yet recognized as a country that specializes in the art of fine watch making. That thought with his passion for horology and numismatics is what created and nurtured the seed for Jaipur Watch Company.
“India used to have a few good watchmakers at one point of time, but all of them have gone off the limelight recently. As a watchmaker and a watch brand from India, our efforts are concentrated towards putting India back on the horological map but with a flavour of India”, says Mehta.
Indian currency has travelled through various milestones to give us the rupee coin that we use today. With careful deliberation and personally handpicking coins, JWC has crafted a unique concept of Coin Watches. Embedding coin in the watch dial itself marks the milestone in the history of Indian currency.
Then the company came up with a Peacock collection which is symbolic of the beauty and the regality of India’s pride peacock dancing in its majestic glory with its entire feather spread out defining grace.
“We have sold a number of watches since our launch in 2013 essaying the growth of these one-of-their-kind models that take the ‘Make in India’ concept a notch higher”, tells Mehta.
Bleeding blue in pink city
JWC, in a lot of ways, is inspired by the regal state of Rajasthan and essentially Jaipur by virtue of the brand being born in this city. Being in the Pink City with Blue Blood has made the company outstand. The intricate art, architecture & carvings, craftsmanship & skill, lifestyles or even royal splendorous appearances just like the royal jewellery designs have been the inspirations for these unique timepieces that retain the aura of luxury and opulence.
Handcrafting limited edition selection of timeless pieces that exude tradition with a subtle hint of contemporary design, JWC’s masterpieces are unassailable in engineering and helmed by the artistry of the designer amalgamated with the skill of experienced craftsman. A bespoke piece takes four to five months to translate into a mesmeric timepiece. Each watch is handcrafted meticulously to be cherished as heirlooms that are worthy of being passed down generations.
Bespoke for thy royalty
With expertise and experience in artisanal horology, JWC has crafted a made-to-measure timepiece for His Highness Maharaja Gaj Singh which happens to be the most memorable creation. This timepiece was infused with elements that essay the Maharaja’s love for royal equestrian sport of Polo. True to the unmatched polo tradition, JWC’s limited edition collection titled ‘JWC Polo’ embeds various elements of the equestrian sport.
“Amalgamations of royalty with the eagle (coat of arms) and the official polo emblem, these timepieces are crafted in Swiss Movement with a jump hour mechanism and water resistance. The first in this series 001 is a bespoke piece handcrafted for the royal His Highness as the purveyor of the royal sport in the region”, tells Mehta.
Similarly another timepiece presented to Amitabh Bachchan to essentially celebrate the actor was a watch resonated with the finesse of the actor with a classic silver body embedded with the pre-independence era King George VI coin from 1944, the decade that marks Bachchan’s birth with the flip side of the watch encrusted with his signature.
Chiming for future
All businesses come with a risk. Watch making is of course a bigger risk when you talk about making inroads in an untouched territory. There hardly are any ancillary industries in watchmaking in India which makes it difficult to source and support. But over a period of 3 years, JWC has developed a lot of things in-house.
JWC strives to be perceived as a powerhouse, a prolific inventor and a manor house of unique timepieces. In essence, create watches that astonish the horological world and showcase the taste of India.
“We are and will continue crafting pieces that unveil our fiendishly-difficult-to-make watches that chimes hours and minutes en passant like energy, to pieces that defy the myth of foreign brands”, concludes Mehta.
