BY ARUSHI SAKHUJA Gaurav Mehta gets candid about the art of customised coin watchmaking To know more about coin watching, we caught up with Gaurav Mehta, Founder and Director of Jaipur Watch Company, India’s first and only bespoke Watch Company. When you can get tailor-made dresses and jewellery then why not a watch? Jaipur’s Gaurav Mehta, Founder and Director, Jaipur Watch Company makes custombuilt watches and has given India its first homegrown bespoke watch brand, Jaipur Watch Company. As a young history-obsessed child, Gaurav Mehta had a fetish for collecting historic coins and stamps. Mehta was fascinated by the stories and the history that came with every coin and over the years collected the myriad forms of the Indian currency coins along with a lot of other currencies. Drawing on this interest his collection expanded every year and eventually unlocked an undiscovered treasure trove of magnificent tales. Gaurav had this ingenious idea of fashioning his own, unique, one-of-a-kind timepiece. An expression of himself, an extension of his interests, one that would become his signature. This led to the very first Coin Watch. 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. Gaurav Mehta founded Jaipur Watch Company as India’s first and only bespoke Watch Company. Today the brand aims at redefining horology with exceptional concepts revisiting an era to create mesmerising pieces of art. The beauty about the brand is that you can make your own watches with eclectic designs using antique coins, postage stamps, hand painted images, and pictures of deities. Watches are made with calligraphy or jewel encrusted dials. Luxebook spoke to Gaurav Mehta to know more about his journey, future plans and new developments at Jaipur Watch Company. What motivated you to start Jaipur Watch Company? Jaipur Watch Company is a business which has been built out of passion. From my childhood I have been a fan of watches and coins. As an inquisitive child, I would open up my toys to see how they operate and I continued the same with my watches as I grew up. From my first salary I purchased a watch for myself and to this date I buy, on average, one watch a week. The love for watches and coins continued and one fine day when I was opening up a watch, there was a coin was lying next to me. Somehow it struck me to put it inside the watch and the watch mechanic in me did the job somehow. My journey in watch making began from there. I would get many compliments when I started wearing the same watch, even some potential orders from people to make the same for them. This was my moment where I realized my potential to combine both my passions and build a business around it. With immense competition from the international market how did you carve your niche? My niche is my design, my story and my city. I come from Jaipur, a city known for its history, culture, and Gaurav Mehta, Founder of Jaipur Watch Collection Filigree Watch By Jaipur Watch Collection Gaurav Mehta with Amitabh Bachchan BESPOKE WATCHES 34|L U X E B O O K|J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 3 |L U X E B O O K| 35
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