As we stroll into Gaurav Mehta’s retailer in Jaipur, situated inside the Rambagh Palace, Jaipur, we anticipate a big, swanky setting befitting the founder-designer of Jaipur Watch Firm (JWC) and his newest assortment, Brides of Jaipur. However it’s an intimate house (lower than 100 sq ft) with none exterior branding, tucked right into a nook of the sprawling early Twentieth-Century palace, now operated as a five-star resort by the Taj Accommodations Group.
It evoked the attraction of the small, family-run retailers nestled within the bazaars of conventional Jaipur. Rambagh Palace is, however, a chief location for Gaurav’s clientele. Those that can afford ₹3 lakh per evening for lodging will seemingly purchase a ₹30,000 wristwatch (the beginning value of watches within the Brides of Jaipur edit). That is maybe why, regardless of having different shops, he secured the house inside just a few hours after the earlier tenants vacated. “Time is luxurious,” says Gaurav as we sit throughout the desk, discussing his newest assortment.
Brides of Jaipur attracts inspiration from the intricate jaali work present in Jaipur’s iconic Metropolis Palace. Whereas the gathering’s title suggests bridal put on, Gaurav explains that Brides of Jaipur is for any girl who appreciates conventional Indian apparel. “Weddings are just one event; India has numerous festivals the place conventional put on is widely known,” he says. “We known as it ‘Brides’ as a result of the bride is at all times the main target of consideration, however the watches are designed for all ladies who embrace their tradition.”
Gaurav’s fascination with watchmaking stretches again to childhood. As a boy, he was intrigued by the mechanical precision of hand-wound watches. His first watch, a present from his grandfather on a visit to Switzerland, ignited this ardour. But it surely was a easy Indiglo watch, bought along with his mom, that cemented his love for watches.
Malaiaka Arora sporting a Brides of Jaipur watch
| Photograph Credit score:
Particular Association
Keepers of tradition
JWC’s watches usually replicate historical past and tradition. “India has a wealth of mythology and historical past that many individuals don’t know sufficient about,” says Gaurav. “I need to promote Indian tradition by varied mediums, be it stamps, cash, or watches.” He sees the preservation of historical past as a key perform of his watches, which he likens to artefacts that join wearers to their heritage. “Watches can inform tales, identical to outdated cash or stamps evoke nostalgia and cultural recollections.”
The watch on his wrist is from one other latest JWC assortment, the Rajasthan Polo Version, which pays tribute to the game’s heritage. Crafted with stone dials — tiger eye, malachite, lapis lazuli, and aventurine — the watch additionally gives a customisable again. “Polo gamers can have the again engraved with textual content or photos and put on the watch face inward throughout matches to keep away from injury,” he says.
Polo has a wealthy historical past in India, significantly in Rajasthan, the place it developed from a royal pastime to an internationally celebrated sport. Launched by the Mughal emperors, the sport was later adopted by Rajput kings, who embraced it as a logo of valour and status. Jaipur, with its royal heritage, grew to become a big middle for polo underneath Maharaja Sawai Man Singh, who was an avid participant and helped popularise the game each inside India and overseas. At the moment, town is residence to among the most prestigious polo tournaments, protecting the legacy of Rajasthan’s equestrian tradition alive.
Relationship with time
A watchmaker, maybe greater than anybody, is intricately linked to the idea of time, shaping gadgets that mark its passage. Requested if he sees time as inflexible or fluid, Gaurav replies after a pregnant pause, “Time is a good friend to me; it’s important for self-discipline, however I don’t like being continuously tracked by expertise,” he says. This paradox — reverence for time but a need to flee its grasp — finds expression in his watch designs, which frequently mix custom with modernity, providing wearers a momentary escape from the frenzy of day by day life.
A timepiece from the Brides of Jaipur assortment
| Photograph Credit score:
Particular Association
Gaurav additionally goals of travelling again to the previous. He needs to go to the Forties, a interval he views as a time of rebirth for India. He regrets not assembly Gérald Genta, the legendary watch designer whose retrograde bounce hour design he deeply admires. “I want I may have instructed a polo theme to him,” he muses, imagining a inventive collaboration with the Swiss designer. He additionally cherishes a watch handed down from his paternal grandfather, a Waltham piece from the Nineteen Thirties that he painstakingly restored. “It took six months to search out the suitable motion and palms,” he says, recalling the method of bringing the watch again to life.
“Watches to me are extra than simply instruments for timekeeping,” he says. “They’re carriers of recollections, symbols of historical past, and, generally, only a solution to begin a dialog.”
The author was in Jaipur on the invitation of Jaipur Watch Firm.
Printed – October 21, 2024 12:24 pm IST
