Time stamp: Jaipur Watch Company extends Queen Victoria collection
The thing Gaurav Mehta, CEO and founder of Jaipur Watch Company, enjoys the most besides selling watches is engaging with the people he sells them to. This personal bit of extra effort stems from his passion for horology (the study of time), which extends to his new collection. It is exemplified in the Penny Black watch, which is made with the world’s first adhesive postage stamp dating back to May 1, 1840. It features a profile of Queen Victoria from a sketch by William Wyon.
It boasts a stainless steel body with ultra-slim movement, and has a sapphire crystal lens as an embellishment. Mehta believes the timepiece is among his finest creations till date. “This stamp laid the groundwork for an affordable and accessible postal system, transforming global connectivity, and marking a revolution in communication,” he says, adding, “The watch, therefore, is not just a time-telling device; it’s a timeless masterpiece.”
The Penny Black is among the few, limited-edition stamp watches in the collection. There are others that use stamps from the era of King George VI, issued between 1937 and 1947. With all the stamps being original, the denominations range between three pice to nine anna. The only watch for women in the collection uses a postage stamp featuring Queen Elizabeth, dating back to the semi-modern era. That said, one also has the option to choose from Mehta’s personal collection of stamps to be transformed into exquisite timepieces.
The design of the watch-case takes inspiration from the stamp itself. “It has a sleek, classic rectangular orientation with an engraved back, powered by premium Swiss-made ultra-slim Ronda 1062 quartz movement. We’ve used genuine leather straps; there are slight colour variations based on the colour of stamps,” says the founder, who has included stamps from the princely states of Nabha, Jind, Chamba, in addition to service stamps used by government officials between 1937-47 in this collection. “Since personalisation is the hallmark of our brand, we’ve kept the back side of the watch for the inclusions of name, signature or a message,” he says.
When Mehta launched the company, he decided to be the face of the brand too. “I knew I would be the best salesman as I enjoy talking about watches, and am able to generate an interest in their technical complexity and design mastery while chatting about the history and legacy of watch-making. These interactions have immensely benefited me, providing valuable insights into my product and ways of enhancing its quality,” says Mehta.
As a designer, his objective has been to try and strike a fine balance between Western influences and his own Indian heritage. “India has a lot to offer, but we also must move with the times and make our offerings appealing to the international market,” he says. Does it increase the risk of dilution of the Indian aesthetic? “Absolutely not. We live in a globalised world where every design identity matters.
It’s more of a collaborative effort, a coming together of different cultures, each lending its uniqueness to a product, while remaining true to itself. In fact, meeting watchmakers and enthusiasts from different parts of the world has pushed my creative limits, enabling me to incorporate all the valuable lessons I’ve learned from their traditions into our own design language,” he says.
For a man whose mind gallops like a racehorse, he has already moved on to his next adventure: A Brett collection of hand-engraved watches. The man is unstoppable in bringing forth innovation, invention and intuition-driven watches as stamps of perfection.
Availability: Jaipur.watch