Meet Gaurav Mehta, 36, founder, Jaipur Watch Company, India’s first and only bespoke Watch Company. For Gaurav, the quest of creating something unique guided him to harbor the hobby of numismatics that further turned into a passion and led to the establishment of Jaipur Watch Company, a luxury brand that strongly believes in the ‘Make in India’ initiative. In a detailed interview with TMM, Gaurav talked about the idea, USP, and future of the luxury brand.
How did the idea of Jaipur Watch Company come to you?
Jaipur Watch Company started in 2013. Growing up, I was fascinated by ancient coins which spurred my hobby of coin collection. I collected a variety of coins ranging from various periods of the history of Indian coinage, which became an extensive collection over a period of time. While I was collecting ancient coins I was also fueling my love for watches. Having had a very deep connection with coins and watches, I decided to combine both the elements into a piece that was worthy of being an heirloom. Also, I always had a realization that India had limited expertise with regard to fine watchmaking and the blend of all these thoughts and ideas led to the formation of the Jaipur Watch Company.
What is the scope of bespoke watches in the Indian market and what share JWC holds in it?
With a strong belief in the ‘Make in India’ initiative, Jaipur Watch Company as a brand was built to cater to the niche market of Indian society. Believing in class and tradition that resonates with the Indian audience, the brand has the potential to be the most successful watch name in India. Our watches are a product of innovation, with a subtle hint of tradition. They aim to provide bespoke luxury watches to clients, which will remain as their family heirloom. Jaipur Watch Company is probably the only one in India who is doing made to order custom 18 carat CNC gold watches.
What are the major challenges in such high-end businesses?
When it comes to bespoke watches, crafting every watch is a meticulous process. We aim to create collectibles and heirlooms connoting a story and the mastery of artistry. The creation of each watch is a combination of multiple steps/parts. The challenge we face is the lack of ancillary industries offering components for fine watches. Moreover, since the product we offer is unique and one of a kind, it requires extremely limited quantity but the superior quality of parts. Sourcing them at this quantity is an issue, thus we end up developing most of the products in-house, in order to create limited yet supreme quality products. Lack of quality infrastructure is a challenge that is a primary concern for domestic watchmakers.
Jaipur Watch Company is a new name in the luxury watch retailing category. What has been your marketing strategy over the years?
We have sold approximately 2000+ units to date. YOY growth has been fantastic for us; we have taken a jump of 200% YOY. Revenues have touched 7 digits which are well as per the plan. Growth hacks have been an improvisation on quality and client relationships. Most of our bespoke watch clients are the same clients who have bought our prêt-collection watches in the past. We have gained their confidence by offering them supreme quality and timepieces worthy of an heirloom.
We are targeting an 8 figure turnover by 2020. We will never be a brand that will produce mass quantities. We will always aim at creating fine limited edition timepieces carrying history or an Indian touch to them. It is a deliberate attempt. When you look at watchmakers in India, you don’t find a brand after HMT or Titan that stands out. We are trying to take fine Indian watchmaking to the forefront. A lot of people know us as a brand, and our sales have multiplied. The increase in sales since 2015 is almost 350%. The more people know, the more they want to try out.
Throw some light on the distribution channels of the brand and future plans.
The sale from last year has increased by 250%, which I guess is a decent jump. 50% of our sales happen in the same circle. We had been restrictive for the first three years. We have operated through direct retail and through stores within hotels. In the coming years, we now want to enter into major cities and want to start tying up with trade partners. We want to test the waters. 5 years from now, we would like JWC to be perceived as a powerhouse, a prolific inventor, and a manor house of unique timepieces. We are and will continue to craft 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. In essence, create watches that astonish the horological world and showcase a taste of India.
Your coin watches are in trend. Tell us in detail about such watches.
We are India’s first and only coin watch manufacturer. Jaipur Watch Company also specializes in unique Swarovski Crystal Watches. All our watches are made in a very limited quantity thus making them extremely unique. Imperial Wristwear II– A successor to our Imperial Wristwear Collection is 46 MM in size, housing an automatic movement (Miyota 8215). The watch comes in 4 colour variants with just 50 serial numbers units of each color: Black, Red, Blue, and Green. Each color has a matching precious stone on the crown (Black: Black Sapphire, Red: Ruby, Blue: Blue Sapphire, Green: Emerald). The Imperial Wristwear II comes with Double Sapphire Glass and has a Butterfly Clasp Strap mechanism.
Imperial Wristwear: Made using King George VI (1939-45 era) one rupee half silver coin. This stainless steel watch is a limited edition (1-300), comprising of a one rupee antique coin as the dial and houses a Citizen 1L32 slim quartz movement. The watch has a sapphire crystal and the winder has a sapphire stone. The bezel of the watch bears a resemblance to traditional Indian design.
King’s Wristwear: Housing a Swiss Machine (ISA Cal 2334:1035) the watch is developed on a unique moving disc mechanism, 43 MM in size, and having the one paisa coin (The lowest denomination of British India Coinage) in the center the discs move giving it a unique look. The collection is serial numbered from 1-500, each watch having its unique identity.
Your favorite watch and your connection with it.
I would like to highlight our expertise and experience in artisanal horology. JWC has crafted a made-to-measure timepiece for His Highness Maharaja Gaj Singh which sums up to be our most memorable creation. This timepiece was infused with elements that essay the Maharaja’s love for the 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. An amalgamation 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.
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