The Time Revivalist We are opening up two new stores in India and we are coming up with a concept of Instant Bespoke Watch, where we shall be able to offer a customized watch to a client in 15 minutes: Gaurav Mehta

At the age of playing with toys, Gaurav Mehta would open up most of his toys to see what makes them work. The same thing continued when he started opening up watches from the age of 12 but this time, he could put them back together (most of the time). In fact, it was this habit of opening up and putting back watches together which led to the birth of Jaipur Watch Company when he accidentally placed a coin inside a watch and started wearing it.

Talking about his creative influences, Mehta mentions, "The city from where I come from "Jaipur", the beautiful city has a lot of history through its buildings, design, and antiques which always influences my design." Late Legendary watch designer Mr. Gerald Genta, whom he could never meet in person also has a strong influence on Mehta's designs and thinking about watches. It was in the year 2012, while he was opening up a watch and a "One Pice" coin of British India was kept next to him, somehow it struck him to place the coin inside the watch as the coin was with a hole by design. "I did that and started wearing the watch on a regular basis, the feedback which I got from people around me encouraged me to take this step, as, the product which I had created was a combination of both my hobbies and passion," adds Mehta.

When asked how customer requirements shaped the company over the years, he says, "At the beginning when we as a Company, were really small I was the face of the company and had the chance to meet almost all my clients. The clients always took this opportunity to give me feedback, and their wishlist and that helped us shape our future products and to some extent our designs. We introduced Bespoke watches as I saw there was a demand for custom-made watches from my clients." Apart from the brand's own website, the products are available on luxury websites as channel partners like Tata Cliq Luxury and Nyka Luxe. The brand has opened up a Showroom in Jaipur and a boutique at The Taj Palace Delhi apart from being available at most of the Oberoi hotels.

After doing a Seed round with Strategic Investors recently Jaipur Watch Company has achieved the sales of the Entire previous financial year in the first 3 months of Operations. On future plans, Mehta says, "We are opening up two new stores in India and we are coming up with a concept of Instant Bespoke Watch, where we shall be able to offer a customized watch to a client in 15 minutes."

FACTSHEET
Amount of external funding received Seed Round: INR1 Crore
No. of people employed: 16
Turnover: INR2.3 Crore last year
Year of Inception:2013
Key customers: Royal Families across India, Bollywood Celebrities, Top Corporates of India

For the sixth edition of BIZ Experiences's Creative Inc, we recognize 25 creative artists and brand builders selected on the basis of qualitative analysis and consideration from industry leaders and BIZ Experiences India Editors, who reviewed hundreds of nominations – under the cultural economy. The people featured in the ensuing pages are the champions of the value of design excellence. How some of these creators are using design to address some of society's most pressing problems showcases their potential for the future. Our ambition with this issue is to explore what role design and creativity play to make a better world.