Of Time, Legacy, and a Coin in the Dial: Inside Jaipur Watch Company’s Royal Revolution

Gaurav Mehta is the founder and creative force behind Jaipur Watch Company, India’s first luxury bespoke watch brand. A self-taught horologist with a deep love for history and heritage, Mehta blends storytelling with timekeeping—crafting watches that house vintage coins, royal motifs, and forgotten Indian art. His journey from curiosity to craftsmanship has positioned him as a disruptor in global horology. At heart, he is not just a watchmaker, but a memory-keeper.

At first glance, it’s just a watch—its dial elegant, maybe with a coin you vaguely recognise, or a motif that feels like something you’ve seen in an ancestral jewellery box. But Jaipur Watch Company is not here to make watches. It’s here to tell stories—of empires, artisans, heirlooms, and heritage. And Gaurav Mehta, its founder, is not your typical watchmaker. He’s a storyteller whose medium happens to tick in seconds.

Founded in 2013, Jaipur Watch Company is India’s first luxury bespoke watch brand. And in a marketplace long dominated by Swiss precision and European prestige, Mehta’s timepieces offer something infinitely more intimate—history on your wrist. Quite literally.

A Coin, A Curiosity, A Calling

Gaurav Mehta’s journey into horology wasn’t born in a Swiss lab or an elite design school in Milan. It began in childhood, rummaging through his grandfather’s coin collection.

“I’ve always been fascinated by history, by old stamps and coins,” Mehta shares. “One day, purely on impulse, I placed a British India coin inside a watch case. That was it. That became my daily wear. And when people started asking about it, something clicked.”

That moment of curiosity—simple, nostalgic—eventually became the genesis of Jaipur Watch Company. What started as a whim spiraled into an obsession. Mehta, with no formal background in horology, taught himself the craft, motivated not by profit but by passion. “I sold my car, borrowed from friends. Capital was limited, but the dream was bigger.”

Coined in Heritage, Framed in Luxury

Every Jaipur Watch Company timepiece carries a whisper of the past—whether it’s a coin minted during the British Raj, a Pichwai painting fragment, or an embossed motif inspired by royal insignia. And yet, these are no museum relics. These are wearable heirlooms designed for the now.

“The idea is to marry contemporary design with India's vast visual language,” Mehta says. “We start with a story—a coin, a stamp, even a miniature painting. From there, the design unfolds.”

Jaipur Watch Company’s famed Coin Collection features vintage Indian currency as the centrepiece of the dial—each coin telling a different story. From George VI half-anna coins to Republic India commemoratives, these are not just watches. They’re time capsules.

Their Raja Ravi Varma Collection brings India’s most celebrated painter to the wrist, while their Pichwai dial watches offer a temple-art-meets-timepiece aesthetic rarely seen in haute horology.

And it’s not just the dial that’s rich in detail. The company works with master artisans—engravers, enamelists, miniature painters—many of whom come from multi-generational craft lineages. “We collaborate with craftsmen who’ve inherited their skill. That’s the soul of the brand,” Mehta explains.

A Watchmaker Without Borders

What sets Jaipur Watch Company apart isn’t just what goes into the watch—it’s the experience of creating it. As India’s premier bespoke watchmaker, the brand allows clients to commission completely personalized pieces.

“Bespoke means everything from the dial to the strap to the engraving can be customized. You want a rare coin that represents your birth year? Done. A dial painted with your family crest? We’ll make it happen.”

An Indian Identity in a Global Language

The brand isn't trying to mimic the West. If anything, it's gently correcting the idea that luxury must come from Europe. Mehta believes in India’s craft legacy as a powerhouse of luxury—just underrepresented in global horology.

“We’re at the cusp of a revival,” he says. “What Italian fashion is to Europe, Indian craftsmanship can be to the world. There’s no reason we can't lead in the luxury space, especially with our heritage.” That belief is already being noticed. Jaipur Watch Company has caught the attention of international collectors, celebrity clients, and recently, a broader Indian audience thanks to their appearance on Shark Tank India. But success hasn't changed Mehta’s philosophy. “Even now, I wear one of our first coin watches most often. It reminds me where we started.”

A Retail Space That Feels Like a Time Capsule

In 2022, the brand opened its flagship boutique in Delhi. But don’t expect a typical retail setup. The store is curated like a gallery, with watches displayed not just as accessories, but as objects of design, artistry, and narrative.

“The physical space was important for us. People need to see, touch, feel—these are tactile objects. Online can’t replace that for a luxury product. We don’t mass-produce. Each piece takes time, and that’s a feature, not a flaw.” says Mehta.

The brand also partners with luxury hotels and concept stores, carefully selecting each location to reflect its ethos of heritage-meets-modernity.

This intentionality also reflects in the pricing. The watches aren’t about flashy opulence but about connoisseurship. The collector knows the difference between owning a mass-made Swiss chronograph and a custom timepiece engraved by hand in Jaipur.

The brand collaborates with master craftsmen—metal engravers, hand-painters, enamel specialists—most of whom come from traditional artistic lineages.

“When a client commissions a bespoke watch, our artisans work closely with the design team to bring their vision to life,” Mehta says. “Whether it’s selecting a rare coin, creating a unique dial pattern, or engraving a message in their native script, every detail is handcrafted with purpose.”

This dialogue between tradition and innovation is what gives each Jaipur Watch Company timepiece its signature blend of cultural memory and contemporary luxury. The elephant and peacock motifs, for example, are steeped in royal iconography, while floral and paisley patterns nod to feminine grace and Mughal influences.

History, But Make It Emotional

Jaipur Watch Company doesn’t just sell “Indian” designs—it creates deeply emotional narratives. Every timepiece comes with a story card, outlining the history of the elements used. Clients are often gifted a detailed archive dossier along with their purchase, detailing the coin’s origin or the motif’s heritage.

“India is an emotional country,” Mehta explains. “People buy jewellery or timepieces because it connects them to something—family, faith, memory.”

That sensitivity has made the brand a favorite among those who want their wedding gifts, retirement tokens, or legacy purchases to mean something far deeper than luxury.

Positioning Luxury for the Next Generation

Their growing audience includes young professionals looking to wear their culture with pride, second-gen NRIs seeking connection with their roots, and global collectors seeking originality in an increasingly homogenized luxury landscape.

The brand’s expansion into prêt-à-porter with accessible collections ensures its storytelling isn't limited to the ultra-elite. “People want products with stories and soul, not just shine.”

That means slower drops, more bespoke collaborations, and deeper engagement with India’s lesser-known art forms. Mehta has plans to collaborate with tribal artists, revive forgotten jewellery motifs, and bring other Indian cities—like Varanasi, Kolkata, and Hyderabad—into the design fold.

“Jaipur gave us our name, but our heart beats across India,” he says.

For now, he's doing the next best thing—turning timepieces into windows to India’s past. Watches that don’t just tell time. They tell you where you come from.

And in a world of hyper-speed fashion cycles and digital disposability, there’s something timeless about that.

 custom piece is a co-creation between the client, the designer, and the artisan. The process is intimate, hands-on, and deeply rooted in storytelling.

One collector recently commissioned a watch embedded with a coin used in the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Another wanted his grandfather’s handwriting engraved inside the dial. “We’re not selling watches,” Mehta insists, “we’re helping people hold onto memories.”