India’s very own designer of bespoke handcrafted watches, Gaurav Mehta of Jaipur Watch Company (JWC), on the five most precious watches he owns. For the man hailing from Jaipur, a city where the air of royalty still hangs heavy, luxury watches are not about the price points, rather they are an emotional connect. A lover of everything vintage, to Gaurav, every timepiece he owns has a piece of history attached to it. A sneak peek…

a) Blue skeleton coin watch (JWC) – For the labour and the love that went into its making. When you see the end product of what you had initially conceived turn out to be this stunning and sound, it makes the designer in me delirious.

b) Kings Wristwear (JWC) – Fit for the wrist of a king, I have been very involved in the making process of this watch. It’s not only exquisite to look at but it’s technically extremely sound.

c) 5 Series Vintage Omega – Ever since its inception, Omega brought in the concept of accuracy and that has been the only label which has been on moon! This attracts me to these timepieces and I have started collecting them recently.

d) HMT Pilot (set of 15 variants) - One of the most iconic and elusive models from HMT has been the Pilot. There are multiple variants in the same model and there are a lot of unknown models which are yet to be discovered. I have managed to collect around 15 and they rule amongst the 200+ HMTs I own. The mechanics, the moving flywheel and the sweep second hands of an HMT watch attracted me towards these watches. 

e) Vintage Rolex Datejust – I am a die-hard lover of timeless classics and an avid collector of vintage memorabilia. Hence, this is one of my favourite watches. It’s an iconic design by Rolex that remains unchanged even after 100 years of its existence.