At the Chamber of Princes in Jaipur’s Rambagh Palace, the morning light slips through carved jaalis and settles across marble floors. Delicate filigree curls around doorways, chhatris punctuate the palace skyline beyond the windows. Outside, peacocks wander the lawns with the soft entitlement of permanent residents.By the time watchmaker and founder of Jaipur Watch Company, Gaurav Mehta, lifts the lid off his newest watches, it becomes difficult to tell where the palace ends and the timepieces begin.Jaipur as the blueprintThis was perhaps why the Jaipur Watch Company chose Rambagh Palace to unveil its newest collections, Premium Baagh and Gates of India. The jaalis, chhatris, and filigree have found expression on the dials of the watches resting inside velvet-lined boxes, revealing the architectural vocabulary from which Gaurav Mehta’s designs emerged. Both collections were designed in consultation with Gaurav’s design team in Jaipur, with the watch straps crafted in Indian leather.
A turquoise dial watch with Miyota or Japanese movement from the Premium Baagh Collection
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Special Arrangement
Prior to the launch , the company drove us through the Pink City’s walled precincts to the City Palace, stopping before the ornate gateways of Pritam Niwas Chowk , the Lotus Gate, and Leheriya Gate to reveal how the architecture of the gates had spilled onto the dials of the watches. For Gaurav, this was less a design exercise than a return to the city that has shaped and inspired almost every watch he has made.
