TICK-TOCK

On the far side of the shop,the wall is occupied by a daunting steel clock with wiry hands like the wobbly rays of a child’s crayon drawing of the sun. It’s the most expensive clock in the store priced at Rs 75,000.

“My husband studied the market in India and discovered that there wasn’t a single store that sold innovative wall clocks. That’s when we decided to take up the dealership for NeXtime,” says Namita Kothari,the India Head of NeXtime. This Dutch company,established in 1970,is one of the world’s leading clock manufacturers. Kothari says that the USP of the store lies in the originality of the timepieces’ designs. “I,for one,had never before seen a wall clock studded with real Swarovski crystals,or one that’s 100 cm in width or one with a 3D dial.”

NeXtime clocks have been created by a team of over 40 designers spread across the world. The company has outlets in France,UK,USA,Spain,Germany,The Netherlands and Hong Kong. Their catalogue boasts over 100 designs. Their store at Haji Ali,the first in India,opened three months ago.

For those of you with a penchant for the fun and the funky,the store can infuse you with the enthusiasm of a kid in a candy store. There are clocks that double as photo frames,clocks with hands twisted into snarling snakes that hiss out the time,kiddy clocks with elephants and goats and rhinos,instead of numbers—the kinds you can easily imagine adorning the bedroom wall of a Betty or an Amanda from an Enid Blyton book.

And who wants an anachronistic grandfather clock when you can have Mortimer the elephant belching out the time for you.

NeXtime showroom,Bayside Mall,Haji Ali; Price range: Rs 1,700 to Rs 75,000