Tick-tock Bricks

A timepiece from Kinstrukto—a seven-month-old Indian brand—does two things: it tells time and gives you the freedom to change its looks à la LEGO.

- ANSHUL DHAMIJA

PULKIT SANGAL, IN HIS LATE 20s, is a senior financial services executive based in Dubai. He deals in structured investment products which involves designing bespoke investment instruments for investors based upon their outlook, risk appetite, and desired yield. No doubt it’s a high-flying job that befits one to be attired in the very best that luxury has to offer. And sure enough, he owns a slew of luxury watches— TAG Heuer, Omega, Rolex, Corum—a collection that has been built over generations within his family.

But Sangal recently chose to break away from the set norms of high fashion, at least when it comes to his choice in watches. He chose to invest in two funky Kinstrukto watches— the krater and arkitekt.

Kinstrukto (phonetically it resonates with the word construct) watches are designed using LEGOlike miniature bricks. The brick design allows people to create their own watch style, depending on their attire or mood.

It’s something that Sangal swears by. To match his attire and the occasion, he changes the look of his Kinstrukto watch a few times a week and has even done so a couple of times within a day. “It’s quick and straightforward, [and] takes no longer than a few minutes,” he says.

To be sure, Kinstrukto is not a Swiss watch brand. It’s a seven-month-old Indian watch brand founded by Malek Shipchandler, 28, and his mother Rashida.

For Shipchandler, who was born in Surat, in Gujarat and raised in Dubai, the idea of owning a watch that can be made to look new every day has an interesting back story.