India’s jewelry industry is dominated by its large manufacturing base where it produces diamonds, gems and jewels at a staggering pace for sales throughout the world. However, the love of jewelry in India as an expression of wealth, a spiritual symbol and an object of beauty has a 5,000-year-old history and is embedded deep in the Indian culture. To tap into this tradition of well-crafted pieces with high design themes, there is a growing and diverse group of contemporary designers and artists who are producing a range of jewels that appeal to both domestic and international audiences. There’s even a concept store creating new ways to sell jewels to an upwardly mobile clientele.
In a country obsessed and enthralled with jewelry, designers can be stars. One of the biggest in India is Anand Shah, who is known for 22k handcrafted ornate jewels with traditional Indian themes. His pieces are primarily for the domestic market but his gold jewels have earned an international reputation for their vibrant colors, elaborate themes and extensive craftsmanship. The World Gold Council, the market development organization for the gold industry, named him one of the top 10 gold jewelry designers in the world.
He also happens to be a gentleman who warmly welcomed a few us into his home for lunch while showing his jewels. His pieces have a three dimensional quality with designs based on nature themes that seem to burst out of their 22k gold settings. Flora and fauna important to India like the peacock (the national bird) and the elephant are central themes. The high-karat gold is carved into elaborate shapes with finishes that reveal complex engraving, etching and hammering techniques. Colors from gems and diamonds, and in some cases enamel finishes are bright and bold.
Meanwhile, one of the up-and-coming designers who has earned a strong reputation in India is Pallavi Foley. Her jewels, which combine contemporary fashion and high design, range from airy geometric pieces to those with spiritual messages. She says she tries to modernize traditional Indian themes, such as many of the traditional religions practiced in the country.
“India has been my major source of inspiration and it is my most favorite inspiration but the way I interpret India is with a very global sensibility,” she says. “The stories from India are deep. I translate them through jewelry design.”
Foley also partners with fashion designers and retail brands in India for runway shows where she creates big, bold gold pieces in a range of designs depending on the outfits. Most recently, she partnered with India eCommerce jewelry retailer, BlueStone, to show her collection of gold jewels, “Flame of the Forest,” which she describes as an “ode to Bangalore” where she lives and works. The collection is inspired by the orange flower, the Flame-Of-The-Forest, native to the region.
Foley has two branded retail stores in Bengaluru, including the Leela Palace luxury hotel, attracting an international clientele. Her ambition is to go global.
Contemporary high jewelers do exist in India but in very small numbers. One of the few practiced in this art is Sajil Shah who created the brand, Sajjante, and headquartered it in Mumbai in gallery space for his jewels with darken walls and focused lighting. The pieces he creates are a masterful blend of technique, design and craftsmanship, all made in India.
Shah produces 40 to 50 pieces per year with techniques he learned in Florence where, among other things, he produced jewels for the famed Italian firm, Buccellati. He prefers textured finishes and other techniques that are distinctive to jewelry made in Florence. He mounts gems using very little metal to give them a floating appearance whether inside or outside the gold settings.
Savaab, founded by brothers Apurva Kothari and Anand Kothari, are third generation jewelers who created a brand based on Indian design motifs but with international and contemporary style. Their jewels are understated and often combine emeralds, pearls, rubies and diamonds. They are handcrafted jewels with limited production. The brand has a strong base in India but their ambitions are global.
Since I began writing about the jewelry industry there have been endless discussions on the “self-purchasing woman.” If I never hear that term again I won’t miss it. If you’re a jewelry retailer in the U.S. and still grappling with the concept of women buying jewels for themselves then perhaps you should be doing something else.
With that said, certainly not all countries and cultures are the same. In India jewelry is often passed down within families and gifted by men to women or purchased by the family as a group. With the growing number of young women in India with expendable income, a passion for fashion and a more casual lifestyle, the concept of self-purchasing women is taking hold, at least in the larger more prosperous cities.
A concept store in Mumbai is ready to take on this customer. Called “Her Story” it’s a two-room boutique with six jewelry collections that are matched with a woman’s beliefs, desires and anything else that is important to her. The diamond, gold and gem-set jewels are designed to be selected by women in a way that meets their deep personal needs. The first room is lined with postcards with different pictures. The women selects three that best reflect who she is and then a salesperson guides her on her “journey” to find the jewels that matches her story.
“We’re not in the business of making jewels and fitting them to the woman,” said Tanya Sabharwal, head of Retail Business for Walking Tree Ventures, a Mumbai firm that created the retail concept. “We like to work the other way around.”
She says purchasing jewelry in India generally isn’t an experience but a “necessity or a need that we fulfill as Indians to make a purchase of jewelry because it runs in our blood. We wanted to create a disruption to that and so we said this is going to be woman’s space to cut out the entire world and for the first time it will really be about her, rather than everybody else.”
The store opened February 10, so it’s a brand new concept in a country that is becoming ever more influenced by international trends.
