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customising jewellery The really affluent often opt for one-of-a-kind, or a very limited edition artist piece of jewellery. Such pieces are meant to be viewed as a style statement KAMAL GILL JEWELLERY SYMBOLISES the fulfilment of many of the higher needs important to human happiness, such as security, love and self-esteem, say psychologists. With women being the prime movers in any jewellery acquisition, current influences make it clear that from being an adornment, women now see jewellery as a way of making a personal style statement. As the Jewellery Information Centre, a trend tracking trade group in the US, tells us, “Women want jewellery to reflect who they are and what they have achieved.”The female consumer is looking for products and presentations that make her feel understood as an individual. Fashion designers who’ve captured women’s attention, such as Donna Karan and Kate Spade, say the most-needed accessories in a woman’s wardrobe are those that make a unique personal statement. How many requests would there be for a red carpet, showstopper, and an extravagant diamond necklace design? You would be surprised. Celebrities think nothing of spending $200,000 to commission a rubyeyed, gold cobra necklace perfectly sculpted to their décolletage. In the field of accessories, bespoke jewellery has become the next big item. The hi-end consumers prefer custom pieces suggesting an elite orientation in whatever is the latest trend–fresh gemstone designs, plain gold, platinum, diamonds and so on. For jewellery to impress the hi-end consumer, it must now be cutting edge and
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of course, be bespoke. Today, jewellery marketed for the super rich has to offer something more than just a name. Pieces have to be unique and individual to please the discriminating. “Want-it-so-buy-it is how the affluent buy jewellery,” says Ajay Mehra, Managing Director, Mehrasons, adding, “It could be impulse buying at times, as ornamentation, to match a sari with a jewellery ensemble. More often, it is a thought, a design, a desire that needs to be interpreted in metal.” Today, the really affluent often opt for a one-off, one-of-a-kind, or a very limited edition artist piece of jewellery. Such pieces are meant to be viewed as a style statement. The price is not always as relevant, but what matters is how exclusive and authentic a bespoke piece is, distribution-wise. Rarity increases the desirability. Of course, there are jewellers who work simply because they enjoy producing one-off handmade pieces. Creative satisfaction of owning one-of-akind handmade pieces can be as important to the craftsman who makes them, as to the customer. "We provide a highly-personalised and tailored bespoke jewellery design service, teamed with an astute ability to translate the client's personal requirements into reality. Our speciality is in unique custom-made luxury
Photo: Mehrasons
January 2009 | www.lifestyleliving.in
Photo: Mehrasons
December 2008 | www.lifestyleliving.in
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JEWELLERY BESPOKE
Photo: Mehrasons
jewellery,” continues Mehra. Unlike most designer jewellers, every item created by Ajay Mehra’s company is entirely handmade by highly skilled master jewellers using traditional jewellery-making techniques, guaranteeing a quality usually associated with illustrious jewellers, such as Van Cleef & Arpels, Boucheron and Cartier. One-of-a-kind creation now comprises the strongest jewellery sector, say leading fashion-trend analysts. Van Cleef, Harry Winston, Tiffany, Cartier—all report an upswing in demand for custom jewellery. Cartier says such sales have multiplied sevenfold in recent years. Van Cleef & Arpels has reported a double-digit increase over the past 12 months. Of course apart from celebrities, present day royalty continues its association with designer jewellery. The Duchess of Windsor jewellery, often designed for her by the Duke of Windsor– sold at an auction for a record-shattering $50 million. The Windsor taste ran to big, colourful stones and yellow gold. An 18-karat-gold cigarette case from Cartier—engraved with a map of Europe and set with 37 gems to mark the couple’s premarital holidays—sold for more
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than $290,000. While modern customers aren’t all royalty, they value discretion. Bollywood stars follow in the footsteps of their star peers in Hollywood by commissioning pieces from famous jewellery stores. Today, it will come as no surprise to find a coterie of Bollywood clients who order at least one piece a year, at Mehrasons. Ajay Mehra, for instance, is loath to cite names, as customers value discretion above all else but suffice to say what these clients seem to have in common is the compulsiveness, and, of course, the means to spend up to a year pursuing a one-of-a-kind jewel. As with a couture dress, the customjewellery process involves several fittings and likely a few cross-country flights. To produce a bracelet (in platinum, diamond and sapphire) for a client, Ajay Mehra created an actual jewellery model, and carefully shipped it to her. Says Mehra, “We made four samples of two inches each, completely finished and set to perfection. The client selected one of the four samples and the order was executed.”This indeed is the epitome of customised jewellery. Making a one-off piece can take up to a year, says Mehra. Prices start at a couple of lakhs and go up a long way from there. Shares Mehra, “Clients can spend an ostentatious amount on a single piece of jewellery. We can get a very detailed brief or we can get an extremely vague thought process by the client. Either way, we first source the stone as per the requirement, then we design it based
on the description given by the client.” Interpreting the design is necessary, understanding the indulgence is essential and finding the right stone is critical. “Be it a yellow diamond, a ruby, a sapphire, sourcing takes the maximum time. A number of design renderings are created and once the interaction is complete with the approvals given, we go ahead with developing the setting of the stone and finalising the design,” reveals Mehra. Depending on the complications in creating an exclusive piece, a ring could take from a fortnight to two months and a necklace from six months to even a year. “But clients are very obsessive in their purchase and follow through with single minded determination,” comments Mehra. Of late the trends towards nontraditional customised gem fashioning have piqued women’s interest. These include briolettes, beads and carved cabochons. The shades of sky blue, soft pink, vivid orange, acid green, yellow and periwinkle are popular also and are likely to continue to capture the feminine imagination. Women are approaching colour with a completely fresh perspective. As long as the material or presentation is effective and beautiful, it will sell to today’s fashion-conscious woman. When buying jewellery, women exhibit a high-spending threshold for impulse items. With high-karat gold making a strong comeback in the fashion world, jewellers are creating a combination of gold with platinum and other white metals so that consumers can build wardrobes in both metals. The savvy woman who buys jewellery for herself looks to define and present herself in creative, non-traditional ways. Bracelets that transform into a necklace or a brooch are welcome for the novelty. Body jewellery is also a new product of these merging changes, with fashion statements through anklets, toe rings and hair clips becoming firmly in the realm of precious jewellery. Living life in the fast lane, as with most celebrities, combined with a new flexibility in dress has created a renewed need for jewellery to provide the finishing touch to an ensemble. This has brought a return to jewellery suites. Earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings connected by a designer's concept offers a subtle way to put together, an elite,
Photo: Mehrasons
January 2009 | www.lifestyleliving.in
sophisticated look. A jewellery piece often embodies the high points of life as symbols of achievement, happiness and spirituality. The need for connectivity is fulfilled by giving talismanic or historical resonance to a jewel. Taking this forward, the use of hand engraving to create family crests or an endearment on a jewel or hand-made designer jewellery with stones and layout that is exclusive is the ultimate in personally connecting with a piece. CELEBRATING COUTURE Celebrating its Couture Collection, Van Cleef and Arpels presents a study where ornaments and accessories of high fashion are transformed into rare objects such as shimmering gold lace, tassels in precious stones, detailed embroideries, ribbons covered in rubies and magical zippers. How could anyone fail to love these vintage jewellery pieces? Thanks to the most exquisite technique, the gold work is so fine that it looks exactly like hand worked golden lace. My favourite? The Van Cleef & Arpels Kingdom of Neptune sea god on his chariot drawn by surf coloured horses. The Néréide clip is a nymph of yellow and white gold set with yellow and white diamonds, pear-shaped yellow sapphires gazing at a stunning, sunset red, 7.21 carat oval cut spinel clasped in her hands. Such antique and vintage pieces are bespoke collector’s items
December January 2009 2008 | www.lifestyleliving.in | www.lifestyleliving.in
HAUTE JOAILLERIE The world of uber luxury just got that extra sparkle with the foray of ace designer Rohit Bal into one-of-a-kind designer jewellery. Certainly, bespoke jewellery is the privilege of the select elite, the high-spending billionaires who seek out the best jewellery houses to execute their desire. Going a step further, commissioning a piece of exclusive, bespoke jewellery from a celebrated designer marks the final frontier for luxury connoisseurs seeking to own a valuable product, made invaluable on account of its rarity. “Each selection communicates a potent message. Hours of drafting, designing, wax or metal moulding, hand crafting, and finishing are poured into the process of custom- made jewellery. The focus of attention is the client. Exclusive luxury jewellery projects a refined version of some essential inner self—a seductive defining, and it encapsulates the mind-set that propels people to spend small fortunes on bespoke designer jewellery,” says Rohit Bal, the celebrated fashion designer, in the spotlight with his jewellery design line.
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Fame rests lightly on Rohit Bal, whom Time magazine profiled as ‘India’s Master of fabric and fantasy’. Bal has just launched the ‘Jewelled Garden–the Lotus Collection’ in New Delhi. Inspired by the ‘Lotus’, Rohit’s iconic logo, the collection marks the foray of the fashion designer into the jewellery industry in partnership with diamond moguls, Kirtilals. ‘The Jewelled Garden–The Lotus Collection’ draws from nature to create Haute Joaillerie, hand-crafted and using the finest quality of diamonds, coloured gems, including, rare coloured diamonds, Italian corals and Conch pearls–the only natural pearl available that cannot be cultivated. Each piece draws inspiration from nature and has been handmade by craftsmen trained in Italian
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jewellery making techniques under the supervision of an Italian master jeweller. Rohit Bal adds, “The Jewelled Garden is a unique creation carrying the beauty of the natural elements of exclusive diamonds and precious stones in floral inspirations crafted by Kirtilals. I am proud of this creation, which will highlight the beauty of the everdiscerning woman.” Each piece has been crafted to showcase the uniqueness of every flower in nature. With the natural variations of colour, the three dimensionality of flow and movement has translated into magnificent jewels. Seema Mehta, who heads the design department at Kirtilals comments,“Bal’s design concepts and aesthetics have attracted us. Each piece is the flower as seen in nature handcrafted into wearable art. The Jewelled Garden showcases the exquisite craftsmanship of Rohit Bal and we at Kirtilals are thrilled to be a part of it.” Bal will be creating exquisite gold and diamond pieces for the jewellery house.“I have been retained by Kirtilals for a year for designing as well as branding of the jewellery collection," Bal says, adding he will launch two jewellery series designed by him during the year. He will also design and launch men’s fashion accessories like cufflinks. “There is lot of intricate embroidery design work in garments. And we plan to have jewellery with embroidery designs. There is also a possibility of launching matching jewellery for the clothes–sherwanis, bridal dresses–designed by me,” he says.
LUXURY PROFILES A psycho graphic profile of four key 'types' of luxury consumers has been revealed by Unity Marketing's Personal Luxury Report 2007 ,a definitive study of the luxury consumers' buying and spending preferences. These include: • X-Fluents (Extremely Affluent) who spend the most on luxury and are most highly invested in luxury living. • Butterflies are the most highly evolved luxury consumers who have emerged from their luxury cocoons with a passion to reconnect with the outside world. Powered by a search for meaning and new experiences, the butterflies have the least materialistic orientation among the segments, yet they spend nearly as much as the X-Fluents on luxury. • Luxury Cocooners who are focused on hearth and home. They spend most of their luxury budgets on home-related purchases. • Aspirers are those luxury consumers who have not yet achieved the level of luxury to which they aspire. They are highly attuned to brands and believe luxury is best expressed in what they buy and what they own. Photo: Van Cleef and Arpels
January 2009 | www.lifestyleliving.in