Destination Macau

A couple of years ago, Modi embarked on an
ambitious global expansion plan, one that now
encompasses Macau. Over the next four years, he
intends to open 30 more boutiques in 12 countries.
“Macau is known as an integrated resort city, and
international hub for business and leisure travellers,”
he says. “With a mixture of Eastern and Western
culture, it provides an important gateway to expand
our business networks in Asia.”
The baubles within the Nirav Modi portfolio straddle
that fine line between grand and exhibitionist. Even
the more subdued of them are statement pieces.
Under his high-Jewels offering, there are necklaces
featuring a pair of 20ct rare golden yellow heartshaped
diamonds, and chunky diamond-studded
bracelets flecked with pink diamonds that coil around
a woman’s wrist. A Nirav Modi piece will be noticed,
and envied. If you want jewellery that fades into the
background, this isn’t it.
Still, despite the apparent heft and substance of the
jewellery, Modi says he aspires to imbue his pieces
with a lightness, so that – above all else – they are
comfortable to wear.
“The setting techniques we use ensure that there
is minimal metal used to have jewels shine with
maximum radiance,” he says. The brand
has patented certain cuts, so that
making a piece is not just a matter of
aligning stones and metal. There’s a
fair bit of engineering involved, so,
Modi says, they should “sit like silk
on the skin and move with each
movement of the wearer”.
It may be as a result of the
inherent fluidity of the
pieces that Modi’s typical
client is more likely to be
debutante than dowager; she is
young, monied, sophisticated –
Kate Winslet is a fan. That’s a
natural direction reflected in his
buzzed-about new ad campaign,
featuring British supermodel Rosie
Huntington-Whiteley, her Romanian counterpart
Andreea Diaconu, and Indian model-actress Lisa Haydon. The
campaign was shot by Vogue veteran Peter Lindbergh.
Modi is the first to agree that, unlike ready-to-wear fashion or shoes
or even more accessibly-priced jewellery lines, it’s impossible for this
kind of haute jewellery to follow any prevalent style trends. That
said, each collection is rooted in a particular inspiration.
“[It] comes from so many sources,” he says. “Nature, art, poetry,
architecture – and is sometimes found in the most unexpected
of places.” His raved-about Lotus collection, for example, came
about after Modi gazed at Monet’s 1919 oil painting, Water Lilies.
He visited the gardens of Giverny, Monet’s birthplace, and the
lotus iconography “came to life”. The brand’s Embrace bangles -
stretchable circles of precious metals and diamonds - were inspired
by Modis’ daughters’ costume bracelets.
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Destination Macau September - October 2016