56 DEPARTURES STYLE PRECIOUS THINGS Below: AS by Akansha Sethi’s yellow-gold Ribbon ring set with citrines; right: multilayered emerald and diamond necklace by Amrapali Jewels originates – are usually a very rare sight. Yet they are the trademark of Santi Jewels, which comprises one-of-akind pieces by Krishna Choudhary, a 10th-generation member of a Jaipur-based family of gem and art collectors. Choudhary’s approach to design is resolutely modern yet informed by a rich and multilayered Mughal visual vocabulary, which lends cultural depth to each piece. And then there are those fabled, arrestingly beautiful rare gems collected over the years that feature as centre stones in his creations. Large Kashmir sapphires of the deepest velvet blue; emeralds carved with dazzling details; and famed Golconda diamonds, whose value transcends the usual four Cs (carat, colour, clarity, cut). Rounded rhombus-shaped earrings feature two impressive cushion-cut diamonds floating on a waving chevron pattern in titanium, while in a necklace, a mesmerising pear-shaped Golconda diamond is suspended from a lotus flower formed by six heptagonal petals of flatcut rosé spinels embracing a cushion-cut diamond. The only way to glimpse these one-of-a-kind pieces – Choudhary crafts no more than ten new pieces every year – is via private appointment. santijewels.com Sabyasachi With stores in Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Dubai and New York, and a product range spanning from ready-to-wear to high jewellery, Sabyasachi is India’s first megabrand with a global reach. Its founder, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, says it all happened almost by accident. Although he had always wanted to craft jewellery, Mukherjee began creating readyto-wear garments until a custom-made wedding gown commissioned by one of his clients turned him into the goto bridal designer. It propelled his business to expand into jewellery, a big part of wedding apparel in India. Over the following years, his jewels quickly amassed keen interest from clients in both India as well as members of the Indian diaspora abroad. Western customers, too, fast became enamoured of Sabyasachi’s idiosyncratic aesthetic. Mughal-inspired pieces, masterfully executed in 18-karat and 22-karat gold, juxtapose table and rose cuts in a medley of colourful gemstones such as Colombian emeralds, fossilised corals, natural pearls, sapphires and opals, among many other precious materials. Yet Mukherjee believes that the value of his creations lies in the unparalleled craftsmanship which harmoniously blends the most expensive and rarest rubies with unpolished corals. Received notions of preciousness would call this “blasphemy”, but for Mukherjee, it is beauty – plain and simple. sabyasachi.com Ananya “I wanted to create a brand that celebrates the meaning and culture behind jewellery,” says Ananya Malhotra, whose eponymous jewellery label distils Indian heritage and traditions into modern designs for a cosmopolitan clientele. Brought up in a world of design and fashion – her parents own the prestigious multibrand fashion boutique Evoluzione in Chennai – Malhotra was drawn to jewellery early on. She studied at Central Saint Martins and the Gemological Institute of America in London, and later trained as a gemstone healer in Chennai. Among her fine-jewellery collections, which have been donned by the likes of Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift, are her
COURTESY OF THE DESIGNERS Reversible AS by Akansha necklace featuring a aquamarine when turned over much-loved Chakra bracelets, which were inspired by the beaded ornament once thought to protect the wearer from the evil eye, and Mogra, which pays tribute to the jasmine flower. The Scatter collection of rings, necklaces, earrings and more features bursts of seemingly floating gemstones that embody the energy chakra. This year, Ananya added a few dramatic pieces of high jewellery to its collection, playing with Malhotra’s favourite pastel colours and featuring rose tourmaline, pale sapphires and morganites. Ananya’s creations are widely available online, including at Net-a-Porter, and can be seen by private appointment in her newly opened showroom in London. ananya.com AS by Akansha Sethi There is a chasm dividing the Indian jewellery landscape: that between high-end and costume jewellery. It’s one bridged by Akansha Sethi, who conceived her jewellery brand as a collection of demi-fine pieces using semiprecious stones such as citrine, rose quartz and lapis lazuli carved into traditional Mughal patterns and set in 18-karat-goldplated sterling silver. The result is beautifully made and refreshingly modern jewellery redolent with tradition and fit for casual wear. Akansha Sethi’s expertise in hand-carved precious stones shines through in her remarkable designs. For instance, she crafted a stunning aquamarine pendant inspired by the azure-coloured motifs decorating the walls of Indian palaces in Udaipur. In other pieces, Sethi employs traditional Meenakari techniques, which involve enamel, to enhance the colour and vibrancy of the stones. akanshasethi.com Emerald and diamond bracelet by Amrapali Jewels Amrapali Jewels Founded in Jaipur in the 1970s by Rajiv Arora and Rajesh Ajmera, two school friends with a passion for history and traditional Indian craftsmanship, Amrapali is one of the few Indian jewellers offering pieces across a variety of price points, from silver jewels to one-of-a-kind, custommade high-jewellery pieces. The Amrapali aesthetic is quintessentially Indian. Motifs reference the vast tapestry of classic Mughal iconography, architecture and ancient mythology, while the techniques employed to craft jewellery are ones honed across several generations. Diamonds and gems feature the typically Indian portrait cut and are fully embraced by the metal in the Kundan setting. Bollywood A-listers are enthralled. At the flamboyant gala opening of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai, actress Sonam Kapoor Ahuja was spotted wearing an Amrapali opulent emerald and pearl choker with matching earrings – unmistakably Amrapali, and well on its way to conquering the rest of the globe, too. amrapalijewels.com 57 DEPARTURES
