Jewellery for all seasons

The new millennium woman wants designer jewellery that is appealing to the eye, says Shobita Shivshankar

Shweta Mehta’s preparations for any festival season begin months before the actual occasion. Shweta is currently planning jewellery designs on a white chart paper.

The lure of traditional jewellery will always be there

What is so special about this lady's jewellery? The answer is simple. She is a creative designer who is cued on to the latest trend — theme jewellery. The card party-cocktail circuit is expected to be wearing Ganesha pendants, earrings in the shape of diyas, broaches with 3-D images of goddess Laxmi and bangles.

Like Shweta, jewellers are latching on to the fad of designer jewellery for different festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Holi, Raksha Bandhan, Mother's Day and Valentine's Day.

"The lure of traditional jewellery will always be there. But a number of rich, fashionable, young women are buying gold jewellery which is occasion driven," says Ramesh Aggarwal, a Delhi-based jeweller.

For most Indian women gold may still be the safest investment, but for the trendy, it has become a fashion statement. A part of the credit for this changing mindset must go to the active promotion campaigns of World Gold Council that encourages creativity with both awards and rewards.

Most industry watchers say designer jewellery is the new goose that is going to be laying plenty of golden eggs in the future. Says Aggarwal:" Though presently the demand may be no more than 5 per cent, it is bound to shoot up spectacularly both in domestic and international markets. India designer jewellery is already carving a niche for itself in Europe, America, Australia and the Gulf countries."

Designer ornaments may not be available throughout the country and can be seen only in select showrooms of big cities. But jewellers are confident that the trend just needs proper marketing and distribution for it to become popular.

Preeti Sengupta specialises in range of heart-shaped pendants for Valentine’s Day and she is also working on the Holi 2012 collection. "Since gold now comes in myriad colours ranging from white, rose, red to green and purple, it is ideal to depict the moods of Holi. My Holi collection will reflect the mood of the festival."

Vinod Saraf, proprietor of Sarafson Jewellers in Delhi's South Extension, whose showroom specialises in designer jewellery, says: "The new millennium woman wants customised jewellery. Designs should speak for themselves. They should be elegant and fashionable. Today's upwardly mobile woman prefers jewellery that is attractive and appealing to the eye. It should go with the mood of the occasion."

Jewellers are fast realising that branded ornaments are a lucrative and untapped area. Most emerging designers have their individual styles and are targeting both festivals and special occasions.

Shweta strongly believes the future lies in designer jewellery. "The time is not very far when most fashion- conscious people will go for it as it adds value to an occasion."

The brief for these jewellery designers is simple — create designs that are elegant, catchy and capture the imagination of the young. Above all, keep the prices low. " The MTV generation maybe low on cash but is high on taste when it comes to jewellery designs," sums up Shweta. — NF