Emeralds of the East

A rarest of rare emerald necklace is on display at the India Art Fair. For Nirav Modi, this is one of the exclusive jewel pieces he regularly creates

In April this year, when Nirav Modi’s much talked about Rs 50-crore diamond necklace — called the ‘Flawless Diamond Riviere’ — goes under the hammer at the Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong, also auctioned will be another exquisite piece of jewellery created by the billionaire diamantaire. That is, if some discerning buyer with Rs 6-7 crore to spare, doesn’t grab it before it reaches Sotheby’s. Called the ‘Green Riviere’, this emerald necklace can by no means match the Diamond Riviere in price, but it is as rare as it gets. So rare are the emeralds studded in it that the necklace is impossible to recreate.

In Pictures: Nirav Modi's treasure trove

Emeralds are 20 times rarer than diamonds. Columbian emeralds are even rarer. There is a good reason why Modi believes that there is no chance that his necklace will be recreated. Finding a pair of emeralds that match perfectly in colour, size, cut and clarity is difficult, to say the least. The Green Reviere contains 28 such stones with the centre stone weighing over 15 carats. “Each of these stones has come from one vein (a single stretch of rocks or minerals) of a mine in Columbia,” says Modi, who is displaying the necklace —  the first such emerald reviere — at the ongoing India Art Fair in Delhi along with about 100 other of his bejewelled creations. The total emerald weight of the necklace is more than 78 carats. It took him three years to source the stones and five months to create the necklace.

The 85-carat ‘Flawless Diamond Riviere' to be auctioned by Sotheby's in April; Base price: Rs 50 crore

Unlike the blackish green colour usually seen in emeralds, these ones are grass green. “Normally emeralds are oiled to improve their clarity and transparency. But these have been put through practically no treatment,” the 43-year-old third-generation diamantaire who, with a net worth of $1.01 billion as of October 2013, ranks 64th on the Forbes list of India’s richest.

In the last four years, 20 of Modi’s creations have been auctioned at Sotheby's and Christie's. Among them were the ‘Golconda Necklace’ auctioned for Rs 16.29 crore at Christie’s Autumn Jewellery Auction in 2010 and the ‘Riviere Diamond Necklace’ which sold for $5.1 million (about Rs 32 crore) at Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong in 2012.

The jeweller, who has a weakness for diamonds, emeralds and rubies, sources diamonds mainly from Russia, Canada and Africa. “For pink diamonds, I turn to Australia,” he says.

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Among the other creations that can be seen at India Art Fare are the ‘Tree of Life’ earrings — a pattern often seen on women’s clothings, but which has never found its way into jewellery. Made of white gold and diamond, each flower in this fluid piece of jewellery moves with the person wearing it. The trick is to play with the stone using very little metal.

Then there is the ‘Fluire Collection’, inspired by the floral theme, which includes very wearable fluire ear studs. “I am against putting jewellery in a safe,” says Modi whose buyers also include working women. The pieces from the ‘fluire collection’ are like fabric; they crumble into your hand like a handkerchief.

Diamantaire Nirav Modi

Three years ago, inspiration for another easy-to-wear jewellery stuck when Modi saw his little daughters playing with plastic bangles. “They were having so much fun. The bangles would stretch over their hands with such ease.” So he thought: “Why can’t women have fun with their jewellery? Why does the task of wearing jewellery have to be so tedious?” The result of this very pertinent thought, as any woman would agree, was ‘Embrace Bangles’ that stretch over the hand and embrace the wrist. Created using 800 interlocking parts with white gold springs, the bangles are available in two versions — wide and slim — and in rose, white and yellow gold. Another quirky, yet exquisite creation is the ‘orchestra ring’, with gold wire handwoven into the shape of notes on a musical staff.

Modi would like to become the Cartier of India. But so far, he admits he sells more internationally. “My largest market,” he says, “is the east Asia.” That’s where he’s taking his Rs 50-crore diamond wonder.