The gold and the beautiful

A unique idea in jewellery looks beyond the wedding market.

This jewellery is unlikely to adorn a blushing bride. Come to think of it, no trousseau would dream of boasting of a chunky gold necklace with a bison head pendant or one fashioned out of curvy claws.

“But our jewellery isn’t targeting the marriage market at all,” says Sudip Sen, director, Resource Indica, a consulting company on branding and marketing. Sen is the brain behind Adi-Kriti, a 22 karat gold jewellery brand, that is inspired by tribal trinkets and targeted at those with a penchant for not-so-subtle fashion statements. The reason being: only the bold could carry off neck pieces that display a rhino head, gold thorns or peacock feathers and fearsome masks.

Launched in December 2008 as a high-fashion gold jewellery brand after two years of research and development, Adi-Kriti managed to notch up a turnover of Rs 1 crore. The company has three entities as stakeholders — Resource Indica looks after the branding, Agartala-based Shyam Sundar Jewellers does the designs and the World Gold Council provides marketing support.

The idea took seed when Sen was in Tripura consulting for Shyam Sundar Jewellers. “What caught my eye was the intriguing neckpieces the tribal women flaunted,” he recalls.

Made of bone, beads, metal and claws, the entire ensemble not only had a rustic charm but also struck Sen as a unique idea — to be told in gold. That’s where the tagline: “Tribal jewellery, re-told in gold” comes from.

He approached Arpita and Rupak Saha, the owners of Shyam Sundar, who readily accepted the concept.

“Apart from the merit we saw in the project, here was an opportunity to showcase tribal culture,” says Arpita Saha.

As a part of research, Sen and his team of five (both from Resource Indica and Shyam Sundar) practically lived with the tribals to get to know them better. “I even made a little child cry because he thought I looked scary,” recalls Sen, laughing.

When Sen approached World Gold Council with Adi-Kriti’s concept and designs, the council practically jumped at the idea.

“We recognised the project as a unique marketing concept that was absolutely never-before in the jewellery world and decided to support it,” says Keyur Shah, associated director, World Gold Council, India.

Shyam Sundar Jewellers has also adopted a village called Warengbari in Tripura and a percentage of the profits goes towards better health and education facilities for the 300-odd people in the hamlet.

With an initial investment of Rs 4 crore, branding initiatives included jewellery shows at Kolkata (December 2008), New Delhi (July 2009) and Bengaluru (October 2009). The brand was also a show stopper at the Indian International Jewellery Exhibition in August 2009.

In December 2008, Resource Indica moved Adi-Kriti to a showroom in Kolkata’s Park Street, where it also organised several wine-and-cheese sessions for the city’s well-heeled. “The response to the year-long exhibition was so overwhelming that now I regret not having hired the place for longer,” feels Sen.

Here’s how it works. Craftsmen in Tripura come up with 10 or 15 designs every fortnight. Priced from Rs 8,000 to Rs 15 lakh, Adi-Kriti sells everything from earrings to large necklaces and cummerbands (waistbands). Although the smaller, less expensive pieces move faster, it’s the big ones that attract more attention and help brand building.

Sen insists that this two-year time for Adi-Kriti was a pilot. This year will see the brand expanding its presence in Kolkata and it is also in talks with a fashion mall in New Delhi.

“We are also looking for a brand ambassador for Adi-Kriti and will zero in on one in the next few months,” Sen said.

The company is also looking at the rich silver jewellery traditions of Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand to expand its range.