Bling it on

Four style gurus have decided to expand their repertoire and conquer another bastion of design - jewellery. The author checks out their creations

Size up with the occasion

Shimmer has been a constant in Indian fashion. And if it's gold lending that shimmer, what more can one ask for? Celebrating this power of gold, Tarun Tahiliani has done a jewellery line for the World Gold Council with chains and stacked necklaces made of 22-carat gold. "I travelled across the country, understanding the various embroideries and, in the process, I discovered that jewellery craftsmanship also changes with each region," says Tahiliani. "If jaali work is Kolkata's forte, texturing is Rajkot and Junagadh's mainstay, which I found fascinating and wanted to incorporate in my designs."

 

Tahiliani believes that gold looks "stunning" on the Indian skin tone and that if he adds pearls to it, the chokers stand out even more. "I did satladas (seven tiers), which go with the Hindu philosophy of seven vows." His stacked gold necklace, which can be adjusted to your liking by adding or removing the layers, to make it big or small. "It is like a choker, so it gives you drama just at the neck," he says. You can take it up or down, add coordinates like bajuband and freshwater pearl earrings that pair well not just with a lehenga but also with a beautiful black dress.

Price: Line starts from Rs 1 lakh

Diamonds with a rose blush

In the early 1990s, while designing costumes for movies, Manish Malhotra would often source jewellery and then add his touch to it, at times livening it up with pearls for actresses like Karisma Kapoor. The designer with a keen eye for jewellery, in fact, came close to launching his own jewellery line 10 years ago when he was working with Sheetal Design Studio, but the project didn't take off. He has since dabbled in jewellery off and on. For India Couture Week 2013, he designed a three-tier set made of polkis and crafted in Bikaner for Deepika Padukone.

His latest offering is a Forevermark creation - a pair of 'chandelier earrings' conceptualised by him and executed by Ishu Datwani of Anmol Jewellers. The earrings, in pink gold, have 100-carat diamonds, says Malhotra, and are part of Forevermark's 'promise' campaign [which guarantees that the diamonds used are rare and responsibly sourced]. For this, Malhotra drew inspiration from the 1930s and 1940s to create a piece of jewellery that recounts the story of India's love for opulence. The earrings will be available at Anmol Jewellers stores in Mumbai.

Price: On request

Desert beauty

Anita Dongre might be excited about her new store at DLF Emporio in Delhi where she will be exhibiting her bridal line, but the queen of prêt is not the one to shy away from shiny baubles either. Two years ago, she tied up with Pradeep Jethani of Jet Gems to offer a line based on Rajasthan's raw desert beauty in a label aptly titled 'Pink City'. "I could only imagine jadau jewellery made in Jaipur by Jethani with my bridal gotta-patti lehengas," she says. She ensured authenticity through the flamingo motif hand-painted behind each dexterous piece vetted by at least seven craftsmen. Dongre offers both heavy and light pieces - chokers, earrings, rings and bracelets with polkis, rubies, pearls and diamonds set in gold. "When I started designing jewellery, I had to learn its intricate technicalities. What you sketch might be difficult to execute," she says.

Price: Rs 50,000 for gold cuff links for men and Rs 2 lakh for buttons. Women's jewellery starts at Rs 59,000

In sync with time

As a designer who has always celebrated European sensibility, perhaps due to his unpretentious learning from Yves Saint Laurent, Suneet Varma is ready with a line of jewellery for the World Gold Council. "I am not looking at making traditional stuff, so there will be cummerbands, hair pins and hair bands," says Varma. "My work with (luxury handbags' designer) Judith Leiber will help here. I had worked with metal there, so I know exactly how to manipulate shapes." Varma is not new to the art of making accessories. For his first show in 1991, where Sandro Botticelli's 'Birth of Venus' was his inspiration, he had worked with beaten metal to make brass plates go with draped saris. "I know how clasps work and how to intermix various components to create a piece that will speak to you with its magnificent form," he says.

Varma's jewellery line will be unveiled by the end of this month