Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The colours of the beautifully-cut stones shine n’shimmer in the morning light as jewellery designer Rajeev Nighojkar displays each precious gem after another. When shaped and cut to size, they are set in beautiful designs.
“People in India are still too conventional to veer away from traditional jewellery, but there are many who are awakening to more adventurous designs in the semi-precious jewellery segment,” he observes. A chemical engineer by profession, Nighojkar wound his way from Nigeria to Pune last year, after learning the ropes about stones and stone-setting. And there’s many an intriguing detail he can tell you about the coloured beauties.
Precious stones of every hue glimmer in their velvet cases – besides the emeralds, rubies and diamonds, there are the violet amethysts, blue aquamarines and sapphires, turquoise and lapis lazuli, yellow topaz and glowing amber, garnets and moonstones. And if you think that’s the end of the list, there are rare stones like the hot stone of the West, the blue-eyed tanzanite.
“In India, people know of diamonds, rubies and emeralds, and they are not entirely convinced that the other stones are genuine, or that the setting is done in 22 carat gold or sterling silver,” he says. Since duping is of a high order, Nighojkar is ready to provide a certificate signed by him after counter-checking on the authenticity of the stones from a laboratory dealing in gems, besides ensuring high quality.
Nighojkar, who has done a course in gemology, is well-versed with the technical and designing aspects of the business. His concern lies however in popularising the less-known variety of gems like peridots, amethysts, onyx, aquamarines, iolites, citrines, opals, moonstones, garnets and the tantalising tanzanite. “You will be surprised to know that in the West these are very popular, but they have all originated from India. Most of the stones have sanskrit names, which indicates that they originated in our country. But the British took them overseas, where their value is better understood today,” he says.
The designer’s collection encompasses New Age, Fusion and Antique jewellery. In his New Age jewellery, where the western influence is apparent, a tiger- eye necklace with a chunky pendant or a bracelet in silver with stone studs would appeal strongly to the with it’. An amalgamation of a western-style pendant with the Indian dori is another of Nighojkar’s interesting ideas. After visiting Jaipur and Jodhpur in Rajasthan, a fantastic source for precious stones, new concepts in design and workmanship, Antique jewellery is still the most popular.
At the Society Collection early this month, Nighojkar displayed some trendy jewellery, where a lot of people picked up trinklets for children, stones engraved in shapes of teddy bears, dolphins and dragons. Surprisingly, men’s jewellery went down well with the crowds too.
In October 16, 17 and 18, he has organised another exhibition at the Sakshi Gallery,Narangi Baug Road, where he plans to display some sparkling gems set in both conventional and unconventional designs, blended with pearls. The chokers, necklets, ear-drops and bracelets are articles worth taking a look at.
