Gold’s glitter loses shine as trendy trinkets rule

The conventional tale of a glittery “yellow metal” is rapidly making room for a sleek line of hand-crafted, affordable assortment of mixed metals, imitation gems and eclectic semiprecious stones to bedeck your bodies. The fad is actively growing, so grab it with full vigour. More so when tradition walks in tandem with modernity, a pocket-friendly story of novelty evolves.

Picture yourself being a cave-woman clad in grotesque, pastoral paraphernalia. Obtained from the Mother Nature, organic jewellery is a perfect plea for the free-spirited person in you. If you desire that raw appeal, this means for you. Made out of natural stones, wood, burnt earth like terracotta, wires, rocks, jute, bamboo, rudraksh, paper mache bearing profoundly indicative signs and symbols, the items never cease to flood the present-day art fairs in voluminous bulk.

Ornaments derived from living organisms like shells of snails, molluscs, oyster-beds which produce pearls, corals under the sea, horns, claws and hooves of animals offer an ocean of options to experiment with. They nicely bop on the ears, noses, heads, necks, bellies and feet. Spot any diva on the red carpet or at the disc, in theme parties or in any fancy fashion event and you know she’d go the whole hog to explore whatever designs and materials she has at hand. Reputed brands like Chamba Lama and Adi Kriti retail jewellery of such chunky and clannish variety from their chain of outlets situated around town.

“Innovation is the key. Elements like copper, iron and rustic dokra too are intricately designed to form jewellery pieces for the wearers. Even kings and princes would once just love to flaunt such ancient stuff combined with metals and shiny minerals to brandish their blue-blooded aura. And why alone royals and aristocrats, the humble land-tilling peasants would also adorn their bodies with coins, talisman and metallic totems for both spiritual significance and fashion purpose,” shares Bengaluru-based lady entrepreneur Debika Dasgupta who runs a jewellery-boutique named Rupkawtha Ra (The Fairytales) from her residence in Sarjapur.

Dabbling in antique metal and quirky stones like agate, howlite, glass beads, lava beads, onyx, turquoise, garnet, jade, lapis lazuli, chrysocolla, ruby, ziosite, carnelian, amazonite, citrine, peridot that range from reasonable to expensive rates, Debika’s oeuvre boasts of handmade “wearable art” involving a lot of techniques and impeccable craftsmanship.

Catering to online customers through order-placements from as far as UK, US to closer home in Delhi, Mumbai, West Bengal and Bengaluru, she doles out a unique array of neckpieces, earrings, danglers, bangles, rings and nose pins besides a few good ornamented bookmarks which are a runaway winner.

Women from eight to 80 have a natural fascination for jewellery and Debika’s wide clientele base targets today’s upwardly-mobile, multitaskers. “Even the new-age brides choose a dual-tone finish of gold wash over silver surfaces for their weddings. This apart, rubies, emeralds and silver collections rule the roost,” she says. Having also worked upon unpolished stones, sourced from factory karigars (artisans) of Jaipur, this creator informs that the Pink City of Rajasthan is the hotbed of authentic jewellery stones, while China is the ideal market for the manufactured artificial ones.

Albeit costume jewellery has made a big impact on buyers’ mindspace, yet conventional gold-dealers still vouch for the unchallenged monopoly that the priceless metal still exercises. “Especially during festivities like Dhanteras, Diwali or ushering in the local Navavarsha or hosting any religious ceremony, the fixation for gold by and large continues unabated,” observes a trader from the premium Tanishq jewellery outlet at South Kolkata’s Mukti World Mall. “For the moment, we are offering discounts up to 20 per cent on both diamonds and gold on pile-purchases,” he inputs. Although the female footfall is estimated much higher, yet men may not lose hope at all. Band-rings, finger-rings, chains and bracelets can amply fill in the malefolk’s booty.

Aligned to the changing tastes and preferences of high-flying, independent dames and travel-thirsty jet-setters plus party-hoppers, costume jewellery has made a huge revolution in the ingenious jewellery sector. “The task is to be as imaginative as possible. You must push your own limits to survive in this stiffly competitive market,” opines Vasundhara Mantri, a talented young professional designer. Such bespoke jewellery is carefully designed to compliment high fashion garments, suitable for party-apparels or scintillating galas.

Synthesising Indian sensibilities with abstract European and American themes, Mantri’s pocket-friendly spoils consist of jewellery using zircons, polkis, rose quartz, amethysts as well as watches of semi-precious stones, set in silver. The palette also pours in different hues of reds, greens, blues, whites and yellows.

“Today’s social dos are visibly tailor-made, more so with an increasing participation of event-management companies. Therefore, those who attend such occasions, make sure to dress up accordingly in sync with their mood make-up. They no longer hesitate to make a bold, dramatic statement and look trendy enough to stop the traffic. This in turn boosts a fresh approach in fashion territories, no matter how niche the devoted segment appears to be,” explains the formally-trained designer.

Employing enamel and meshes of coloured stones as well as plain metals, her fancy cocktail rings are a great hit with revellers who hold individuality in their hearts. The purse considerately varies between Rs 1,500 and Rs 20,000 without a pinch of worry. The line is worth one’s money and is easy to wear and carry.

Her festive-winter collection Blurred Lines launched at Lakme Fashion Week echoes her philosophy via a mind-blowing arrangement of strong, geometric, asymmetric creations in the form of interlinked triangles, capes, floral pendants, jagged crowns, one-shoulder gold harnesses, triangular motif necklaces, hair ornaments, matching haath phools, armlets, neck-cum-belt adornment, etc.

True that pure hallmarked gold is a fine real asset to one’s locker, not only meant to enhance looks but also stashed for keepsakes or investment in family or business matters.

“We offer transparent and flexible buy-back policies which enable our clients to exchange or maybe even modify their jewels they had previously bought from our stores and upgrade their jewel-box with 100 per cent quality. This is a handy facility. But at times, they do negotiate for fake jewellery which is much in vogue, along with the real deal,” reveals Aakash Barmecha of Yoube Jewellery.