Pallavi Dudeja Foley recently won an award at the 10th Saul Bell Design in Las Vegas for one of her pieces (above)

It was a life-changing experience for Tara Jhaveri. She had never nursed ambitions of becoming a jewellery designer or getting into her father’s diamond trading business until one day when she found a box of semi-precious stones in his office and began playing around with them and turning them into desirable creations. She was in university then and there was no looking back after that.

Now she has a flagship store called Tara J in Mumbai and her repertoire includes statement pieces like rings, necklaces, earrings and cuffs. She says, “My jewellery is traditional in essence but contemporary in form.” Her prices start upwards of Rs 40,000, and while her Eternity line is more to do with classic designs, her TJ Range is contemporary.

Cut to Delhi-based designer Payal Gupta, who works out of her design studio in Delhi called Paayal. Her brand offers opulent pieces of jewellery like bold neckpieces, earrings, and rings. She says, “Understated pieces are not my forte as clients prefer opulence.”

Also, unusually, she makes lots of unisex jewellery. She says: “The kalgi (turban jewellery) that a groom wears on the wedding night can later be worn by the bride as a sari brooch.”

Tara Jhaveri says her jewellery is traditional in essence but contemporary in form Pix: Gajanan Dudhalkar

There’s also Bangalore-based Pallavi Dudeja Foley who quit Tanishq as the design head last year to set up her own design studio. “I felt that the time was right to carve my identity as a designer,” she says. Foley recently won the second prize at the 10th Saul Bell Design in Las Vegas last year in the ‘beads’ category. “I designed a necklace that played with the concept of 3D space. Apart from beads which are given triangular shapes, I used pink tourmalines and amethyst in this piece,” she explains.

Jhaveri, Gupta and Foley are part of a growing tribe of jewellery designers who are creating bold and unusual lines. These designers are not only using precious metals like gold and silver and stones like emerald and rubies they’re also taking on unusual materials like wood, acrylic and beads. “There has to be a sense of quirkiness but with aesthetic value,” says Foley.

Manali Bothra of Nayaab Jewels agrees: “These days clients want new and in-your-face pieces. Also today’s designers are clued in to the latest techniques. So their lines catch the attention of the fashionistas.”

There’s also Mumbai-based Khyati Dani, who along with her husband, Tarun Jethanandani (a diamond grader), has set up Eekani Jewels. Her forte lies in “making affordable fine jewellery”. She says: “I choose diamonds and coloured stones to fit a client’s budget.”

Khyati Dani’s forte is making affordable fine jewellery (above) for which she chooses the precious stones according to her client’s budget Pix: Gajanan Dudhalkar

Her recent collection Kanhai, which includes bangles, neckpieces and earrings, has been inspired by the crown jewels of Lord Krishna. “The colours are bright like the colours of Krishna’s peacock feather.’’ The line uses precious and semi-precious stones like diamonds, emeralds, citrines, azures and amethysts and is priced upwards of Rs 20,000.

Young designers are also experimenting with fashion jewellery. For instance, creations by Calcutta-based designer Vasundhara Mantri, 29, has been flying off the shelves at her studio The Enclave ever since Priyanka Chopra wore her earrings in her films, Don and Fashion.

Her latest range, Bespoke Bonito, includes creations in semi-precious stones. She says: “I give a midway option to my clients who don’t want to splurge on couture jewellery and at the same time want something funky and fashionable.” She mainly works with silver and sets it with semi-precious stones like turquoise, lapis lazuli, rose quartz and amethysts. Her prices start at Rs 5,000.

On the other hand, 23-year-old Nitya Arora’s label, Valliyan, offers chunky neckpieces, cuffs and earrings. The Mumbai-based designer came into the limelight recently when one of her neckpieces was worn by actress Sonam Kapoor in her film Aisha. Arora works magic with seemingly ordinary materials like metals and chains. She says: “I love to visit hardware shops looking for steel chains and screws.” Her collection is priced between Rs 2,000 and Rs 20,000.

Vasundhara Mantri’s (right) speciality is using silver with a rhodium finish Pix: Pabitra Das

What’s striking is that most of them design concept-driven jewellery. Says Foley: “Jewellery is not just a means of adornment. It’s become truly sculptural. Each of my pieces tells a story.” The most challenging piece she created was a necklace called Frost that won the Tahitian Pearl Trophy, an international design award, in 2005 in Mumbai. “It was hand-crafted. I used 12mm black Tahitian pearls and depicted frost with diamonds set in white gold in a pave setting (in which multiple stones are set close together). It took three months to finish. The piece also has a tinge of textured yellow gold,” she says. Currently, she’s putting final touches to her line of jewellery inspired by wild orchids and flamingos.

Then there’s Jhaveri’s bird-cage ring. She designed the ‘cage’ out of 18-carat gold and diamonds and set it with stones like topaz and Colombian emeralds.

All of these designers are armed with strong qualifications. Gupta studied at Bentley College, Boston, and then completed the Gem Identification course from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) while Mantri enrolled for a three-month course at GIA. Arora too studied fashion at Parsons University in New York. Dani, an MBA, joined the jewellery business after her marriage while Foley graduated as an accessory designer from NIFT, Delhi in 2000.

Multi-functional jewellery is also in. Gupta is working on a line of detachable earrings that can be shortened or lengthened to match the outfit. “Also I am working on a line of bracelets set with South Sea pearls and African rubies which you can also wear as chokers,” she says.

Nitya Arora fashions glamorous pieces out of seemingly ordinary materials like metals and chains Pix: Gajanan Dudhalkar

And what are the hottest materials they like working with? Irrespective of the rising prices of gold, designers still favour the yellow metal. Jhaveri’s other favourites include smoky and lemon topaz and Burmese rubies. Mantri loves using silver with a rhodium finish while Arora uses beaten copper, brass, wood and leather and Gupta has a soft spot for baroque pearls (pearls with irregular shapes), South Sea pearls and African rubies. Foley also loves to mix different materials like crystals and acrylic set in sterling silver.

Experimentation is the name of the game and these designers are aware of one thing: in this competitive industry they all have to work hard and innovate regularly. Says ace designer Poonam Soni: “Many of them are working with newer techniques and also giving a spin to older techniques.”

Payal Gupta (below) creates unisex pieces like turban jewellery that can be also worn as sari brooches Pix: Jagan Negi

Some of the significant newer techniques include using laser-cutting which is a process to cut precious metals like gold, silver and platinum using the laser. Says Jhaveri: “As designers we have to resort to laser-cutting which involves cutting of thin metal to precise accuracy.” Then, there’s 3D which is another new technique. Foley is using this technique extensively in her latest collection of neckpieces inspired by the orchid. “I am using flat sheets of silver to give an outline of the orchid and with the help of 3D I am using a layering technique for the leaves,” she says.

Also, older techniques are being mixed with newer ones to bring out the freshness of a piece. “For instance, pink enamelling, which had virtually disappeared in the ’90s, is being revived by many designers,” says Bothra.

This technique (popular in Varanasi) is characterised by pink strokes on white enamel unlike the vibrant enamelling of Jaipur in reds, greens and blues. The motifs are inspired from lotus blooms and buds. Foley is also reviving this art form in her collection.

Texturisation of gold is also all the rage — the technique brings out new textures to demonstrate the versatility of the metal. Jhaveri’s Eternity earrings and neckpieces come in beaten gold. Different polishes on gold — white, bronze, black — as well as a blaze of textures such as scratch finish, the beaten raw look and mesh wiring feature in Gupta and Foley’s lines as well. Mantri’s Gold Bubble line too has the gold beaten look attained by using textured silver plates in rhodium polish.

Almost all the designers have ambitious plans to woo clients. So, Arora who’s currently retailing from Ensemble plans to open her own store soon and Mantri who supplies to Ogaan, Aza and Aquamarine has set her eyes on opening stores in Delhi and Mumbai. Meanwhile, Dani is looking mainly at exports to the Gulf and Australia.

So, what’s the future for these designers? Poonam Soni has a word of caution: “I feel that they should first develop their individual identity. The challenge is to develop their own style and only then will they be able to stay ahead in this competitive industry.”