Twelve of our industry’s outstanding and innovative jewellery designers were honoured at India’s most coveted jewellery design awards – ‘The Artisan Jewellery Design Awards 2014’ which concluded on Friday, 20th February at the Grand Hyatt, Mumbai. Organised by the apex body of the Gem & Jewellery Industry in India – Gem Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). 

Indian jeweller, Viren Bhagat received the award for ‘Most Accomplished Artisan of Our Time’

The Artisan Awards provided a platform to jewellery designers to push their creativity and design aesthetics to showcase world-class jewellery. In addition to the 12 Artisan Awards winners, industry veterans were also recognized such as noted Indian jeweller, Viren Bhagat received the award for ‘Most Accomplished Artisan of Our Time.’ Moreover, renowned jeweller, Suhani Pittie received the ‘Emerging Jewellery Designer of the Year’ and leading Indian jeweller Ganjam was awarded the ‘Most Accomplished Retailer in Design Excellence.’ 

Indian actress, model, VJ and television presenter Malaika Arora Khan

The glitterati event was hosted by the stunning Indian actress, model, VJ and television presenter – Malaika Arora Khan and also saw Bollywood style icon and GJEPC’s brand ambassador – Ms. Sonam Kapoor felicitating the winners with the awards. The Chief Guest of the evening was eminent Social Worker Ms. Shaina NC along with the Guest of Honour – Mr. B P Pandey, IAS, Addl, Secretary & Financial Adviser, Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

Commenting on the occasion, Vipul Shah, Chairman, GJEPC, said, “Artisan awards is a culmination of designs, creativity, jewellery and glamour to showcase a fitting tribute to Indian cinema. It is recognition of excellence in the gem and jewellery sector industry and sets a benchmark for the industry in terms of its overall performance. I extend my congratulations to all the award winners for their salutary performance and hope they propel the jewellery industry to even greater heights in the years to come.” 

Brand ambassador Sonam Kapoor commented, “Being a self-confessed film buff and having a penchant for jewellery it was a treat to see intricate designs as part of wearable jewellery. From the exquisite detailing of the jewellery designs, you can tell that the candidates have put their heart and soul into showcasing pieces that are representative of Bollywood films through various eras. My heartiest congratulations to all the award winners who I know will raise the bar of the industry even higher.” 

The awards function which is to be televised on a leading lifestyle channel left no stone unturned in ensuring that the evening was a cinematic extravagance with exquisitely designed jewellery pieces capturing the essence of Bollywood. Guests were privy to an evening of entertainment with musical performances by The Bartender- which belted out renditions of Bollywood songs from each era. 

The Artisan Jewellery Design Awards 2014 celebrates the magic of Indian Cinema through four iconic eras – Monochromatic Magic (black and white era),Golden Glory (golden era), Colourama (masala films era) & The Avant Garde (the era of global reach).

With ‘100 years of Indian cinema’ as the inspiration behind the creations, the evening celebrated winners from the iconic eras – Monochromatic Magic (black and white era), Golden Glory (golden era), Colorama (masala films era) and AvantGarde (global era). 

Indian Cinema, more popularly referred to as ‘Bollywood’, is one of the pervading symbols of Indian life and culture. Perhaps no one institution has so much influence on how we think, dress and act.

As a multitude of talented designers converge under the realms of this contest, let Indian cinema come alive through exquisitely designed pieces of jewellery. Let there be drama, romance, history, song and dance. Let gemstones, diamonds and precious metals all come together to sing a rhapsody that’s a fitting tribute to Indian Cinema.
The 12 winners (3 from each of the 4 categories) were shortlisted by popular names in the fashion and lifestyle industry:

          Art Historian-Usha Balakrishnan          Editor-Vogue India-Priya Tanna 
          Socialite- Pinky Reddy                              Fashion Designer- Sabyasachi Mukherjee 
                               Gemologist & jewellery designer – Farah Khan Ali

MONOCHROMATIC MAGIC

WINNER:  Swati Kadam  completed a three year Diploma Course in Jewellery Designing and Manufacturing Technology from IIGJ in 2009 and since 2012, she has been associated with K.P.Sanghvi Intl as an Assistant Merchandiser, enabling her to interact with customers on design discussions, new product developments and business development.

1st RUNNER UP:  Astha Gupta has a degree in Mass Communication. She is currently pursuing a Jewellery Manufacturing Course from the Indian Institute of Gems & Jewellery, Delhi. She is working towards establishing an individual and unconventional jewellery line along with a specialisation in handcrafted jewellery using different materials.

2nd RUNNER UP:  Soni Amin is a jewellery designer with excellent design skills, strong technical understanding and a sound fashion sense. All of which stands her in good stead as she creates innovative and cost-effective jewellery designs. She has a broad range of experience working with design, production, costing and technical departments.

GOLDEN GLORY

WINNER:  Meghana Bag graduated in jewellery designing and manufacturing from S.N.D.T in the year 2007 winning the title ‘Best Designed Collection’ for her final graduation project. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Sociology.She has worked with companies like B.N Jewellers and Kiah Diamonds in the fields of designing, manufacturing, brand & retail merchandising. She is currently employed with Laxmi Diamonds heading their Design team along with Retail Merchandising.

1st RUNNER UP:  With a flare for design and creativity, Natasha Adnani entered the world of fashion by working at L’Officiel India as a fashion assistant. She went on to pursue her interest in designing by obtaining a formal education in Jewellery Design, Manufacturing and Gemology at the GIA headquarters, California. On returning, she joined her father who specialises in retail custom jewellery. She aspires to start her own line of jewellery that appeals to the independent, ambitious, bon vivant woman of today.

2nd RUNNER UP:  Kosha Shah is a head designer at Shilpi Jewellers. She has been associated with the jewellery industry for over 7 years and is still learning new aspects of design every day. Her transition into jewellery design started with diamond jewellery and then gradually progressed into creating high-end antique jewellery.

COLOURAMA

WINNER:  Subhankar Bhowmick is a jewellery designer by profession. Nature strongly inspires him. He hopes to explore various aspects of his creativity through his designs.

1st RUNNER UP:  Queeta Rawat studied jewellery design in Italy. She has been with Tanishq for more than 9 years now. She believes in ‘less is more’ and her forte lies in the seamless amalgamation of the old with the new. ‘Jodha Akbar’ by Tanishq, was partly handled by her in terms of design and manufacturing.

WINNER:  Shrutika Pratankar works with ‘Fab Jewels India Pvt. Ltd’. With an experience of 10+ years in the design domain she has involved herself in various stages of the product life cycle. She holds a Diploma in Jewellery Designing and Manufacturing from SNDT Juhu, Mumbai. She was the first runner up in the ‘Nakshtra Diamond Design Competition’ and also one of the finalists in the ‘World Gold Council Competition’ in the top 20 contestants.

1st RUNNER UP:  Himani,Harish a fashion and lifestyle accessory designer, is a graduate from the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Gandhinagar. Her specialisation is in Jewellery Design. She won the ‘Retail Jeweller Award 2007’ for “Student Jewellery Designer of the Year’. Post her graduation project with Tata-Tanishq she was awarded the title of ‘The Most Commercially Viable Design Collection 2009’ from the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT).She completed her post-graduation from the National Institute of Design (NID) where she did her Masters in Market Research. She has a good understanding of national and international design trends and how they can be transformed to suit Indian customers. She is among the top 13 finalists of the ‘Future Designers’ category for emerging designers. This was set up by trend forecasting service WGSN, as part of their ‘Global Fashion Awards, 2013’ given out at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum.

2nd RUNNER UP:  Zohara Moorthy is a bespoke jewellery and accessory designer based in Mumbai, India. She graduated from the National Institute of Design in Product Design. After which, she obtained a Diploma in Gemology and Diamond Grading from the Gemological Institute of India and a Masters in Fashion Accessory from Istituto Marangoni in Milan. She has worked with exclusive jewellery brands like Swarovski, Pranda, Surana and Sahara Global Design Studio. Her international exposure has come through projects with Hugo Boss, Ermenegildo Zegna, and many more, while she was in Milan.

The winners have the opportunity to intern with the prestigious international jewellery houses – Roberto Coin and Swarovski. In addition their winning designs will receive recognition with a fully paid trip to visit the Basel Jewellery and Watch Fair 2015 where their designs will be on display in the India Palace Pavilion along with a handsome cash prize. 

To make the Indian jewellery design dream possible, Artisan Awards has partnered with RBS, Gemfields, Forevermark, Platinum Guild India, Grand Hyatt and Vogue.  The Candidates who topped each of the 4 categories from the 12 winners announced, were: 

                       Swati Kadam,                                  Meghna Bag, 

                       Subhankar Bhowmick                  ….and Shrutika Patankar. 

About GJEPC 
The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council is an all – India apex body for Gem & Jewellery representing 5300 members. Set up in 1966, it operates under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India. More info on: www.gjepc.org