NEWSMAKERS
Jewelled opulence
MADHUMITHA SREENIVASAN
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From dabbling with her mom’s chest of jewels to making a career out of designing jewellery, Divya Bhasin has come a long way.
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It’s hard to make out the asymmetrical pieces from the regular ones as the balance and harmony are maintained.
Unique blend: Divya Bhasin’s jewellery redefines traditional designs.
Change is permanent but it has worked well for Divya A. Bhasin; a change in the attitude of people who thought that jewellery had to be a handed-down business, a change in the look that she got from ‘what-do-you-know-about-jewellery’ to a
clientele that boasts the likes of the royal families of Dubai, a change in the fashion sense of people who are now open to experimenting with their looks and jewellery alike.
It has worked out well for this Delhi-based jewellery designer but it wasn’t easy.
Growing up with three sisters gave Divya the perfect opportunity to work on her innate interest in ‘shapes and stones’.
Designing at home
“We are always dabbling with jewellery from mom’s chest of jewels. I was more aesthetically inclined than my sisters and that’s how I started out. They would say ‘we want something fun and let’s do something’; so we would sit around and design something at home. It grew into a passion and I wanted to formalise it,” she reveals nostalgically. And that she did at the Gemological Institute of America (G.I.A.) Santa Monica, the U.S. from where she also learnt bench techniques and grading of stones in jewellery designing.
Divya worked three years as an interior designer before she took up jewellery designing. In the beginning,
“I realised, for a person who didn’t come from a jewellery background, it’s tougher; am talking about 15 years ago. Now it’s different. Jewellery is not a handed-down business any more. Back then, it was very difficult for me to break into that niche market; being from a non-jewellery background to have people buy something worth even Rs. 1000 because they have to have the trust or faith in you,” recounts Divya.
Establishing a brand
It also took Divya years to establish the ‘Divya Bhasin’ brand, a unique blend of the traditional and the modern with a twist. That twist could be the use of fabrics, stones, corals, ancient Greek fossils and sea shells along with the classic kundan pieces or the use of asymmetrical designs that are the highlight in her collection this season.
It’s hard to make out the asymmetrical pieces from the regular ones as the balance and harmony are maintained, she says, as she points to a pair of danglers with an oval stone on one and a tear-shaped one on the other. Claim justified.
You also spot a lot of pearls adorning many of her designs reflecting opulence. “Pearls are very classical and universal. It doesn’t limit you. With this festive season, the colours and clothes are going to be so highly embellished that pearls will just help tone it down; they don’t get lost. And my main pieces are colourful so I like to string it in pearls in a very understated stringing, so that the main focus is on the piece. That’s why you’ll see a lot of pearls in this collection,” explains Divya.
Except for the heavier pieces like the eye-catching pink set encrusted with layers of uncut diamonds, most of the others can be carried off with any outfit be it — Indian, western or Indo-western and are suitable for any occasion depending on how creative you can get with the mix and match of the pieces with the clothes.
In fact, in her last show in New York Divya’s jewellery had only American takers. “It’s a very fusion line,” is how Divya defines her collection this season. “But for jewellery to be seasonal is very tough because it is after all a lot of money,” she rightly points out.
Divya’s pieces are the result of a lot of influences; a bit of the world trend infused with her creativity and our heritage. Also, “I learn from my clients and that’s the reason I am personally here for every show of mine. I feel it’s very necessary to get personal feedback from every one because when I am designing for every city I have people in mind. I know out of three pieces she is definitely going to pick up these.”
Affordability
One of the feedbacks that she has tried to work on is the affordability factor by stringing the main gold pieces in silver. This ‘affordability’ factor, she agrees, is one of the reasons why designer jewellery like hers is not popular with the masses.
“People are a little scared about how to wear it. Once they see you wearing it then they get the confidence. So I always insist on wearing my jewellery.”
Soon, she plans into setting foot into the not-as-much-exploited men’s jewellery market. And by ‘soon’ she means as early as next Valentine’s Day by when she hopes to be ready with the line that will include jewelled buttons and cufflinks.
Divya travels regularly within the country and abroad to display her creations to an eager bunch of loyalists and first-timers.
“I enjoy this very much. Getting a store will kill the passion because right now it’s all about creating, selling and the joy of seeing people come for shows. Otherwise it becomes like a business. Well, this is a business but I think the passion will get killed somewhere…” she reflects.
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