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What's your style quotient?

Antique jewellery with a contemporary twist is all the rage now

PHOTO: P.V. SIVAKUMAR

OLD IS GOLD Women love the timeless Indian temple jewellery.

Most working women swear by lightweight jewellery. Leading jewellers, gauging the changing lifestyle, were quick to stock up on lightweight pieces in contemporary designs that wouldn't look out of place in corporate boardrooms. But this didn't signal the end of chunky jewellery. Though jewellery that was traditional and heavy uncool for a while, young women found the lure of the yellow metal tough to resist. They succumbed, and reinstated traditional jewellery for those occasions where they had to make a huge impression.

Old wine in a new bottle

Big was certainly better, but with a contemporary twist. Jewellers, resourceful as they are, found a way to cash in on the trend. "The trends in jewellery resonate with the personality of women. Women today are comfortable wearing contemporary pieces for work and are in touch with their traditional self while attending a sangeet or a wedding. The shift is noticeable though; garish, in-your-face pieces are shunned. Antique jewels that have muted shades in varied palettes — mature shades like deep maroons, pinks and greens — are favoured," explains Sharath Sharma, Design Co-ordinator, Tanishq. Their collection, Colours of Royalty, draws liberally from the Victorian era. The inspiration doesn't stop at Victorian jewellery but extends to the essence of Victorian lifestyles — from architecture to fashion.

At the other end of the spectrum are women who love the timeless Indian temple jewellery. "While young women preferred contemporary jewellery, they also kept enquiring about temple jewellery. This prompted us to think of designing antique pieces with some contemporary elements," says Gunasekhar, General Manager of Kirtilal Kalidas. Their antique collection draws inspiration from Indian jewellery of yore. "There is enough literature on temple jewellery of 19th and early 20th Centuries in India. Most of those collections can be replicated with some changes. Intentionally we make a few changes, like replacing light coloured stones with the deeper ones. Many still prefer deeper shades of rubies and emeralds to light shades of blue and pink stones," he adds.

All things antique don't come with frightening price tags. Shops in the city have antique jewellery pieces that begin at Rs. 3,000 and go up to a few lakh rupees. For those who want to test the waters by shelling out a moderate sum, there are pearl sets with an antique touch. Pearl necklaces come with pendants that have semi precious stones in muted shades embedded in oxidised silver.

What is it that makes people who quarrel over the price of beans and capsicum loosen the purse strings when it comes to jewellery? Simple. It's the fact that Victorian jewellery or ancient Indian jewellery can complement any ethnic outfit and make a strong style statement.

SANGEETHA DEVI K.

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