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Photo:H.Vibhu

Talking diamonds Seema Mehta, who is passionate about jewellery designing

Wearing jewellery that she has designed, Seema makes a stunning picture, she might as well be a model. And when she begins talking, you realise that she knows her solitaires from her diamonds. She feels passionately about her work, the whole business of designing and making jewellery.

Seema learned jewellery designing at the Academy of Art College, San Francisco. “It was seven years of hard work,” she smiles, all her diamonds shimmering. That jewellery is not just a hobby for her is evident when she talks about the new design studio. Seema heads the production and design department of the company’s factory in Coimbatore. She has been actively involved in the business for the last two years. Although she has learnt designing, it was on the job that she learnt most of her work.

“The whole idea of setting up the ‘Lounge’ or the design studio was to make us more accessible to people. Be it the designs, or the budget, we want it to be available for those who want to design their own jewellery,” says Seema. At the brightly done up lounge, in warm tones of red and ochre, clients and designers can interface. There is a small library to help customers (who are not too sure) get a clear picture to help them decide what they want. The launch of the ‘Lounge’ coincided with the launch of three collections – ‘Sirius’ (a line of solitaire jewellery), a line of ‘mesh’ jewellery, and ‘Fine Jewellery’ – a line of fashionably elaborate jewellery. Besides these, the store has also showcased the sketches of jewellery designs by the late Ambaji Shinde (A. V. Shinde). He designed jewellery for Kirtilal’s. Ambaji Shinde used to work for New York based jewellers Harry Winston. His designs have been worn by the who’s who of the world.

Speaking animatedly about her work, Seema says, “Another factor for setting up the Lounge was keeping in mind today’s woman. This woman knows her mind and has a clear idea of what she wants, and exclusivity – be it clothes or jewellery – she demands it. So when a woman steps in here, and orders or designs a piece, she can be sure that nobody else will have a similar piece.” In fact, the store will give a certificate of authenticity and assure you that the piece would not be replicated. The whole idea behind the design studio was her’s and her design team’s. The look created in the Lounge will be different from what is available in the rest of the store. Using sophisticated software such as AutoCAD combined with three-dimensional animation, the designer can help the client with better visualisation of her/his designs.

Seema’s eyes light up when she talks of the latest thing she is up to, “We are going to come with a line (of design your jewellery) for kids. It is a collection of 12 pendants, for instance, there is a heart-shaped one, a moon, a star, a bunch of grapes. It comes with an interactive catalogue – with each design there is a painting to correspond with it, and in the end there are a couple of pages for the kids to create their own designs.”

Seema has painted a couple of paintings for the catalogue, drawing on her experience with the easel and canvas. Before she got involved in designing, she used to paint and even had her own gallery. And besides work, what else? “Lots of travelling because we have to keep in touch with what is happening in the latest in the jewellery business in the world.” Then there is Kathak, her other love. “I learnt Kathak for seven years while in the US under Pandit Chitresh Das. In fact that is the other thing, I am involved in. I feel passionately about dance,” she says as she rushes off to attend another set of clients who have come to the design studio.

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