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Bejewelled!
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Meet a third-generation jeweller who has walked away with the best design prize at the De Beers India International Jewellery Show
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Inspired by the image of an erupting volcano, Sunil Revankar's design used 30 diamonds and 80 gm gold. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
FROM DRAWING landscapes in childhood to making sketches of what will adorn a lucky woman's neck, Sunil Revankar has done much growing up. A third-generation jeweller, Sunil's broken the typical link where father trains son in their own home-forge in the shop's backroom, to study fine art, jewellery design, and freelance for big jewellers in the city. Sunil isn't a rebel, though. He's designed jewellery for his father's store in Hanumanthnagar and is planning an exhibition of his own designs in a few months.
Volcano as inspiration
Not bad at all for a 25-year-old, who's impressed the industry with his award-winning creation at the De Beers India International Jewellery Show. Inspired by the image of an erupting volcano, Sunil designed a neckpiece using 30 diamonds and 80 grams of gold.
A huge crystal filled with diamonds forms the pendant in this necklace. "This represents the Earth from which the volcano erupts and the lava flows out," explains Sunil, showing pictures of his creation that is now on tour all over India. The volcanic flow is crafted in 18-karat gold and flows round the neck. The crystallised lava is represented by tiny glistening diamonds that pepper the gold flow. He's christened his creation the Eternal Star. A diamond, he insists, like most lovers of the sparkling stone, is forever. And so the title.
Sunil's design was one of the final 10 that made it past 500 other competitors who participated in this international diamond jewellery exhibition. The young enthusiast is studying for his Bachelors in Fine Arts at the renowned Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath and also teaches jewellery manufacturing at the Vogue Institute of Fashion Technology. "I learnt jewellery designing at the same institute. But manufacturing is something I've learnt in the family business. I teach my students the basics, like how they can make different kinds of chains and so on," says the teacher-cum-student.
Quite a multi-tasker, Sunil has also been designing jewellery as a freelancer for Sri Krishna Diamonds and Jewellery, the sponsors for his award-winning neckpiece. With the yellow metal running in his blood, Sunil took a natural interest in his father's business and got several ideas even as a young kid. "When I finished Plus Two, my parents were keen that I get a degree. But I had always been interested in drawing. So I convinced them that I needed to do my fine arts course."
He carries with him a grey, boring-looking file that has in it painstakingly laboured sketches and with painted inlay work of his vision of jewellery. Each takes hours together to bring to a good finish. Some contemporary, some traditional, he's even got one where he and his father designed one together. "I added some new layers and drops to this necklace he had created," he points out. His father's store has taken his designs to the customer, implementing them with as much details.
Exhibition
Sunil's eyes and heart are set on an exhibition he's planning of his own creations in diamonds in combi with other precious stones. "Generally people use diamonds alone with gold. I'm trying to bring out a collection with combinations of diamonds with emeralds, rubies and other precious stones," says Sunil. Though his family has been in the business for the last 50 years at least, he says the jewellery manufacturing process still remains the good old traditional one.
How to keep those flashes in your diamonds
Diamonds should be chosen with the four Cs in mind — colour, carat, clarity and cut — the diamond should be spotless, proportionate, and symmetrical.
Diamonds tend to accumulate dirt very fast, especially grease and oil. But it can be removed by simply immersing in warm soap solution.
Ensure that the prongs that hold the diamond are intact, or it may fall off.
Problems arise when diamonds come in contact with other stones. So don't clump them; lay out the piece in a box or keep wrapped in satin, cloth, or cotton wool.
Diamond is not the toughest of stones, so it can break or crack. Preferably, don't wear it while doing rough domestic work like cleaning and washing, as it can get abraded or grazed if it constantly hits or scrapes against something.
Diamond should not be exposed to high temperatures as it can get damaged.
If you have sent jewellery for routine repairs such as polishing, cleaning or resetting, specific instructions should be given to the jeweller to take care or it can get damaged during the process.
If you keep a diamond clean, it will shine for itself.
BHUMIKA K.
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