The 6th edition of the India International Jewellery Week 2015 (IIJW) powered by GIA came to a glittering end with two Grand Finales by the Thai Gem and Jewellery Traders Association.
This year IIJW 2015 was held in Mumbai from August 3-6 2015 at Hotel Grand Hyatt. Organised by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, the event has become an annual “Must Attend” for lovers of fine jewellery, buyers, retailers and media from India and around the world.
When it comes to viewing top jewellery brands and exclusive labels IIJW 2015, was the perfect platform. For the past six years fresh talent from different jewellery institutes has also had the opportunity to showcase their creations. The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, the apex body of the Gem and Jewellery Trade in India is supported by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Government of India. IIJW 2015 was successful in promoting the skills of the Indian craftsmen and the talent of jewellery designers globally. From a manufacturing hub of jewellery the IIJW 2015 has projected India as a major designer hub since it started in 2010.
21 established brands and 32 graduates from the Indian Institute of Gems and Jewellery Mumbai, Delhi and Jaipur and the National Insitute of Design, Ahmedabad, displayed their amazing talents to an appreciative audience.
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- Sonam Kapoor and Anar Patel lighting the lamp during the inauguration
THE GRAND INAUGURATION
The grand inauguration show was by the Leading Jewellers of the World called the BETI Show, which was held in support of the girl child. The Chief Guest was Mrs Amruta Fadnavis, while the lovely saris displayed by the models were created by the “Queen of Drapes” designer/politician, Shaina NC. The jewellery collection showcased by Leading Jewellers of the World featured the collections from Gili, Nakshatra, Asmi and Nizam that thrilled the audience.
DIGNITARIES AT IIJW 2015
Indian and foreign dignitaries were seen at the IIJW 2015 event. They were Rita Teaotia, Commerce Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry Government of India, Paul Rowley, Executive Vice President, DeBeers, Mr. Atul Jogani, Vice President Thai Gem and Jewellery Traders Association, Mr. Sabyasachi Ray, Executive Director GJEPC, Ms. Nirupa Bhatt, Managing Director India and Middle, GIA
THE DUAL GRAND FINALES
As always there were the dual Grand Finales known as the “Best of the Best Show” which were the most awaited events with crowds lining the lobby of the Hotel Grand Hyatt to witness them. This time it was the wonderful Thai Gem and Jewellery Traders Association that showcased its fabulous jewellery from four brands to dazzle the audience. The jewellery was a mélange of gold, precious and coloured stones that delighted the Indian audience. There were lacy necklaces, chandleries in yellow diamonds with emeralds, clusters of coloured stones for necklaces and earrings and rows of emeralds with impressive pendants. The show shopper was super model Kanishtha Dhankar, Miss India 2011.
This grand show was followed by the “Best of the Best” one design from each of the 21 collections that were mind blowing in their creativity was selected. The show stopper was IIJW brand ambassador, Sonam Kapoor, who looked great in giant jhumkhas, Haath Phool, statement ring by Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas.
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- Kriti Sanon wearing jewllery by Sunil Jewellers
TOP BRANDS DAZZLED
With the festive and bridal seasons around the corner the top brands unleashed their most glamorous collections splashed with precious stones on gold. Sunil Jewellers, AAKS Jewels, Leading Jewellers of the World, GDK Jewellers, Surya Golds and Diosa Jewels by Darshan Dave in association with Swarovski Gemstones, Tanishq, Shobha Shringar Yoube Jewels and Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas were the stalwarts on the ramp.
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- A model posing in Moni Agarwal jewellery
THE PERSONAL LABELS
When it came to amazing personal labels, the list was headed by Preeti Jain with her “Jewels by Preeti” line, which presented the “Papillion” collection. Aum Monica Kapur the label by Monica Kapur showed the “Cupid” range while Moni Agarwal presented her “Zohrakshi” line. Varuna D Jani delighted the audience with her VOW Modular Jewellery collection, which could be assembled and dismantled. Anand Shah presented by GSI created mind-blowing jewellery, which was totally off-the-beaten track and has won him accolades in places like the Cannes Film Festival in 2011.
THE STARS OF TOMORROW
Four top jewellery designing institutes of India presented their graduates whose work proved that jewellery designing in India is on the right path, which is very innovative and totally global in content.
The Indian Institute of Gems and Jewellery, Mumbai presented Gitanjli Sahijwaala with her “Lotus Ssutra” line. Shimani Agarwal’s “Druzy Dzire” look, Tanya Ajmera’s “Feathers of Paradise”, Madhura Bhelkar’s “Honey Comb” and Karan Agarwal with the “Candere Collection” left the audience awestruck.
From the Delhi division of the Indian Insitute of Gems and Jewellery it was Cherry Sahni with the “Tassels” collection, Rahul Luthra of Ra- Abta with the “Enchantress” line, Rachna Gupta’s “Rajas” look and Anushka Singhal showed the “Felicia” line.
The Indian Institute of Gems and Jewellery, Jaipur division showcased the work of 21 designers who were extremely creative in their concepts and presented “The Glam Revival” collection inspired by the 80’s. The graduate were - Sukesh Verma, Nikita Jain, Niyati Jain, Simran Bhirud, Aditya Jangir, Akshita Chhajed, Alisha Sharma, Harsha Manchanda, Himanshu Sharma, Jhilik Das, Mohd Alzaib Khan, Priyanka Goyal, Priyanka Vashishtha, Rohit Saini, Shivani Jain, Sudhanidhi Agarwal, Swati Malu, Nidhi Chandiwal, Mansi Sharma, Payashwini Saini and Vedika Tated.
From the National Insitute of Design, Ahmedabad it was Dhruv Singh and Avantika Kumar Agarwal who made the audience sit up and look at the collections in amazement.
PARTNERS OF IIJW 2015
The IIJW 2015 sponsors and partners roster was very impressive. Powered by GIA the partner list included Jewel Trendz Knowledge Partner, DAMAC and Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas Jewellers were Lounge Partners, and co-partners were EVARA Platinum Blessings, ForeverMark, Nazraana and Gitanjali while Ultra was the Beverage partner and Bright Outdoor was the outdoor media partner.
STARS ON THE RAMP
Glamour and gems have always gone very well together and IIJW 2015 had TV and Bollywood stars on the ramp. The biggest contingent of celebs was for the Leading Jewellers of the World opening BETI Show when the following walked the ramp with their daughters to celebrate the girl child.
Adda Khan, Aishwarya Sakhuja, Claudia Ciesla, Digangana Suryavanshi, Heli Daruwala, Kiara Advani, Mandana Karim, Navina Bole, Nia Sharma, Preetika Rao, Rupal Tyagi, Sheeba, Vindya Tiwari, Anil Kapoor and two Daughters, Anu Malik with Anmol and Ada, Ila Bedi Dutta and Saher, Parvez Damania and Aviva Damania, Rishina Kandhari and Daughter, Rumi Jaffery and Alfiya, Shibani Kashyap, Shweta Khanduri and Mom, Ejiaz Khan, Urvashi and Samira Joshi, Pankti.
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- Evelyn Sharma
The other glamorous stars who stopped the show were Sophie Choudhary, Ujwalla Raut, Mansi Scott, Sushree Shreya Misra, Miss India, Kiara Advani, Kriti Sanon and Richa Chadda. The other beauties who glided down were Ileana D’Cruz, Aditi Rao Hyadri, Preity Zinta, Dia Mirza, Sania Mirza, Chitrangada Singh, Juhi Chawla, Jhatalekha Malhotra, Miss India 2014, Soha Ali Khan, Aditi Arya, Miss India World 2015, Shveta Salve, Niddhi Subbaiah, Evelyn Sharma, Konkana Bakshi and Hrishtaa Bhatt.
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- Miss India Sushree Shreya
The dashing male stars were Anuj Saxena, Karan Veer Bohra and the very stylish Madhur Bhandarkar.
FASHION MEETS GEMS AND JEWELLERY
Jewellery adds style to an outfit and both these together make a person look great. The fashion designers who created garments to highlight the collections had taken great care to add their personal touches. Manali Jagtap was the favourite of Surya Golds as well as the Leading Jewellers of the World. Amy Billimoria created the perfect formal wear for Monica Kapur, while Sumit Das Gupta’s ensembles added to the Shobha Shringar Festival of India collections. Shyamal and Bhumika’s fabulous Indian and western creations were the attraction during the “Best of the Best Show”. Digvijay Singh gave a great complement to Dhruv Singh’s jewels; while Sonia Mehra designed for GDK Jewels. Saris made a great statement when Shaina NC draped them on the models for the Jewellers of the World inauguration show and Kancheepuram Varamahalakshmi Silk Saris were the attraction of the Moni Agarwal show. Sujata and Sanjay added to the Avantika Kumar Agarwal collection; while Ishneet Ahluwalia’s creations were perfect for IIGJ Mumbai. Maushmi R Mewawala, added drama to the AAKS jewels collection and Rajiv Mehta to Diosa Jewels by Darshan Dave. Neena and Astha of Ohm created for Sunil Jewellers and SS Surya matched the creativity of Anand Shah’s jewellery.
Preeti Jain for “Jewels by Preeti” had her in-house label “Divinno” for the collection while Kommal Sood’s gowns were ideal for Yoube Jewellers. Rimple and Harpreet created magic with their creations for Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas, while Sanchit Jain of Devasaya designed for Rahul Luthra and Richa Singh’s creatiosn were ideal for Rachna Gupta
GLAMOUR ON THE RAMP
22 shows displayed the top trends for the coming season and the innovations in jewellery design. 32 top super models of India looked breath-taking on the ramp as they showcased the fabulous jewellery. The very exciting and dramatic choreography for the shows was by internationally renowned names in the business – the incomparable Lubna Adam, Anu Ahuja and Achla Sachdev. The makeup and hair styles which were the best seen on the catwalk, set fashion trends during the shows and were expertly executed by top names in the glamour world – Mehra Kolah and Kapil Bhalla.
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- Varuna D Jani
SHIMMER, SONG AND DANCE
Music and dance have always been a part of the IIJW 2015, shows so singers Kavita Seth set the pace for the Jewellers of the World show, Ashish Shah for Shobha Shringar Jewellers, Ali Quli Mirza for the JAS Jaipur show and Benny Dayal rocked during the Best of the Best Grand Finale Show. The Gloshow Events performed for Varuna D Jani while the Tango, Salsa and Flamenco dances, were added to highlight the theme of dance by Diosa Jewels from Darshan Dave in association with Swarovski Gemstones. Giving a soft touch to the show Flautist Suhas played beautifully for the Karan Agarwal collection.
