KOCHI:Growing up, engineering graduate Nileena Babu’s world comprised of design, art and...diamonds. Her mother, Molly Babu from Thrissur was an entrepreneur who has been dabbling in the art of diamond jewellery manufacturing and retail for the past 15 years. Nileena, despite the proximity to this form, says she never thought she would end up taking up diamond designing as a profession.
Today, however, she is creating a niche of her own and is adding a sparkle to these highly priced gem stones by infusing dashes of colour, through her signature designer diamond collection which was introduced last month.
“ I have never prefered wearing traditional jewellery which is why I wanted to do something unique. My colour infused diamonds are a step in that direction. These diamonds are purchased from the North and brought to our manufacturing unit in Chalakudy. I spent time with the workers and tell them how to design the diamond jewellery based on our customer’s needs. There is both Computer Assisted Design and manual labour involved.
According to her, designer diamond jewellery is yet to catch up in Kerala, which is still to break out from the mould of traditional jewellery. “But, yes, the scenario is changing and people are willing to experiment with designer jewellery be it diamonds or other stones. But still, there is a preference in our culture to stick to the traditional,” says Nileena, who completed her designer jewellery course from Mumbai.
One of Nileena’s priorities is to spend sufficient time interacting with her customers before she ventures into designing jewellery for them. “Most of the time, the requirement of the customer cannot be captured in just a few preset questions. The attire, complexion, occasion, physique and even personality are important factors to consider while designing jewellery to ensure it enhances the wearer as well as the jewellery,” he said.
Nileena says her mother was the first person in the family to have ventured into the diamond business. “My father was into construction while my mother was a teacher. However, since my mother was interested in doing designs, my father encouraged her to start her own business. This is why she did a course in gemmology from Surat. There, she learnt about grading and quality. Then she came down to Kerala and started holding exhibitions introducing her jewellery. After she got a good clientale, she decided to start Adona Diamonds, which has showrooms in Kochi and Kozhikode.
Nileena, herself a certified jewellery designer, plans to set up a institute to teach those interested in jewellery design in the future at affordable rates.