BANGALORE: Having founds its way into the hands of several key figures like the Queen of Bhutan, The President of Israel, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Angelina Jolie and other leading ladies, Jaipur-based Amrapali Jewels have come a really long way.
In the 1970s, two history students Rajesh Ajmera and Rajiv Arora travelled extensively to the remotest interiors of India in search of magnificent pieces of jewellery which truly captured the beauty of our culture and ancient designs.
Fearing that these rare designs might become extinct with the passage of time they ended up visiting places where jewellery was melted.
They tried to lay their hands on some of these exquisite pieces of ancient tribal jewellery with an intention of replicating them which also was testimony to our rich culture and our love for gold, precious gems and stones.
In 1978, Amrapali was founded, which today has found itself among the most renowned luxury jewellery brands.
Their collections are majestically infused with the finest in Indian culture, yet of the moment and modern which has time and again attracted royalty, tycoons, industrialists and celebrities across the globe.
City Express caught up with the Director of Amrapali Jewels, Anil Ajmera who was in the city recently to attend the Best of India Jewelry Show (BJIS).
He is the backbone of Amrapali's design team and has been a very key part of Amrapali's success story.
He provided us valuable insight to what the brand's considers its most valued USP - its design.
He patiently took us through every design of theirs and jokingly remarked, "If I were to take you through every piece and tell the history behind them, it will take me not less than a day." And we couldn't agree more because every piece has a story to tell.
From the gold necklace engraved with meenakari (gemstone enamelled with gold) to the intricate jaali collection, it was a fusion of old world Victorian style with the modern designs which were elegant and highly wearable.
The necklace which immediately caught our attention was the one with multiple stones including coral, acquamarines, sapphire, tanzanites in uneven pattern.
Anil Ajmera said, "We have three factories in Jaipur of which one is devoted entirely to exports.
We have over 1200 experienced craftsmen in our workshops where extreme care is devoted to each piece, right from the initial design stage." He added, "other than keeping our tradition alive we encourage new designs as we recruit a lot of young people in our design team." When asked about changes in the jewellery market, he said, "Things are changing.
The South Indian market used to be very conservative initially.
But today, they are ready to experiment thanks to their increasing exposure to movies and other forms of media." He proudly points to the brochure adorning the picture of Halle Berry wearing an earring from the Rajasthan inspired jaali collection and many other Hollywood beauties flaunting his designs.
Their designs takes inspiration from the remotest parts of the world, which one might have been apprehensive to put on the market at first, but today, has turned around the way in which the world sees Amrapali Jewels.