All it takes is a single piece of jewellery to make a statement, says Queenie Singh. “You wear too much, and it kills the statement of the first piece,” she states simply. Over two decades after her Miss India title, Queenie looks as ravishing as she does pencil slim. The Mumbai-based jewellery designer was in the city on Thursday to showcase her collection, ‘Jewels by Queenie’ at the Collage boutique on Greams Road. And as it turns out, diamonds really are her best friend. But the master crafter likes to keep things interesting, by using variants of several of the same element in her creations. She picks up a multi-layer cuff piece to illustrate, “I don’t just use one type of gold,” she points to the layers. Then elaborates, “I use beaten gold, rose, black and antique gold.” The same concept is stressed as she moves forward to her favourite precious stone to work with. “These are ice diamonds,” she gestures toward a chunky embellished ring. Her own hand adorns a single solitaire. “That’s it. That’s all I need,” she smiles. “Less is more sometimes.”
This is evidentally also the case with her diet plan. When her coffee arrives at this point, the boy who brings it appears slightly perplexed when she refuses the sugar packets for a second time. “I gave up sugar while doing my Masters in Mathematics,” she says, recalling the 18-hour long study days. “ One can only imagine just how much a caffeine fix was required! “But the sugar made me hyper,” she continues, “So I simply got used to living without it.” One has to wonder, with a body sculpted as perfectly as her jewellery designs, two grown children raised and travel all over the globe – how does stay on top of it all? “Well I don’t kill myself,” she says amusedly and let’s us in on an average day in her life. “I do some yoga in the morning, get to the office by noon...In retrospect, she emphasises, “One thing I am very particular about is staying positive.”
Perhaps it was her optimism that led to her transition from one glam industry to another, in the first place. Although, her tryst with crafting jewellery officially began close to 10 years ago, Queenie reveals her interest dates back to her modelling days. “I must have been 19 at the time,” she thinks back and smiles. “I think 10 grams of gold cost Rs 3000 at the time.” She adds quickly, “Of course, being so young, I was very careful with how much I spent, it was all my own money that I made from modeling.” Her first jewel creation she recalls, was a set of four bangles, melded into one.” So it looked like a cuff and everyone wanted to know where I had got it from,” she remembers.
The rest of the story is easy to guess. But will it always be jewellery for Queenie? “Actually, I’m looking at getting into image consulting by the end of the year,” she responds. This will be along with friend and grooming expert, Rukshana Eisa. As this designer figures, it isn’t just about the look anymore. Beyond the accessorising, “it really is about feeling good that counts,” she sums up.
