If there are many men who have worn jewelry without complex, it is the Indian maharajas. Today, a new generation of Indian jewelers are inspired by this tradition in order to offer contemporary jewelry that is aimed primarily at men. This is what we learn from this article published in the Lifestyle section of Yahoo:
“Jeweller Krishna Choudhary takes a box out of his safe. He then delicately opens the velvet case to show us an incredible sky blue sapphire of 150 carats. The stone easily covers the palm of my hand. Looking at him is like looking into a swimming pool. Unfortunately, the stone is not for sale.
“Sometimes it is our destiny to see something beautiful, but be unable to own it, ” Choudhary says in a soft voice, whose living room located in the London Borough of Mayfair. According to Hindu beliefs, simply holding a sapphire (which represents the most powerful planet in the galaxy, Saturn) can improve the karma of some people. But also have the opposite effect on those who do not have the correct astrological sign.
By attributing to gemstones healing virtues and magical powers in relation to planets and gods, Hindu cosmology has contributed to the creation of a culture that endows jewelry with properties that have many beyond mere decoration. “ Each stone begets a responsibility, as they are passed down from generation to generation. They have a meaning, ” explains Choudhary, the scion of a noble family from Jaipur. For more than a century, as jeweler to Indian royal families, the Choudharys amassed a large collection of stones and jewellery. Some are 200 or 300 years old. And many are the stones that will never be sold or recut. His father decided to preserve "their history". Recently, he allowed her to use some of these coveted stones to create her first fine jewelry collection, dubbed Santi. It was presented in a salon that has had a facelift for the occasion.
Choudhary is one of a handful of contemporary Indian jewelers who are beginning to earn the respect of their peers and collectors for their ability to fuse Eastern and Western styles. Together with Viren Bhagat and Bina Goenka, Choudhary is influencing fine jewelry just as Jacques Cartier did at the beginning of the 20th century after numerous trips to India. On the occasion of these, the jeweler was amazed by the colored stones he had discovered. Cartier had developed relationships with wealthy maharajas who regularly traveled to Paris, accompanied by coffers filled with precious stones. They placed orders with him, as well as with other prestigious French houses, to create complex men's jewelry.
The Indian aesthetic canons then influenced European houses for decades. The 1920s and 1930s are considered to be the golden age of European jewelry influenced by Indian tastes.
These men's jewels are popular among collectors. Last June, Christie's organized an auction featuring these historic Cartier pieces, titled Maharajas & Mughal Magnificence. 400 Indian jewels, the oldest of which are 500 years old, have generated sales of nearly 110 million dollars. “This sale demonstrated how jewelry is an integral part of daily life in India. They are as commonly worn as clothes," said Rahul Kadakia, Head of Jewelery at Christie's. “Indians had and still have today a love and respect for jewelry. Like nowhere else. »
There were 3 Bhagat jewels among the pieces especially for this sale. Today it is probably the most prestigious Indian brand. If today Indian jewelry is often associated with massive gold pieces, things are changing. Designers are revisiting old stylistic codes to adapt them to our times. And while men are beginning to take an interest in jewels set with precious stones, Indian jewelers have arguments to seduce them.
"Access to gemstones is excellent in India, as we have been collecting them for generations, " said Hanut Singh, who hails from a family of Maharajas. “My great-grandfather was one of the first to supply precious stones to houses such as Cartier, Boucheron and Chaumet in order to rework them.» In his family, jewelry for men is passed down from generation to generation. M Singh also regularly wears his grandfather's pink diamond men's ring.
Today, Indian jewelers are trying to seduce a new privileged class: namely the bosses and senior executives of Silicon Valley. There are customers in the San Francisco area who are interested in Indian heritage and stones with a history. "These people don't want to wear diamond men's jewelry for the saw-me," says Choudhary. “They want something that has its own style, aesthetic and story. A men's jewel that has a meaning.» The CEOs of Silicon Valley may be paid ruby on the nail, some things will remain inaccessible to them. Like this enormous family sapphire, which is priceless.