December 2006
Diamonds outshine gold
New Delhi:
Cut and polished diamonds have taken precedence over the
traditional first choice for gold among the sellers and connoisseurs
of jewellery and ornaments. This was evident at the four-day
exhibition that opened here on Friday. Akshay, a diamond and
gems exporter said: "Gold has been dominating for centuries,
but people in almost entire upper class want some touch of
diamond in the jewellery. They do not want only gold jewellery.
For wedding they do need a diamond set, they do need an engagement
ring, a solitaire, an ear stud. These are the things that
are coming to India in a big way". People have been flocking
to the exposition 'Timeless Jewels 2006' at the Taj Palace
Hotel despite the chill in the air. With the wedding season
in full swing and the festive season of X'mas and New Year
in the offing, people have reason to do a double take at the
gorgeous diamonds. Pooja Jain, a diamond seller who holds
a display counter at the exhibition said the preference for
diamonds is not just an upper- economic class phenomenon,
but percolates to the middle classes too. About 90 percent
of diamond manufacturing -- cutting and polishing of rough
stones -- has moved to India for its labour costs up to six
times cheaper as well as for the artistry. "Most of the polishing
is done in India . Even if the mines are there in Belgium
and other places, a raw diamond is polished and given a finished
look here in India . Definitely, it goes abroad but there
they (only) certify it and the price goes up. CGIA in America
and HRD Belgium; they certify the pieces and then the piece
becomes certified in the sense that - it is this colour, this
value. This way the price goes up. In India , the craze for
certified jewellery is going up," said Jain, reasoning out
why Indian gems are expensive within the country. The exhibition,
besides exquisite platinum, gold and silver jewellery from
across the country, also features traditional Indian bridal
outfits by leading fashion designers.
-Dec 17, 2006
Indian fashion czars set Karachi ramp on
fire
Karachi: Indian
fashion stalwarts Tarun Tahiliani, Manish Malhotra, Wiqar
Ali Khan, Nini and Rizwan Begy, and film star Urmila Matondkar
were an instant hit at the Lux Carnival de Couture, a fashion
show organised in Karachi. Tarun stole the limelight after
his 'Rubayat' led many to let him take over as an innovative
designer to the core. On the final note, Taliliani's dress
was auctioned up for Teacher Resource Center fund raising
and a flying away ticket to London from Abdullah Qadwani According
to The Nation, Tarun's collection talked at length of contemporary
style, of trademark drapes and subtlety master craftsman.
He certainly did brilliantly well with cuts and curves that
surely brought in the intricacies of little beads of pearls
shinning and creating a wonderful impact with an aura and
shades of ensuing white, the red being adorned by Iman, added
the paper. Mahesh Malhotra work dealt with debkay ka kaam
that was either on chiffon, while playing with the colours
of rust and turquoise dealing with the finer lines of exquisite
trimming done on vignettes on the wonderful ensembles. Rizwan
Begy also impressed the audience by brining in flowing gowns,
with delicate embroidery Chinese style flowers, focus remaining
on complete austerity, with white feather-caps. Finally, walking
on the ramp was Urmila Madhokar. Decked in a white dress,
Urmaila's catwalk stunned the audience completely in a fray
of awesome night of stars from Heaven.
-Dec 11, 2006
Previous File
TOP Current
File
