Sari Inspired Earrings

A Purwa Kumari Sharan Creation.

These Earrings won Purwa 2014's #DLFEmporio #DesignAwards. Aren't they simply gorgeous!?!...Now that's creativity at it's best.

Jewellery for your sole

Kada slip-ons from Janota Goa + Sunita Narayana collaboration
Picture Courtesy:: Vogue India twitter feed (@VogueIndia)

A Dreamy Shoe Closet

Carry your Pearls well - some tips

A strand of pearls is an elegant piece of jewellery that can pair perfectly with your most elegant gown or your simplest casual wear. Knowing how to wear pearls is the key, and the main principle is keeping the look simple. Think CoCo Chanel, who was never seen without a strand, or Carrie Bradshaw in "Sex and the City".

1. Formal Occasions - when going for a black-tie affair fashion, don't overdress yourself in other jewellery. Just wear a nice pearl string with your little black dress, which is a classy elegant look.  A great pairing with formal wear always includes a pearl necklace, simple pearl earrings and a pearl ring. Double-strand choker necklace would look a bit too traditional.

2. Casual - Pearls are also perfect for jeans, casual tops, wrap dresses or even simple T-shirts (not the sporty types though). Select a long pearl necklace and layer up your neck to create a fashionable look, or just mix the beaded necklace with other chain necklace in different lengths and styles for an ultra chic look, just be sure you don't go too heavy on the bling or you may be mistaken for a rapper.

3. For Wedding - Pearl jewellery should always be color coordinated with the pearls on the gown for wedding rather than with the gown itself. The pearls on the gown should be the same color as those on the veil.

Pearls go well with a number of different colors - violet, sunshine yellow or canary really adds beauty to a nice string of pearls;  while pastels and fluorescent colors are not recommended because pearls will get lost in them. Be sure to wear the right outfit with them, so they don't look out of place.

Pearls - Every lady's soulmate

Grey Pearls

Simplicity and elegance are aptly defined by Pearls. If diamonds are a girl's best friend, pearls are every lady's soulmate. Be it evening wear, casual wear, quick sunday brunch, cocktail dinners, informal gatherings, sunday church, office wear, weddings, elite gatherings...pearls can never fail you.

 

One has to have the knowledge of picking out the best and purest quality of pearls as the markets are flooded with several varieties, especially the fake ones. When you want to buy pearls, you will find many different sizes, quality and colors. There are many things to take into consideration apart from price, so do not rush into a purchase. You can compare pearls by size, color, surface quality and pearl type.

 

1. SIZE: Large pearls are usually more expensive. The classic size is 7mm.

2. COLOR: The classic creamy-pinkish white is supposed to be flattering to lighter skin tones. Black or gray is stunning on all skin types and silver flatters darker skin types.

3. SURFACE QUALITY:Make sure it doesn't have bumps, scratches or variations in color.

4.TYPE: the three main types of pearls are; akoya (gorwn in Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Australia and China), freshwater (grown in China), Tahitian or Black South Sea (grown in French Polynesia, The Cook Islands and Fiji), and South Sea (grown in Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia).

5. AKOYA pearls are the classic, round pearls that are predominantly white with overtones of rose, silver and ivory. Akoya pearls are also produced in blue and yellow colors and are often dyed black. Akoya pearls range in size from 2mm to 10mm.

6. Freshwater pearls are known for their off-round shapes except in the highest qualities. They are the world's most prevalent pearls. They come in all pastel colors but primarily in white, peach and lilac. Freshwater pearls grow in size from 2mm to as large as 20mm.

7.Tahitian pearls are large and most often dark, with colors ranging from green to black, and cherry gold. They grow from 7mm to as large as 18mm.

8.South Sea Pearls are produced by the world's largest pearl-producing mollusk, the Pinctada maxima. The pearl's color range from white to silver and pink, to chanpagne and gold.

 

WARNING

Dipped or dyed pearls should be relatively inexpensive compared to pearls with true color.

Before you make your decision ask to see several strands of pearls with different surface qualities to help you understand the benefits and trade-offs.

 

Topaz - A stone in all it's regal splendour

 

Topaz makes an ideal gem. The most valuable colors of Topaz are the golden orange-yellow type, called Imperial Topaz, and the dark pinkish-red and orange-red colors. The picture below shows the ornge-yellow Topaz. The stone has been framed in a traditional german-silver frame and strung in two lines of matching topaz stones. Two Lapis Lazuli stones have been utilised to break the monotony of yellow Topaz.

 

 

 

The Topaz pendant can also be strung in contrast colored stones of black, green, royal blue. The flaming orange set against contrast colored stones would make for an interesting piece.

 

 

A close look at the pendant will show that the Topaz stone has been cut into half (length-wise)  and the top has been polished to give it a finished look. This raw-edged look gives the entire neckpiece an artistic twist with an eye-catching, hard to miss effect by the person wearing it.

 

 

It is my continuous effort to create pieces which are in rare color combinations, designs and those which give that extra edge of style.

 



The Royal Family steps out in Indian Jewels

The Duchess of Cambridge - Kate Middleton glittered in the diamond necklace loaned to her by the Queen, as she stepped out for the Black-tie function at the National Portrait Gallery. The jewellery created buzz with it's shine and shimmer as she carried of the Queen's Nizam of Hyderabad diamond necklace.

 

For those uninformed, the necklace was a wedding gift for the then-Princess Elizabeth. The "Artemisia's Royal Jewels blog" states that "one of the most beautiful gifts came from the Nizam of Hyderabad. The Nizam was the owner of one of the most celebrated and largest private jewellery collections in the world, and his gift was suitably impressive - a demi-parure of a tiara and necklace. The necklace was purchased from Cartier. Actually in a way it was acquired by Elizabeth herself. The Nizam wasn't in London at the time and left Cartier instructions that the princess will personally choose her present."

 

 

Inidan stones and jewels make their mark among one of the world's most powerful family once again. Kate, always represents her fashion in her simple yet elegant ways of dressing - for this evening, she had teamed the diamonds with an inky-blue gown. However, the jewels created the most chatter among local and international media.

 



File-photo of the Queen in the Nizam of Hyderabad diamond necklace

Why Chai and Couture?

A cup of Chai saves Nine

 

 

Chai and Couture? The two just don't blend. Why this name.

 

If ever someone were to ask me my preferred drink, it would be "chai" (indian name for tea) and not wine :). I love my cuppa chai and would not part with it for any treasure in this world. I get most of my work done, inspirations and conversations over chai.

 

I come from a small simplistic city in Gujarat - Baroda city. I have spent my most memorable and impressionable years there. Personlly I felt I have always been devoid of any sense of fashion or what worked best for me. Few years down the line, things changed and although a nutritionist, I took up jewellery designing.

 

From jeans I graduated to learning to groom and dress-up for the right occassions appropriately. I realised that the perfect balance in achieving and making your own personality comes only when you blend the simplistics with the trendy. That's where I struck my balance.

 

This blog hopes to tap new fashion statements....definitely not the outrageous ones (that's just not me) and I hope it assists in finding the best deals for the fashion conscious. I still am a complete "living-in jeans" girl, I just wear them differently. We all carry style in our own unique way, we just need to recognise it & realise what works for us. Read on and keep up with my updates.

 

After this blog, am sure more and more people will realise that nothing blends better than Chai with Couture :)