‘Abhushan’ - A summit to preserve art of jewellery-making

NEW DELHI - In a bid to preserve the craftsmanship and rich heritage of jewellery designs, the World Craft Council (WCC) has organised an international jewellery summit Feb 4-6 here.

The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has collaborated with the WCC for this first-ever jewellery summit titled Abhushan.

Artisans from across India and experts from Europe, Latin America, Africa, North America and the Asia-Pacific region will converge at the Ashoka Hotel to discuss, debate and talk about latest technologies and trends that have emerged in this field over years.

“This is the right time to do it because jewellery designing in India has come of age. Today, the world knows about us and the varied jewellery art forms we have,” Nina Kothari, who is involved in organising Abhushan, told IANS.

“To empower our artisans and craftsmen, this summit is the place to be,” she added.

The three-day event will have as many as 33 stalls from well-known brands like Amrapali, Ganjam and many not-so-known brands from all over India as well.

According to Tarang Arora, graduate gemologist from Amrapali, the summit will be an enriching experience and an excellent platform to exchange ideas and innovations.

“A lot many youngsters these days are opting for salaried jobs and are moving away from business. So a summit like this will give an insight about the jewellery industry in India to all those who feel people are still obsessed with western designs,” Arora said.

“There is so much in India and if we youngsters decide to stick with this business, it will help a lot many craftsmen to earn their livelihood,” he added.

With this first-of-the-kind summit in the country, jewellery makers from places like Guwahati and Gaya are participating in a bid to sell their interesting products.

Papli Gogoi, a jewellery designer from Guwahati, specialises in pieces that are made of a plant called water hyacinth.

“We usually make bags, rugs, mats and sofas from this plant, but as this is not a durable product, we decided to do something that is affordable and has mass attraction. Hence, we started making jewellery from it,” Gogoi said.

“We are hoping that the people like this experiment and buy our jewellery,” she added.

Apart from this, jewellery made of semi-precious stones, metal, sea shell, coconut pieces and wood will also be displayed at the summit.