For centuries, the house of Surana has been hailed as the masters in traditional craftsmanship and preservers of heritage techniques, having worked closely with the erstwhile royal households since its establishment in 1735. It’s no wonder that in 2019, the chic Lee Road flagship outlet of Bhuramal Rajmal Surana (BRS Johuree) should be the go-to destination when it comes to some well-timed bridal splurging. The design house has been a part of Kolkata for three decades and has been a crucial name when it comes to high jewellery, as it has effortlessly married modernity with age-old artistry to make way for high-octane contemporary styling.
“We have a focus on traditional detailing and you'll see a classical bent in most of our pieces. You'll find minakari or jadau work as well, which are all facets of Mughal art, and they are very loyal to its core origins. Jadau has always been our forte. The orientation of our jewellery is of course, towards bridal but now the patterns have changed and people do want to wear the same number to many other occasions. Over time we've started to acknowledge this need and have started making pieces which are more accommodating and versatile,” says Chandra Surana, the current CEO of BRS Johuree, who’s also the son of Padmashree Late Prakash Chandji Surana.
While most of their karigari originates in Jaipur, they do make some customisations and modifications in Kolkata as well. One of the first things we stumbled upon at the store was an exquisitely crafted six-strand necklace featuring emerald cabochons and two embellished side pieces, which could be effortlessly be a part of your bridal line-up and can be recycled as an impeccable cocktail number.
We also discovered some less explored ancient techniques which have been inculcated into the line-up; we found a katla necklace made with traditional pankhi pieces which have been minimised to create a more wearable number. “In the last few years, brides have moved towards a more interesting way of adapting jewellery. For instance, clingier silhouettes, pieces which are closer to the neck are very in right now. People also love layering; nowadays, people want to borrow from different influences. For instance we have a huge range of traditional Rajasthani motifs which many brides are going for, like the mathapatti with the borla. It's old school but interesting,” Surana remarks.
Surana showed us a modern version of a gold hasli with prominent enamel detailing; a bona fide Rajasthani number which was modernised to fit the millennial style memo. "This was actually worn by only men decades ago; now of course, women wear it too as it can be styled with so many things,” we are told. We also stumbled upon a diverse selection of chandbalis, which are the Deepika Padukone-approved hot-sellers in the festive jewellery spectrum. BRS Johuree’s Navratna collection is one of their biggest draws and features some breathtaking craftsmanship and a gorgeous range of coloured gems. “The nine gems were thought to be the most expensive ones in the Mughal days, rubies, blue sapphire, cat's eye, yellow sapphire, emeralds , gomed, coral and pearl,” Surana informs us.