Jewellery brand Art Karat launches their Haveli collection in an exclusive preview at Vimonisha

It was in mid-2018 that Art Karat launched their first store in Chennai, at Phoenix MarketCity. The New Delhi-based brand, however, has been around for more than 30 years with designer Asha Kamal Modi at its helm. They will now team up with city-based exhibitor Vimon-isha in an exclusive preview of their latest collection, Haveli.

Present in almost 20 countries, the brand has carved out a niche for itself in the alternate gold jewellery category by using pure silver that is gold plated, and then encrusted with precious stones. Take a look at their Haveli collection and you’ll see they’re right out of a period movie. And this isn’t too far of an assumption, considering the brand has worked with nine Sanjay Leela Bhansali movies including Ram Leela and Padmaavat.

The brand is also gearing up for their first big South Indian production Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy which is Chiranjeevi’s 151st film, a project that has used over 2,000 Art Karat pieces. “We have more than 700 craftsmen, a majority of who are in Gujarat, around 150 in Kolkata and the rest is scattered across India. And they’re all exclusive to Art Karat, everything is done in-house and with no machines,” explains Saket Modi, who has worked to establish the brand in New York for the last 15 years, and just returned to India, two years ago.  The precious stones are all sourced from Jaipur, which is one of the country’s biggest hubs for stone trading. “This includes all of the precious stones — pearls, corals, rubies, amethysts, turquoises — you name it,” says Saket. The exclusive preview will have about 2,000 pieces in different types of workmanship like kundan, temple jewellery, Jaipuri tribal jewellery, Victorian jewellery, contemporary jewellery and bridal jewellery. 

For Monisha Gidwani of Vimonisha, one of the city’s prominent exhibitors and the person responsible for bringing down the Haveli collection this weekend, it’s more than just a showcase. “I remember when I was in college I had a beautiful rudraksh earring with pink stones and a kundan necklace in coral from Art Karat,” recalls Monisha, whose mother Vimal Shivdasani first brought down the brand in 1988, when it started. “Now, my daughter wears them. So it really is nostalgia, more than anything else for me.”

From Rs 2,000 to Rs 1 lakh. Today and tomorrow. At Hyatt Regency Chennai. From 11 am onwards.