Fine jewellery label Nornament opened the doors to its Elgin Road showroom a few days ago; the jewellery house created by Sushma Maloo in 1998 has managed to take some big strides in the affordable luxury spectrum as it balanced traditional craftsmanship with a sense of functionality, especially with their bespoke pieces. The Creative Director of the label, Pradhyuman Maloo shared some insight into the label’s objectives:
Nornament has re-defined many milestones for modern bridal jewellery…
I think a lot of young people who lean towards modernity still value their roots and heritage, which is also how I feel. I think we have one of the most beautiful cultures, there’s a sense of confluence involved in how modernity and tradition work together in bridal jewellery. We have always catered to the modern Indian bride, we make jewellery for people who travel across the world and yet appreciate their own traditions.
How do you feel about Kolkata’s customer base?
I have always been very close to Kolkata, I was born here and this has been like coming a full circle. This city has a character of its own, it’s so beautifully designed there’s so much culture here. The people really appreciate designs, the art behind them, it’s a stage for us to express our creativity, which is something we haven’t found in most cities.
You started selling virtually just over a year ago...
Yes, we started selling online around a year back, we already had a website but now it’s more dynamic since it supports e-commerce. Our next version is set to be more advanced, we’re planning to go global with it and people can also use it in a more experiential way. Everyday pieces do well in the online space because young buyers consistently going for pieces that mean something to them or define who they are.
They are looking to buy jewellery they really like instead of something they’d buy to just show off, and this shift happened in the last year or so. Most buyers are not looking for something so elaborate or pricey that they wouldn’t be able to use them so wearability is definitely important when it comes to the virtual space.
Tell us about the Cameo collection
The art of cameo has been used by royalty in the past, it’s a carving made on agate stone. We tried to explore this and got some artists to experiment with the form of design. It turned out really well, we’ve got some really good reviews