Stunning, statement and utterly gorgeous is a line of precious jewellery from the house of JJ Valaya that was recently unveiled and is housed at the veteran designer’s majestic flagship store — The World Of Valaya — in New Delhi. The collection has been crafted in association with Jagdish Jewellers Chandigarh (creators of jewels for the Patiala Royals since 1866). Valaya takes us through the collection and tells us what to expect.
This is a special curation, right?
We have to start these associations. A lot of our customers now want to do the jewellery along with their clothes, but more than that I have always wanted to do a special jewellery line. Since our own line which I have designed, sketched and is getting sampled, is going to take a little time, I thought since this was a legacy jeweller with exquisite pieces, I’d like to curate the line which bears the same ethos and introduce the concept of fine jewellery into the World of Valaya. They have been with us for a year now.
Can you take us through the collection?
These are pretty much a collection of timeless pieces because I have noticed that when it comes to expensive jewellery, people like the word ‘timeless’. When it comes to anything expensive actually... (there should be) a degree of timelessness which must endure and be wearable for generations. Obviously in India, the whole concept of uncut diamonds is a strong statement when it comes to weddings. So, this line is primarily working along uncut diamonds and some rare stones and of course some finished diamonds as well. What it is going to lead to in a few months from now is actually I am also keen to see, where we are going to bring all the three genres of our DNA into the line, which will be based on royalty, on similar lines what you are seeing now. And there will be a collection hinging on our nomadic spirits and the third will be a more finished sort of line, which will be a tribute to our art deco theme. That line has been totally sketched and designed individually and sampled because for me also it’s a new thing. I am learning a lot but it’s an exciting zone to be in.
This is my philosophy of getting all the three elements that I most enjoy to everything we do, whether it’s clothes, jewellery, our furniture and interiors.
When did you start working on it?
We have been sketching away for eight months. Anything new that has to be done in the right way takes about a year (to execute).
How much fun are you having?
I don’t do anything when I don’t have fun. That’s mandatory to evolution. Otherwise you are just trudging along and that’s not a great feeling.
What did you learn?
The very fact that I am dealing with new mediums. For example, I have never dealt with gold, diamonds or uncut diamonds, gemstones... it is a completely new territory for me, but yes we are clear what we want and what looks wonderful and how we want it to come out and all I needed was a technical person who would be able to put that in place, which is where the jewellers came in. If I were to draw a parallel, it’s like doing interiors. It’s about finding the right kind of people who you can work with, who understand that your quality and originality is above all and when they also believe that there won’t be compromises, things fall into place wonderfully.
What does jewellery mean to you?
For the last 30 years, jewellery has truly fascinated me. It’s very rare that I have travelled to a part of the world and if they have a museum of jewellery or costume and I haven’t visited. So, whether it is the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul which has the most incredible jewels one can find or so many other museums... all these are fascinating because you are dealing with the most precious materials on the planet and then you are creating something even more precious and signature and bringing in the aura of a brand, merging it with the most precious materials. It’s a great journey... you have to enjoy the journey.
For someone who is so dispassionate about material things, what is your treatment of jewellery? Is it purely art?
I think the factor of awe. I think it is very important for me. You see, material or organic is not the point. The point is, can you look at something and then keep looking at it for a while. Whether it is nature’s beautiful gift or whether it is a beautiful-looking person or a wonderful-looking building or a stunning piece of jewellery.... that’s what I try to incorporate. I am a couturier. I am not a mass manufacturer of clothes. My whole purpose in life is to create something spectacular and special. And pushing yourself and egging yourself on. You don’t have to race and compare what others are doing. You should see how you have evolved since your last time.
What do you collect personally for yourself?
The only things I collect for myself personally are cufflinks. There is a pretty interesting collection of those, but I don’t play favourites ever. That’s my cardinal rule. If I have picked up something for myself, it was clearly special enough to be in my wardrobe.
For a girl of today, is jewellery still an investment or are they living in the moment more?
There’s every kind of people in this world. It’s impossible to generalise, but when it comes to the wedding day or one’s wedding, 99 per of the people don’t compromise. They know this is the moment which is perhaps going to be a once-in-a-lifetime moment. They want the best clothes, jewellery and the best of everything because they know for most part of their lives, they are going to mostly be in jeans and
T-shirt and dresses. Also, there is a lot of sentimental value attached to jewellery and it almost always gets passed on. I think the concept of Indians and jewellery hasn’t changed. In fact, the only difference between West and East is we like a lot of drama in our jewellery and we like it to stand out when we are getting married while the West is about finer-cut diamonds, simpler but equally expensive things in jewellery. There are consumers for all kinds of jewellery. There are a whole lot of people who want to wear something simplistic for their wedding. If you can wear sneakers with your lehnga, you can wear a simpler piece of jewellery also. It’s a mixed bag but bottom line, everybody does want to make a mark on the big day.
How does your daughter Hoorvi treat jewellery?
She is a stylist and she has obviously got the same genes as me. So when I look at her work, I see the same three elements again being thrown around... she has a wonderful way of expressing herself. Her personal choice of jewellery is more uncut diamonds.
What kind of jewellery are men picking up?
For the wedding they always pick up kilangi. Then there are always the buttons that are special. Then they like to wear a few strands around the neck when they are getting married. Then there is a whole collection of cufflinks. Men obviously don’t go overboard with too much jewellery, but they do like to make a statement nowadays. I am seeing that in the clothing line as well. If women want something spectacular, men want something special as well. Actually wedding is that one moment when you can transport yourself back in time and relive a moment which you probably never do again.
History has it that Indian men wore a lot of jewellery. At what point do you think it changed?
The only thing that happened was we used to live in a time when kings were the benchmark of luxury in our country and then the Britishers came and there was a big shift and men especially started embracing the western attire a lot more. In fact, I remember when I started my career, almost 90 per cent of the men got married in three-piece suits. We can thank some of us who got the movement around. We rediscovered royal India and reintroduced it to India. Men discovered sherwanis and achkans.... Then designers got more experimental in menswear.
Which gemstone do you think JJ Valaya is?
Wow, that’s an unusual question. I never thought about this because I am not one personality at all. The royal in me would prefer another gem, the nomad in me would prefer a raw and rugged kind of gem and the art deco appreciator in me would go for diamonds.