IN FOCUS
BANDRA BUZZ
MARCH 2017 07
Meet the sisters behind Jethani Jewellery Studio We live in a culture that believes in love at first sight. For many women, this is the feeling that besets them when they first see a diamond. At Jethani Jewellery Studio, you don’t have to wait for first glances to write your own love story. Unlike in real life, you are free to customise every aspect of your own stellar romance from your very first appointment & thanks to Ishita & Harshini Jethani, inspiration is always close at hand. As a little girl, Ishita dreamed that the world would one day wear her designs. At just 18, she picked up two hefty boxes of diamond-studded jewellery and began going door-to-door to sell her pieces. Her customers adored her designs and the business scaled on from there to earn itself a self-standing studio in Khar. 10 years on, Jethani Jewellery Studio has made its IIJW debut, launched a subbrand Meraki, and hosted solo exhibitions in Hyderabad, Pune, Indore and back home in Mumbai. Also, its designs have travelled the world thanks to NRIs who keep coming back for more. Ishita explains what draws them in: “We make statement pieces that work really well with western wear. They are bold but not overpowering and minimal but sturdy.” The business follows a unique model that is “appointment only” because the sisters want to ensure that each customer gets the attention they deserve. “Almost everything we do is customised, usually only brides get an individualised experience when they go jewellery shopping, we wanted to extend the possibility to everyone,” explains Ishita. At Jethani, whether you are a bride or not, each exquisite piece is handmade for you. “Every client is unique,” says Ishita, “I have an 80-year-old lady as my client and she is simply an inspiration to us all. Her son once said to me that no matter how
low she slumps because of her ailing health, her eyes light up every time she sees me. I guess that is the magic of jewellery. Women of all ages are prone to it.” A typical day for the sisters consists of keeping appointments and working with the karigars afterwards. “We are very hands-on as the jewellery is being made and we constantly engage with the client and keep her in the loop about how the piece is coming along. We craft a replica for them, which they can try on at every stage.” says Ishita, “And because we are sticklers for quality, all our diamonds come with a guarantee card and are IGI certified. Despite the jewellery trade’s reputation for being, “all-business” the girls have tried to keep the process as less-transactional as possible. “Jewellery must be about the joy of wearing it,” they say, “and for this reason, we have always been flexible enough to work around budgets”. Jethani Jewellery Studio aspires to have something for everyone. With Meraki, the brand has a much more vital product mix from affordable funky stuff, to affordable Indian danglers, to exquisite solitaires at the very top of the line. The girls grew up around diamonds and wanted to show the world that diamonds could be funky too. Their bravery has paid off because all their cross-over pieces like balis, palm bracelets, tennis bracelets & cocktail rings have been big hits. The main brand and Meraki, which is Harshini’s brainchild, inspire each other back and forth, both of them are committed to intricacy and Indian-work. Meraki was Harshini’s answer to the need for semiprecious jewellery for a generation that had to be both parts elegant and cool. A graduate of IIGJ, Harshini joined the business last year and is adding the contemporary value to the brand by making it young & fresh.
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“Every season births its own new collection. Each collection is planned meticulously so that neither present-day trends nor traditional craftsmanship are compromised for the other,” says Harshini. So far, their most recent Valentines Collection and Diwali Collection take our powerful symbols of love and celebrations and give them a modern-Indian feel. “The inspiration kept coming to us in the form of nature, architecture or people to help us make great jewellery,” says Harshini. Another family brand in the realm of jewellery is nothing new but it is for the first time that two sisters are taking the lead at such a venture all by themselves.
Flat no. 2, 11th Road, Khar (W), Mumbai 52 jethanijewellerystudio@gmail.com Sarah John