Winners take centre stage at ‘The Artisan Awards’

~ ‘100 years of Indian cinema’ was the inspiration for the designers creations ~

~A total of 800 entries, 40 finalists & 12 winners~

12 of the some of the industry’s outstanding and innovative jewellery designers were honoured at India’s most coveted jewellery design awards – ‘The Artisan Jewellery Design Awards 2014’ which concluded on Friday, 20^th February at the Grand Hyatt, Mumbai. Organised by the apex body of the Gem & Jewellery Industry in India – Gem Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), the Artisan Awards provided a platform to jewellery designers to push their creativity and design aesthetics to showcase world-class jewellery. Besides felicitating the 12 winners, industry veterans were also recognized such as noted Indian jeweller, Viren Bhagat received the award for ‘Most Accomplished Artisan of Our Time.’ Moreover, renowned jeweller, Suhani Pittie received the ‘Emerging Jewellery Designer of the Year’ and leading Indian jeweller Ganjam was awarded the ‘Most Accomplished Retailer in Design Excellence.’

The glitterati event was hosted by the stunning Indian actress, model, VJ and television presenter - Malaika Arora Khan and also saw Bollywood style icon and GJEPC’s brand ambassador – Ms. Sonam Kapoor felicitating the winners with the awards. The Chief Guest of the evening was eminent Social Worker Ms. Shaina NC along with the Guest of Honour – Mr. B P Pandey, IAS, Addl, Secretary & Financial Adviser, Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

Commenting on the occasion, Vipul Shah, Chairman, GJEPC, said, “Artisan awards is a culmination of designs, creativity, jewellery and glamour to showcase a fitting tribute to Indian cinema. It is recognition of excellence in the gem and jewellery sector industry and sets a benchmark for the industry in terms of its overall performance. I extend my congratulations to all the award winners for their salutary performance and hope they propel the jewellery industry to even greater heights in the years to come.”

Brand ambassador Sonam Kapoor commented, “Being a self-confessed film buff and having a penchant for jewellery it was a treat to see intricate designs as part of wearable jewellery. From the exquisite detailing of the jewellery designs, you can tell that the candidates have put their heart and soul into showcasing pieces that are representative of Bollywood films through various eras. My heartiest congratulations to all the award winners who I know will raise the bar of the industry even higher.”

Capturing the essence of Bollywood, the awards night was a cinematic extravagance with exquisitely designed jewellery pieces. Guests were privy to an evening of entertainment with musical performances by The Bartender- which belted out renditions of Bollywood songs from each era. With '100 years of Indian cinema' as the inspiration behind the creations, the evening celebrated winners from the iconic eras – Monochromatic Magic (black and white era), Golden Glory (golden era), Colorama (masala films era) and Avant-Garde (global era).

The 12 winners (3 from each of the 4 categories) were shortlisted by popular names in the fashion and lifestyle industry namely art historian-Usha Balakrishnan, Editor-Vogue India-Priya Tanna, socialite- Pinky Reddy, fashion designer- Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Gemologist & jewellery designer - Farah Khan Ali  to name a few.

The winners will have the opportunity to intern with the prestigious international jewellery houses – Roberto Coin and Swarovski. In addition winners will win a fully paid trip to visit the Bazel Jewellery and Watch Fair 2015 wherein their designs will be displayed in the India Palace Pavilion at Bazel besides winning a handsome cash prize.

To make the Indian jewellery design dream possible, Artisan Awards has partnered with RBS, Gemfields, Forevermark, Platinum Guild India, Grand Hyatt and Vogue. Amongst the 12 winners announced, candidates who topped each of the 4 categories were - Swati Kadam, Meghna Bag, Subhankar Bhowmick and Shrutika Patankar.