SaffronArt jewellery conference maps India’s aesthetic heritage with the GJEPC

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Oct 23, 2019

The SaffronArt jewellery conference in Mumbai brought together international jewellery experts, designers, and historians to trace the history of India’s jewellery design aesthetics and discuss the industry. 

The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council recently co-sponsored the SaffronArt jewellery conference to celebrate Indian design throughout history in collaboration with the Diamond Producers Association, and the World Diamond Museum, supported by the Gemological Institute of America. The conference was held from October 11 to 12 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Mumbai and guests travelled from across Asia, the US, and Europe to participate, the GJEPC posted on its website.

The conference saw a high international turnout but less participation from domestic jewellery businesses. “It was an honour for the World Diamond Museum to take part is such a prestigious and important gathering,” said Alex Popov, founder and CEO of the World Diamond Museum, as reported by the GJEPC. “Sadly, there were very few participants from the Mumbai diamond community. Hopefully we’ll see more of the industry at the next conference.”

Speakers at the two-day event included Indian jewellery designer Viren Bhagat; international jewellery specialists Lisa Hubbard and Joanna Hardy; director of Eka Archiving Services, Deepthi Sasidharan; authors and historians Manu Pillai, Hugo Miguel Crespo and Jack Ogden; and fashion designer Wendell Rodricks. The event was curated by Usha R. Balakrishnan, the World Diamond Museum’s chief curator.

“It is my firm belief that it has served as a catalyst for the further study and documentation of this incredible heritage,” said Balakrishnan. “At SaffronArt’s second jewellery conference, speaker after speaker chronicled the histories of gems and jewels and related their journeys across time and continents.”