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Blend of old and new
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Antique and avant garde, funky and fashionable... the jewellery and knitwear collection at Amethyst showcases couture and craftsmanship at its best.
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A SENSE of style, classicism merging into trendy themes, and even pure innovative fun, sets apart Amethyst's collections through the year. Delving into India's storehouse of traditional art and craft skills, yet presenting designers and products that use ancient skills in unique formats and concepts and in a contemporary genre.
Amethyst celebrates this spirit and the New Year with a collection of jewellery, fashion accessories and everyday couture wear.
The jewellery collection ranges from the classical to the purely fun and funky kind, combining classicism with chunky chic with effortless elegance. `Amrapali' of Jaipur has worked the collection in gold, silver, diamonds, rubies and semi-precious stones. On view are potential heirloom pieces in ruby, diamond and pukhraj set in gold, featuring traditional themes such as peacocks, hamsas etc. Among the traditional jewellery pieces are strands of rubies held together with antique diamond clips, rows of pearls interspersed with `kundan' pieces and much else. A sense of lightness pervades the jewellery, even a hint of poetry.
But it is in the contemporary design language of jewellery, which simultaneously celebrates traditional craft skills that the `Amrapali' collection dazzles. One can choose from many-stranded silver and smoky topaz necklaces, silver and pearl, or labordite and silver necklaces. Or a silver and garnet piece, with each garnet the size of a tiny egg! Silver has also been teamed with sandalwood, setting a new trend in jewellery. A beaten gold necklace — again chunky and bold — is yet another stunner at the Amethyst exhibition. There are many innovative gold circular `balis' and earrings too, as well as silver bracelets, paizebs, painted wooden bead strands and much else. And for the totally avant garde, who still swears by the ethnic look, there is a precious zardosi work pendant glittering with sequins, delicately set in silver!
Amethyst's `last day of the year' sale also offers sleek handbags in blended fabrics, textured silk and jute. Handcrafted by Ashish-Varuni of Bangalore, the bags come in the bright fresh colours of the season. And `Expressions' offers contemporary knitwear and re-invented Jamewars.
There are also woollen hoods, stoles, wraps, shawls and mufflers in warm winter colours. The pretty jute silk stoles and shawls are striking as are the half velvet and knit `phirans' or Kashmiri kurtas. The Jamewar shawls are truly attractive.
And for the first time, Chennai will see Jamewar home and table linen, an innovation on traditional craft skills.
Amethyst's address: Sundar Mahal, Rani Padmavathiar Road, Gopalapuram.
PUSHPA CHARI
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