20 JEWELLERY RAINBOW ADORNED A sea of colour washes over trends for 2014
WITH BRIGHT, BOLD AND IMAGINATIVE USE OF COLOUR BECOMING THE NEW ACCENT FOR HIGH JEWELLERY, CHUMKI BHARADWAJ EXPLORES THIS RAINBOW SENSIBILITY THAT HAS DESIGNERS TICKLED PINK
As most whimsical aesthetes will attest; in times defined by disposables, the only tend that endures is ingenuity. For no obsession is more provocative than the idea of standing out. Of course, jewellery is no casual observer when it comes to the vanity vernacular. The previous decade witnessed the art of the jeweller really flourish, with design and narrative taking centre stage; so much so that the unimaginative diamond solitaire was almost relegated to a forgotten relic. Instead, designers attempted to create a story, capture a mood or a moment, in much the same way an artist approaches a painting. In keeping with this trend to shock and awe, the colours of stones used in jewellery also intensified to include dramatic rust, fiery flame, shocking ultramarine blue and off white.
Bold and imaginative use of colours and shapes in high jewellery will dominate trends for this year as well. “Markets in the current economic scenario have been somewhat conservative in spending; designers are now looking at coloured stones as the new diamond, using more unusual colour combinations for statement pieces,” says Farah Khan, founder CEO of Farah Khan jewellery. “In 2012, emeralds took the world by storm and last year coloured diamonds were a rage; I feel this year all coloured stones would infact, be the highlight. Colours immediately infuse volume and texture in any design, says Mira Gulati, founder and principal designer, Mirari.
The rainbow sensibility dominates as the palette broadens to include colours made up of rare and unusual stones from around the world. Tanzanites and Rubelites aquamarine and other semi-precious gemstones such as chrysoprase, corals, luminous spinels, amethyst, radiant tsavorites, citrines, rodiolites, and peridots no longer play second fiddle. As a new
hierarchy of semi precious stones challenges the old order, it is as much about discovering substitutes to the traditional trio of sapphires, rubies and emeralds as it is about the rise in their prices. Of course, the explosion of fresh colours is the cherry on the cake: pink and blue chalcedonies, smoky, rose and lemon quartz, tiger’s eye, tourmalines and blue topaz further glamourise these haute hues with flower power nuances.
Colours are also being used in more experimental ways with clashes, subtle marriage of unconventional hues and a play of textures. Hard stones such as turquoise, onyx and lapis lazuli are back in vogue and contrast beautifully with the more popular translucent stones. “I have successfully teamed opaque gemstones like turquoise and coral with transparent gemstones like emeralds and rubies. Similarly I have teamed purple sapphire with chrysoprase and corals with tanzanites or carnelian with tanzanites”, adds Khan. The idea is to create a cocktail of gemstones keeping colour in mind and not just value of the precious stones thus teaming precious and semiprecious gemstones in the same piece.
With the Pantone colour of the year being Radiant Orchid, designers believe we are likely to see more amethyst and purple tour- malines, sapphires and spinels in 2014, but the less obvious and more subdued stones such as smoky quartz, blushing pink morganite and milky moonstone are also likely to come into their own.
Katharina Flohr, managing and creative director for legendary jewellery brand Faberge, claims that coloured gemstones are fast becoming a colourful alternative to white diamonds. The new collection Fabergé will be launching later this year includes extraordinary rings sets with rare centre stones such as pink and purple spinels, emeralds and amethysts. Our Emotion rings are the perfect example of mixing a variety of coloured gemstones in variations of cuts and nuances of colours applied in a painterly way; the Emotion Pink Ring includes pink diamonds, pink tourmalines, pink spinels and pink sapphires, whilst the Emotion Blue Ring includes Paraiba tourmalines, sapphires, blue topazes and opals. Each ring comprises over 300 unique gemstones, mixing precious and fine gems in bold combinations”, she adds.
Giorgio Damiani, vice president and head of design and production for the Damiani group agrees: “We have worked with all kinds of blues, pinks, lilac and purple, and these mix of colors are proving to be very successful”.