Designing Women
In Pakistan, buying jewellery usually equates to visiting scores of stores before finding that perfect set of earrings or necklace. When it comes to precious and semi-precious stones, Pakistani women usually want an exclusive, one-off design they can wear to social gatherings and weddings. With designer jewellery now available in the market, women need not fret – there is a wide variety to pick and choose from. Newsline interviews five women who are in the business of designing exclusive jewellery.
No Stone Unturned
Sherezad Rahimtoola
“I actually started designing jewellery by accident. I am an architect by profession and was in my third year of college when I got married and decided to take a break. The break never ended. It all started when some of my husband’s international garment buyers were visiting from abroad and were looking for some jewellery for their wives. They bought a few pieces from some karigars I knew, who basically cut in stone. They were so shocked by the low prices that they came back for more in three months. Then I met a German lady who wanted to hold an exhibition for the German community in Karachi, so I designed about 20 pieces for her. I have now been in the field for 14 years.
My inspiration comes from the stones. For instance, I usually keep the stones in their original shape and form, and work around the stone rather than breaking or cutting it to make it smoother. If I did that, I would lose the unusual colours of the stones. An advantage I have is that I have my own cutter, so I can play around with the shades and shapes of the stones. I love experimenting but at the same time, I am very particular about my stones. None of them are dyed or treated. I also have my own laboratory so I can check if something is genuine.
Generally, I work with both precious and semi-precious stones, like rubies and topaz, with 22-carat gold. I do a rhodium polish to give my work that white look. I don’t like a gold finish and at the moment, it is not in vogue either. I keep with the current trends and use a lot of art deco motifs. Fortunately, my karigars have the sensibility to understand what I want from them. There are times when I have to re-melt the pieces because they are not what I wanted and end up paying the costs that incur.
Designing is a tedious process and it takes a while to come up with something new. Once I give the design to the karigars, it can take upto a month or two to work on a piece. This is why I do not work on a quota.
I have a lot of customers, which include regulars from Pakistan and even around the world. I once did a paraanda in 22-carat gold with meena kaari for a Chinioti family. A lot of people bring their diamonds and stones and ask me to work with them. Some customers even come to me with their ancestral jewellery and I create new designs keeping that in mind.
I try to make sure that I keep the option of changing stones in most of my jewellery. A hook at the back makes it very easy to change the stone according to your liking. You can conveniently change the look of a piece of jewellery by putting in a pearl, a turquoise or a sapphire.
Currently, clients want individual pieces rather than matching earrings to go with a necklace. We have wedding sets too, but people prefer casual pieces. Girls want accessories for dinners and parties, so earrings work best for them. Making individual pieces is the thing for me because in the case of a set, you need all the stones to be identical. As I only use real, untreated stones, even in a pair two stones would never be exactly the same.
Ultimately, I go for quality not quantity. I don’t produce in bulk and I don’t repeat my designs. I know there is more profitability if you create more pieces but I prefer giving my client that exclusive touch.”
Sherezad Rahimtoola
The opinions expressed in this article and the views shared by readers in the comment forum below do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance or policies of Newsline.
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here’s to four years of KU fun:)
A thing that is missing from this site is credits, i think it needs to be addressed asap before someone gets mad