By Invitation
Nehal Shah: Queen of Charms
“I want to create pieces that stand the test time, transcending trends and feeling as relevant years from now as they are today”
Nehal Shah, founder of ENESSE by NEHAL SHAH, created a unique niche for herself with her exquisite collection of charms, depicting women’s most desired accessories like shoes, bags, etc. transformed into iconic and trendy jewellery pieces.
Each charm has a theme along with a relevant message, that all women can identify with and define their own personal style, moments, aspirations, desires and more. Charms allow for endless creativity and personalization, making them adaptable to trends and individual stories.
Nehal Shah, the Queen of Charms, spoke to JewelBuzz on her journey in jewellery designing, her philosophy to create pieces that stand the test time ….and more.
Take us through your journey into jewelry designing: your inspiration, your beginnings, and your evolution into a renowned designer.
Design is an exciting and deeply creative process, with each piece telling a story. Every jewelry design begins with an inspiration. It might come from nature, architecture, emotions, or even a personal story.
It sounds like creating charms is a perfect way to bring fresh, versatile designs to the jewelry line. Charms allow for endless creativity and personalization, making them adaptable to trends and individual stories. Plus, with each charm carrying its own meaning, they’re easy for customers to connect with on a personal level. It’s a great strategy to add variety while offering pieces that can hold sentimental value!
Connecting each charm to your personal life emotions is a beautiful part of designing charms, each charm can symbolize a memory of life like a handbag, sunglasses, stilettos, gift box, champagne glass, lipstick, perfume bottles.
What is your design philosophy?
To create pieces that stand the test time, transcending trends and feeling as relevant years from now as they do today.
Charms have been in the market for several years now. Nehal Shah has reinvented and discovered the concept and more designs in 3D format. The overall range is crafted with a futuristic vision. The collection, although urban and new-age, is yet timeless and eternal. Charms can be passed on from generation to generation and it fits well to all the age groups. Charms can be used for personal consumption as well as a Gift idea.
What are your favorite metals, stones and other materials?
Gold and titanium is my favorite metal in combination with diamonds, color stone , enamel and hand painting.
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Take us through the creation process of your unique, out of the box jewelry pieces/ collections.
I have creatively imagined different hues of enamel in my heart, while designing the concept. The beautiful locks have been specifically designed for the charms and the necklace. Different locks and detachable charms offer a significant flexibility for the consumer. Varied combinations can be tried and every time a unique look having a variety of combinations can be donned. These combinations can include various color stones, diamonds, and enamel.
As an entrepreneur, what are the lessons you have learnt in establishing a business, strategy for growth, brand positioning etc. How does one balance creativity with commercial viability and changing consumer preferences?
Balancing creativity with commercial viability and changing consumer preferences is a challenging but rewarding aspect of jewelry design.
I do not hesitate to experiment and dare new and out-of-the-box designs, which is wearable and price sensitive. Balancing creativity with commercial viability and changing consumer preferences is a challenging but rewarding aspect of jewelry design.
- Understanding the Target Audience
- Following Trends Without Losing Identity
- Creating Timeless with a Twist
- Experimenting in Small Batches
- Balancing Practicality with Artistry
Your comments on the current jewelry designing segment in India? What is the standing and brand positioning of India’s jewelry designers on the global stage? After MAKE IN INDIA, are we ready for DESIGN IN INDIA?
Indian jewellery designer segment is vibrant and evolving, especially in the country, with a fascinating mix of tradition and innovation. India’s jewelry designers are making significant strides on the global stage, with a brand positioning that highlights rich heritage, skilled craftsmanship, and unique design perspective.
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What is potential for Indian designers to collaborate with global brands and top international designers?
Immense potential. If the product is great, the time is always right. India has a great blend of skills, intelligence, cost and economies of scale.
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What’s your message for aspiring, as well as practicing jewelry designers?
Don’t hesitate to experiment new ideas, go with your gut feeling and you will never fail.
By Invitation
Artisan Perspectives: Rethinking Craft In The Age Of Lab-Grown Stones
Prapanjj S K Kota
Founder & CEO at Réia Diamonds
- Traditionally, diamond value was driven by rarity, origin, and size, with craftsmanship playing a secondary role.
- With the rise of lab-grown diamonds, abundance is shifting focus from rarity to design and craftsmanship.
- Jewellery-making is returning to a craft-first approach, placing artisans at the core of value creation.
- Skill, precision, and finishing quality are becoming primary differentiators.
The rarity of diamonds has historically dictated their market value, and most of the conversation surrounding a diamond’s value has revolved around where (and how rare) it came from, and how large it was. While craftsmanship has always been important, it has often remained secondary, simply supporting the diamond rather than receiving the buyer’s focus.
As lab-grown diamonds begin to enter the market in greater numbers, the conversation surrounding them is also changing. With an increasing supply of diamonds, being a differentiating factor in jewellery becomes much more about design, craftsmanship, and the quality of work than about rarity.
For artisans, this shift means that the focus of making jewellery has returned to the craft itself.
From a technical perspective, lab-grown diamonds do not affect the fundamentals of jewellery making. They will continue to have the same hardness, brilliance, and structural properties that natural diamonds do; therefore, using traditional setting techniques, including precision settings, pavé work, micro-setting, and polishing, will be just as essential. While the tools may be more modern, the knowledge to work with diamonds continues to be based on many years of training and experience.
The major change comes with the new opportunities presented by working with lab-created stones.
Designers are utilising the increased access to stones to try new layouts incorporating a greater focus on symmetry, scale and intricate detail. As jewellery changes, so does its craftsmanship. Today, with designs that involve numerous stones, layered settings, and modern silhouettes, artisans must have an intentional focus on the structural integrity and balance of the pieces being created, elevating their role more than ever before.
As we see craftsmanship play a supporting role to design when jewellery becomes design-centric, the specifics of how stones are aligned, how strong the setting is, and how well metal surfaces are finished will have an impact on how a piece looks, feels, and holds up over time; and therefore, they cannot be replicated with technology alone.
This change also highlights the importance of India’s historical craft traditions. Surat’s experience in the production of diamonds has established it as a leading force in the world of fine jewellery. This industry relies heavily on a team of talented craftsmen and manufacturing expertise, which plays a very important role in the overall development of jewellery that uses natural as well as lab-grown diamonds.
The introduction of lab-grown diamonds offers a fresh new direction for many artisans, as well as introducing something new into the world of fine jewellery. As it becomes less critical to know where a stone comes from, knowing the quality of the craftsmanship around a piece of jewellery will become increasingly essential. Design integrity, structural engineering, and finishing standards will all contribute to defining the real value of a finished piece.
Therefore, there is an opportunity for artisans; thoughtful design with precise execution requires a high level of technical proficiency. The better the craft, the more evident the difference is.
With the rise of lab-grown diamonds, the discussion about value will slowly evolve to include what has always been considered great jewellery: the skill, time, and craftsmanship it takes to create a piece of art from a design.
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JewelBuzz is Asia’s First Digital Jewellery Media & India’s No.1 B2B Jewellery Magazine, published by AM Media House. Since 2016, we’ve been the trusted source for jewellery news, market trends, trade insights, exhibitions, podcasts, and brand stories, connecting jewellers, retailers, and industry professionals worldwide.