With a turnover of over $80 billion, the Indian gem and jewellery industry has witnessed steady growth over the past few years. And spurring this rapid development has been the escalating interest of the world in Indian jewels and increasing demand for fine craftsmanship. “Indian craftsmen have an exceptional ability to interpret and translate ideas into jewellery”, says French Jewellery Designer Marie Lichtenberg who works with local artisans from Jaipur and Mumbai. Truly, it is this exceptional ability of our local artisans that is putting our traditional karigari on the global map.

This resurgence of immersive and detailed craftsmanship has not been limited to only global independent fine jewellery brands. Back home, Indian designers too are tracing back to their roots for inspiration. Take for instance, Sabyasachi Mukherjee who presented his ‘Bengal Royale’ fine jewellery collection for the first time at Bergdorf Goodman- the New York- based luxury department outlet. Inspired from the 1920s in Calcutta, the collection was a melange of classic European outlook and Mughal history.

It was this passion for a city’s rich cultural heritage and traditional artisanship that influenced two history graduates Rajiv Arora and Rajesh Ajmera to start their jewellery brand – Amrapali in Jaipur in the year 1978. With over 40 years of its being in action, Amrapali now boasts of a global footprint. Taking inspiration from ancient folklores, texts and scriptures, the brand experiments with varied designs, techniques and materials, giving a contemporary spin to traditional jewellery.

With India contributing to 29% of jewellery consumption worldwide and exporting a net 29.01 billion dollars worth of Jewellery and gemstones, India has emerged as a strong global player in the fine jewellery landscape. And much of this credit inherently goes to the karigars and Indian jewellery designers who are constantly putting their efforts into revitalising age-old art forms, sparking off a renewed interest and passion for such craftsmanship.

Here at Pearl Academy’s, we encourage our students to explore India’s myriad jewellery-based craft traditions, techniques, manufacturing and exports to innovate new designs concepts. With our Jewellery Accessory Design course, students are exposed to the varied aspects of traditional and contemporary jewellery making – forms, aesthetics, techniques, and are trained with must-have skills, empowering them to navigate across design, manufacturing, business and retail in the jewellery industry.

With a stronger infrastructural push, change in business models and the return of traditional craftsmanship, the industry is on its way towards a brighter and better future. And you can be the one helming this new narrative. Know more about our course click here