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| Sterling Silver and Meenakari Enamel Nawait Earrings |
The East India town of Uttarakhand holds an imposing and
majestic mountain known as the Thalay Sagar.
Standing at over 22,000 feet it is one of the most treacherous summits
for climbers.
However, somewhat milder
activities including white-water rafting and skiing are alternative
thrill-seeking activities. India is also
the home base to jewelry brand Amrapali.
Whether it is the complex embroidered jewelry creations of
Ranjana Khan or the bold, theatrical style of Poonam Soni jewelry from India is
always extraordinary. The colorful,
lavish jewelry designs of Amrapali
are no exception.
Named for a stunning courtesan the Amrapali brand was established thirty-four years ago by former
history majors Rajesh Ajmera and Rajiv Arora.
The business partners draw liberally from their homeland’s
storied jewelry history that dates back to the late Harappan Period and the
Mughal Empire. The design duo manage to
strike a fabulous balance between traditional and contemporary styles in 22-
and 18-karat yellow gold, emeralds, rubies and pearls.
“Rajesh and I had a common vision,” says Arora, “We wanted
to capture the rich heritage and culture of India. We traveled extensively to the remotest
interiors of India. We immersed
ourselves in order to build a luxury jewelry brand infused with Indian
culture.”
The brand’s commanding array of bangle bracelets, pendant
necklaces and gold hoop earrings is statement making, feminine and elegant all
at once. Every item is beautifully
handcrafted regardless to whether they are from the brand’s fine or fashion
jewelry collections.
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| Cast of 2004 feature film Troy wearing Amrapali Jewelry |
The Jessica Ring,
a beaut of a cocktail ring from the fashion jewelry line, is one such
creation. Fashioned from glowing
18-karat yellow gold plating and oxidized sterling silver the round disc
setting evokes Etruscan influences as gold and blackened silver spheres lightly
pepper the setting.
Their 18-karat gold-plated Nawait Earrings feature a dome-shaped drop reminiscent of India’s
stunning architecture. The interplay of
gold metal and enamel, and glass beads in rich tones of green and blue is
exquisite. The brand truly embodies
ancient civilizations as well as age-old jewelry making techniques spawned from
those civilizations.
In fact, a design team from Warner Brothers studio was so
captivated with the brand’s magnificent inventory they asked Ajmera and Arora
to create jewelry for Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, Eric Bana and Diane Krueger in
the 2004 feature period film Troy.
“Pieces for the movie comprised elements of Grecian jewelry,
Oriental mysticism and extraordinary Indian tribal jewelry,” says Amrapali’s Head Designer, and son of
Rajiv Arora, Tarang Arora.
“Amrapali has
become a very prominent red carpet name since we did jewelry for Troy.
When a company reaches this stage I think it is very important to keep
your designs growing. It’s important to
learn and develop new skills in designing and to constantly give something new
and fashionable to the consumer.
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| 18-Karat Gold Plated Sterling Silver Cairo Circular Groove Ring |
Items from Amrapali’s fashion jewelry collection are available for purchase online at Shop-tulie.com.
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