Jewellery boutique is a retail business ornamentation, specialization in the sale and purchase of jewellery and watches. A jewellery boutique provides many services from repairs of old jewellery to manufacturing pieces. Although, every jewellery boutique has their own way of running the business.

Aakran Jewellery Boutique

This jewellery is based in Sadashivnagar, Bengaluru. They have been in the jewellery business for 32 years and specialise in custom jewellery making with precious stones. The stones that are used to make the jewellery are imported from Jaipur. Although, they do work with selected stones, they are:

1.  Diamonds
2. Emeralds
3. Rubies
4. Blue Sapphire
5. Pink Sapphire
6. Coral
7. Cat Eye
8. Gomedakam

Apart from these there are many more stones that are used and customised as per the customers requirements. Mr. Karan is the founder and director of the boutique, who is also a designer of the jewellery that is made in the store.

The visit to the Aakran Jewellery Boutique was organised for the students of Diploma in Fine Jewellery Designing from the July 2021 batch by their class mentor Ms. Rupali Sarkar fronts the Department of Jewellery. This was also a part of their modules, to bring in a deeper understanding of how stone jewellery is designed and curated. Mr. Karan was available in the premises during the visit, and shared immense knowledge with regard to his customised design collections using natural stones from across the world. The students were also able to see the different settings that were available in the store. The different setting in the store were:

1. Channel Setting
2. Pave Setting
3. Prong Setting
4. Pressure Setting

A setting in jewellery is a metal base that holds gemstones like a diamond in place. A setting is used for both the enhancement of the gemstone and the jewellery piece. The setting that were available at the store were:

• Open Setting which often consists of 18 carat gold
• Closing Setting which consists of 22 carat gold
• Channel Setting held the stones
• Pave Setting held a cluster of stones together
• Prong Setting is a tiny claw where all the stones were set
• Pressure Setting held the stones bigger in size surrounded with smaller stones in comparison to the centre one.

Apart from gold jewellery, they also work with hand crafted silver kalash of 5 kgs as a masterpiece and the royal collections of Maharajas which are older than 8 decades (approximately). They also hold Indian antique jewellery collections that have been inspired from Coorg tribes, South Indian Temples, and its cultural value. Indian jewellery designs contain Goddess Lakshmi in their coin chain designs, ruby and emeralds with uncut diamonds, parrot shaped rings, tribal pathak, Mango necklace with uncut diamond. The store also had an antique gold wallet from the year 1945 and few antique brockes which was a good exposure for the students to study the design and its making. Along with these antique pieces, a two way reversible necklace which has rubies on one side and uncut diamonds and on the other kundan stones.

The boutique customises the jewelleries like earrings , neckpieces, rings, pendants, studs, bangles, hangings, rings, jhumkas, balis, and chandbali. The materials used are gold, (18Ct and 22Ct), white gold, Diamond, Ruby, Emerald, Blue Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Pearl, Cat’s eye, Onex, 9 gems, Mother Of Pearls, Lapis Lazuli, Tanzanite, Blue Topaz, Morganite, Coral and Enamel. Along with this, the kinds of gemstone settings that were seen in the store were Prong Setting, Pave Setting, Channel Setting, and Pressure Setting.

Jewellery Boutique visits are organised for the students to understand the practical work and procedures that are involved in customising jewellery and usage of stones in theri design. This visit that was organised for the students pursuing their Diploma in Fine Jewellery Designing has given an opportunity to understand the process of customising jewellery as well the different stones and setting that can be involved in visual merchandising for different jewellery. This also has been a great opportunity for the students to interact with Mr. Karan to gain exposure in the market for their  designs and innovations. At JD Institute, the importance of understanding industrial knowledge is one among the main focus in the curriculum. Industrial visits are organised every two months not only for practical knowledge but also industry exposure. Apart from industrial visits, due to the on-going pandemic, JD Institute has also started a new platform for students to receive the knowledge and practical skills required in their field of study, with external members of the industry to share their journey and experience in the form of webinar and workshop with the students in the comfort of the campus itself.

Jewellery Boutique Visit By Students Of DFJD 2021