In a span of 12 years, Anand Ranawat has carved a niche for himself couture jewellery designer. He talks to Solitaire International about his fresh, contemporary chromatic creations made especially for IIJS Signature.
Tell us a little about your company. When did you start your eponymous brand?
We are a 120-year-old company and have been manufacturing mass gold jewellery till now. Anand Ranawat, a signature jewellery brand was formed in October 2010, by the next generation of this family i.e. my wife Manali and me. It is a couture jewellery-manufacturing unit, where we create one-of-a-kind jewellery pieces primarily in the space of diamond and coloured gemstone studded jewellery.
Where did you learn jewellery designing?
During my college days, I started my career working under a jeweller where I got first-hand experience of jewellery designing and manufacturing. In a family-run business, which was into gold jewellery for 120 years, I diversified into diamond jewellery manufacturing as a new segment under the existing business.
We would like to know your creation process from ideation to realisation?
We as a manufacturer also work on design as any other design team. We start from an inspiration. As a team, we work on various concepts and directions such as nature, architecture, vintage jewellery, trending colours, different precious stones, shapes, etc. Then our in-house design team sketches the concepts on paper. The manufacturing is then outsourced to different karigars as per their skills. The last step is to perform quality check, hallmark and certify each piece.
Sometimes, design directions also come from our clients who want an entire collection designed especially for them.
You have a fascination for diamonds, and use gems liberally. What types of diamond cuts are prevalent now? In terms of gemstones, which are your current favourites?
We enjoy working with fancy shapes such as pear, marquise, emerald cuts, rosecuts and more. When it comes to diamonds, we do not limit ourselves to only rounds. We like experimenting with all kinds of shapes. Our current favourites in gemstones are emeralds, tanzanites and tourmalines. We source our gemstones from multiple places. We love to visit trade fairs to get our hands on different colours, shades and cuts of gemstones, which make our jewellery edgy and unique.
Since when have you been participating in IIJS? How has it helped your company grow?
We have been participating in IIJS for 8-9 years now. It has helped us get in touch with multiple clients that travel from all over the country as well as helped us stay updated with ruling trends in jewellery and precious stones.
I have learnt a lot from this show and met many great jewellers through this show. It has definitely helped me broaden my horizon and vision as a jeweller.
What are you presenting at the show currently?
We are exhibiting jewellery with a lot of different cuts in coloured stones. Along with that we are also exhibiting a more affordable prét jewellery line for everyday wear. But we are known for our couture pieces and that is where we have really worked a lot on. Our clients would definitely find some truly one-off pieces this IIJS Signature
What is the USP of the company and your design philosophy?
Over a period of years our design language has evolved a lot. We like to play with fancy shapes and colours. Our designs are more edgy and contemporary. We believe in making jewellery that is relatable, quick to sell for our clients and fun to wear for our end customers.
Which are your predominant markets domestically and globally?
Many jewellers that house couture jewellery across India have appreciated the kind of jewellery we manufacture. Our pieces are loved by all markets alike.
We haven’t yet ventured abroad but there definitely is a lot of scope for our jewellery in the international market and we will hopefully sell across the globe one day.
What are your expansion plans?
With markets and our client base expanding we are looking to move to a bigger space and streamline our manufacturing unit. We also wish to tap countries we haven’t entered yet.
Anything you wish to add
We are truly grateful for the love that our clients have shown towards our jewellery and this response gives us the courage to be braver and inch closer to international standards of making diamond and gemstone jewellery.