Ritu Bajoria, Proprietor and Designer, Virrayaa Jewellery, Kolkata, stresses the importance of wearable aesthetics in her bridal as well as daily wear jadau lines.
Ritu Bajoria got married into a family of jewellery lovers and creators. To get a better understanding of the trade, she studied diamond grading; but her creative instincts led her to designing jewellery. She began her journey in 2003 with the family’s Vasundhara Fine Jewellery brand, but got deeply involved in the family business since 2009. Recently, rebranded as Virrayaa Jewellery, Ritu speaks about the reasons
Why did you change your brand name to Virrayaa?
My mother-in-law, Prabha Bajoria, ran the Vasundhara Fine Jewellery since 2002. Her sagacity enabled me to unleash my creativity. We rechristened the brand as Virrayaa Jewellery in early 2021. Virrayaa symbolises the spiritual concept of energy, persistence and diligence. We felt that the name change is a better reflection of our current portfolio.
We would like to know about the USP of your brand. Do you design only bridal jewellery or prêt lines as well?
We design both bridal and prêt lines, and each piece is created in-house. Thanks to our exceptionally gifted veteran craftsmen, who work with us to add finesse and artisanal appeal to each collection. We specialise in jadau lines and I make it a point to reference from diverse cultures of India. For instance, some of our jadau ornaments are inspired by temple jewellery, while our Hyderabadi chand balis highlight the famous Bengali gold work.
I also pay a lot of attention to the most ignored realm in the field of jewellery making – wearability. I ensure that the piece sits comfortably on the wearer, and is light in weight. A good fit is of extreme importance for a bride or a working woman, who wears a piece of jewellery conveniently without experiencing irritation or pain.
The Vasantah collection is vibrant and perfect for a bride of today. Are you witnessing demand for bridal jewellery these days?
The Vasantah collection is a celebration of the new life, and combines the beauty of heritage crafts and modernism. I have mostly used polkis, pearls and carved emeralds realised in gold using Jadau techniques.
How has the pandemic impacted your business?
The pandemic actually created a huge void initially. Prior to the second wave, we witnessed a significant demand for bridal jewellery.
The onset of the second wave has once again slowed down business. We hope this wave will be short-lived and we should witness stability in markets.
Keeping the safety protocols in place due to the ongoing crisis, we have stayed in touch with our clients through video calling in order to offer a seamless shopping experience and cater to their requests.
How many stores do you have in India apart from Kolkata? Any plans of moving online?
We are retailing from three stores currently — Kolkata, Delhi and Guwahati. We also cater to clients all over the world through video calls.