Bling for the soul

Jewellery designer Ajay Leekha showcased his designs after a hiatus of two years.

Ajay Leekha loves working with stones. A jewellery designer by profession, a sizeable number of socialites, diplomats and celebrities swear by his range of jewellery.

And on Tuesday night, as the bubbly flowed at Hyatt Regency Delhi, and the audience gawked, Leekha unveiled his collection called the Rose Safari that, for the record, he felt was "well received and highly appreciated".

Leekha has been on the jewellery circuit long before it became fashionable for wannabe socialites and the big brands to claim it as their own. Why then did he relinquish his space to them for a two-year period?

"This was meant to be a big collection," he says, "Researching and putting everything together has taken time."

But that may not be the only reason for the two-year break. Leekha has been busy behind the scenes, readying to announce the opening of his second Adamus store in Delhi in February 2006.

Besides, a host of exhibitions have been lined up, including one in Bahrain (where he'll showcase his collection next month). Meanwhile, his jewellery export business in the US and the Middle East too keeps him busy.

For someone who studied gemology at the Gemological Institute of America, Leekha's return to India eight years back after a decade-long stint with the American jewellery industry was a welcome step.

"When I first came to India and compared notes," he says, "I found no one here was experimenting with contemporary jewellery."

According to him, everyone was designing and buying what he calls "locker jewellery". Leekha felt the time was ripe to introduce contemporary jewellery in the Indian mart, and that gave birth to Adamus. He invested approximately Rs 1 crore in his design studio then and ever since Adamus "has been posting a turnover of Rs 1 crore every year".

Leekha's designs have also changed with time. "Eight years ago, I was designing fine jewellery, smaller in size and very international in style. My recent collection, however, has a bohemian, bold look."

Rose Safari was divided into four segments: the first had wearable jewellery in white gold and diamonds. The second segment had jewellery attached to clutch bags.

"One piece can be used as a pendant, or an accessory for bags, or even modified as a bracelet."

The third segment had big-sized, bold and chunky jewellery in precious coloured stones, and the fourth catered specifically to bridalwear. Nearly 44 sets of jewellery were showcased on the ramp and ranged from Rs 50,000-8 lakh.

Leekha predicts, "Very soon clothes may actually accessorise fine jewellery." While we need to wait and watch whether this happens any time soon, Leekha's happy dotting places as Adamus spreads itself on the fashion map.