The festival, sans the buzz

Fewer parties, less shopping, no cakes - is it really Diwali a week from now?

Dior, brand ambassador Kalyani Chawla touches wood, is doing better than she at any rate had expected. Chanel, India MD Xavier Bertrand seals his lips with a finger, is so phenomenal, it'll have several more stores in several more cities before the year is out. Titan is expecting to end this month with 15 per cent of its total annual sales.

Really? So why is the buzz missing from the market? Where are the footfalls? Dude, why aren't cars loaded with hampers and gifts clogging up the streets? With just a week to go for Diwali, there are no signs of candles or diyas, of jostling crowds and glitteringly canopied markets. No one's sending out cakes, or recycling old bottles of wine and expensive single malts. No mithai, no chocolates...

Till last week, everyone said Diwali's early this year, so it'll pick up momentum in a bit. It hasn't. Now, they're saying it's because the wedding season doesn't kick off till later this year, in December, and since a lot of the buying is related, the festive buzz will set in later, much later.

Optimists say shopping is no longer a seasonal activity, that the availability of big brands and stores and promotions means buyers are in the markets year round, so it's all right really "" just go home and switch on your China-made fairy lights.

Which means that Bulgari and Hugo Boss, Valentino and Ferragamo aren't exactly swinging any more right now than they were a month ago, so what if everyone from Maurice Lacroix to H2O to Martell XO have paused for a look-see at Asia's most exciting emerging market (okay, make that second-most exciting market). "The buzz," agrees party planner Anil Mandla, "is definitely missing."

Even though corporate clients have brand launches coinciding with Diwali, and event manager Thanush Joseph says he's already doubled his billings over last year's festival season, and Mumbai is more kicked about Christmas and New Year anyway, still...

Perhaps, as marketing geniuses tell us, it's because companies are now spreading their advertising and marketing resources across the entire festival period from October to December/January.

Ad spend estimates are certainly impressive. LG has lined up Rs 100 crore for the period, Whirlpool had earmarked Rs 70 crore "" but that's because traditionally the gains are huge. Market analysts estimate the size of the festive market at Rs 20,000 crore for consumer durables alone.

Or used to be. How many people have you seen walk off with a new plasma TV this season? You can see faces pressed against the glass in watch show windows, but consumers seem hesitant to open the doors and walk in. Yet.

Or maybe we're wrong, after all. The season kicked off with Puja in Kolkata, and is still running strong. And there's still next week to go before the washing machines and mobile phones start disappearing from the shelves.

Then, accompanied by some crackling fire bombs, we might have a Diwali dhamaka and a festive season after all. Touchwood.

Jewellery trends

With higher disposable incomes and DINK families, buying jewellery, at least the lighter, more wearable ranges, is no longer limited to festival times or conventional wedding seasons.

Despite that, conservatively speaking, sales go up by about 20-30 per cent this time of the year, say jewellers. It is the same this year though the wedding market may have suffered because of there being just two auspicious dates this winter "" most of these are in January next year.

Gold and the golden look is back in fashion as against the Victorian settings last year, says Suman Khanna of Amrapali, but it is embellished with lots of stones and coloured with different polishes.

Since the wedding season is not coinciding with the festival season this time round, the accent is clearly on more modern and wearable jewellery lines.

While Amrapali's contemporary line in gold and semi-precious stones priced Rs 8,000 and upwards is proving to be quite a winner, you could covet other sleeker, wearable "" though much more expensive "" designs too. Bvlgari's new line, for instance, this year is Parentesi "" a non-conventional reinterpretation of its classic line, inspired by the, believe it or not, joints of pavements in Rome!

The jewellery is available in yellow and white gold matched to sparkling pave diamonds. For a more Indian touch, jewellery designer Alpana Gujral too has an unusual collection, making ample use of coloured stones but incorporating it with disparate traditions like enamel (minakari) work. The trend this year, says Gujral, is towards long necklaces and lots of wide bangles for the cuffs.

Mobile mania

Would you like to own a mobile phone that's crafted in platinum, gold and white gold with a choice of baguette cut diamonds as the keypad? Well, you can, once you have forked out somewhere around Rs 1.6 crore.

A mobile phone that is made to order was unveiled by Vertu recently, and is predictably aimed at the the flashy types who fancy gadgets that set them apart. Vertu Signature Cobra is priced at Rs 1.6 crore and there will be only eight Signature Cobra pieces available worldwide.

The company intends to sell only one Signature Cobra in India. Vertu Signature Python, also a part of Vertu's Signature series, is priced at Rs 60 lakh. Only 26 models are being designed.

Each Signature Diamond is made to Vertu's own design that includes 388 mechanical components. The Signature series with baguette cut diamonds in its keypad contains 48 diamonds, specially cut to fit its tapered key perfectly. Assembled completely by hand, it takes an expert up to three years to learn how to put together a Vertu Signature phone.

Style seating

Looking to change the look of your apartment this festive season? We suggest a trip to Alchemy, a designer furniture and home accessories store where you'll find an incredible range of sofa sets, single seaters and interesting handcrafted home accessories imported from Bangkok, Indonesia and Thailand.

Trend talk by Nupur Gupta, partner, Alchemy, reveals that a "longer and a sleeker look is in as opposed to the simple, straight-lined look. As compared to last year, this season steel mixed in wood is uninteresting, especially in furniture".

All furniture pieces take nearly eight weeks to be polished and special care is taken to give them an optimum finish. Gupta and her partner, Anupama Dalmia, handpick nearly all the accessories from abroad and price them "reasonably" for customers. Our pick:

A long lattice bench in faux leather that is available for Rs 42,000 (plus taxes). This is also available in red and yellow.

Style in silver

There's a good range of silver items for the festive season. Frazer and Haws recently announced its festive collection in silver including diyas, figurines, bowls and t-light candle holders. This season, tradition gets a contemporary twist.

Why else would an otherwise simple tee-light candle holder get into "pebble art"? Frazer and Haws has an exquisite piece enfolded by contoured silver with fine hammering to rest on a natural black pebble.

Definitely a new trend in design, this piece is available for Rs 6,050. Refining this design element further is a bowl with arched edges in contemporary design. This is available for Rs 9,650.

Pebble art, a kick off from last year's festive season, continues to be in fashion not just in Frazer and Haws but also at Episode, another brand in luxury products in silver. A pebble Ganpati, a stylised form of Ganesha, is priced between Rs. 2,790-2,930. Why, Indi Store, is even selling pebble ash trays this season at Rs 788.

Osho World has some incredible tee-light holders in black pebble too. Even Ravissant is singing a contemporary song with The Silver Lining, a collection of 100 items designed and crafted by some distinguished international designers The luxury goods store is offering a fusion of European and Indian tradition in hand crafted platters, candle stands, tea sets, flower vases and some art pieces, all in matt finish.

For the first time, Ravissant has showcased collections in gilding metal with silver and some of the items have been clad with pure gold leaf for a stunning effect. Inspired by Indian motives, the richness of Indian ornamentation, temple architecture, artistic expressions and ways of living, this time there's greater detailing and newer techniques in enamelling.