India has one of the most fascinating jewellery cultures in the world with a history that stretches back millennia. To many though, Indian jewellery conjures up images of maharajas lavishly bedecked in giant gemstones and elaborate, traditional necklaces and headpieces. Krishna Choudhary, founder of Santi Jewels and himself a 10th-generation jeweller, is on a mission to change all that with his entirely contemporary take on his country’s richly bejewelled heritage.
Until now, Santi has led a discreet life within the sumptuous confines of Choudhary’s private salon in Mayfair, where it was established in 2019. A visit there is always one of hushed awe, as Choudhary pulls out from his desk box after box of historical, museum-worthy gems that have been repurposed from his family vault into exceptional 21st-century designs.
Take this emerald ring. The unusual striped facets of the central stone were cut in the 18th century, not to European-style conventions of symmetry and “perfection”, but in the highly skilled, traditional Indian approach of maximising its final size and exceptional colour. “It’s not perfect, that’s the beauty of the stone,” says Choudhary. The emerald was bought decades ago by his father Santi, for whom the brand is named and himself a talented jeweller. Until now it’s lain safely in the family vault, but Choudhary has been able to celebrate its unique beauty by setting it simply atop a band of diamonds, which have been cut to mimic a jali, intricate ornamental openwork screens common in Indian architecture.
Creations such as this will attract a much wider audience from next month when Santi Jewels enters centre stage with a selling exhibition at Phillips in London. Open from 20 to 23 September, the show will marry almost 40 contemporary creations with masterpieces from the family’s museum collection in Jaipur, including a Mughal carved jade box and an intricately detailed head ornament. The Choudhary family were first bankers and then jewellers to India’s royal families for hundreds of years, and their spectacular haveli, or ancestral mansion, is one of the best preserved in the so-called Pink City today.
“The jewels of Santi reflect the history of Krishna’s own family and the centuries-old inspiration in Indian culture. His family collection of antique jewels, exceptional pieces and gemstones have all trained his eye and influenced his designs,” says Benoît Repellin, worldwide head of jewellery at Phillips. Choudhary agrees, saying that growing up surrounded by his family’s collection was the perfect foundation for reinterpreting traditional tropes like paisley and chevron motifs and carved stones. “In order to master something new, you have to first master the old,” he says. Art-deco masters such as Belperron and Cartier, who, a century ago, reinterpreted the styles of the past for a new era, were another inspiration. “They were really pushing ideas from a conventional space to something more unconventional, and yet were still creating beauty and timelessness,” he adds. “It’s a case of learning from the past and unlearning at the same time.”
Choudhary’s Cartouche earrings reimagine the chevron in a quietly dramatic ripple of diamonds and feather-light titanium with cut-outs that reveal flashes of skin. Beautiful in a picture, nothing matches seeing them in real life, says Choudhary. “To truly understand someone you have to meet them in person; it’s the same for a jewel.” This exhibition is a rare opportunity to do just that.
Jewels by Santi is a public exhibition presented by Phillips London that runs from 20 until 23 September 2022.
This article first appeared on vogue.co.uk
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