Diamonds take on a new life for Mumbai-based jewellery brand Studio Renn, whose brooches, bracelets and rings are characterised by an avant-garde experimentation. The studio eschews perfection in its jewellery designs, instead focusing on unusual materials and innovative forms for pieces that are part artwork, part adornment.
‘A strong part of our design vocabulary is intangible elements such as reflections, volume and air gaps, which take precedence over the tangible,’ say founders Rahul and Roshni Jhaveri. ‘We also study the idea of perceived value by juxtaposing precious and common materials. The materials used, expected or unexpected, are all based on realising and reflecting these elements.’
Diamonds take on new character in (An)otherness collection
The new collection, (An)otherness, is the result of a collaboration with visual artist Prashant Salvi. A fluid design process has resulted in delicious designs, with sculptural brooches, reversible buttons and puffballs of gemstones revitalising traditional high jewellery codes.
The ‘Transient’ ring, Studio Renn’s first work in concrete, was made in partnership with Material Immaterial Studio, a design practice that makes functional and non-functional objects in concrete. ‘The opportunity arose to collaborate on a piece when an architect, who had been collecting our pieces, commissioned a work. She wanted us to design a solitaire ring but nothing like what she already owned or had seen,’ the founders say.
‘She wanted to be able to wear it all the time. It needed to be strong and “genderless”. Since architecture is still a male-dominated field in India, she wanted something that celebrated her femininity, while countering perceptions of it. It took us a year to conceptualise and create this ring.’ The resulting smooth whorl of concrete is a striking foil for its gold and diamond innards.
Other pieces play with more traditional materials – the ‘Orange Peel’ collar clip in white and yellow gold is set with diamonds that form an undulating addition to a lapel. In the ‘Boletus Sp’ pieces, overlapping loops of diamonds and gold hug the fingers for a precious second skin.
‘The process of creation takes centre stage,’ the couple say. ‘The design, the jewellery, is just a physical manifestation of that ongoing study. We do not consciously take a new look at design in jewellery, because we do not start with designing for jewellery at all.’ §
