by Suman Gupta
Mumbai,June 2017: The 13thAnnual Gemfields Retail Jeweller India Awards 2017 widely known as the Oscars of the jewellery industry, held its GRAND JURY MEET showcasing India’s top nominated jewellery creations at Jade Ballroom, Sahara Star, Mumbai. At the Grand Jury Meet, a panel of eminent jurors has unveiled top-rated unique, creative and innovative designs from some of the most reputable jewellery houses across the country.
After 2 rounds of rigorous selection over 268 world-class precious jewellery designs across 17 categories including 5 new categories, the selected designs were displayed for physical round of judging by the Grand Jury to announce the final nominees. The pieces displayed at the ‘Grand Jury Meet’ have been screened through a rigorous 2-tier selection process that includes initial screening (for adherence to entry guidelines) by IMRB, process auditors for the awards, followed by an online judging by the jury for each category.
The Jury Panel included Michelle Poonawalla (Director, Poonawalla Group of Engineering Companies), Nawaz Modi Singhania (Fitness and Lifestyle Expert and Artist), Namrata Baruwa Shroff (Interior Architect), Schauna Chauhan Saluja (CEO, Parle Agro Pvt. Ltd.) and Sangeeta Bijlani (Actor, Businesswoman and Former Miss India).
Speaking on Grand Jury Meet Soma Bhatta, Editor, The Retail Jeweller said, “Every year we receive an overwhelming response for the RJIA. Never in the past, however, have we revealed the names of the final nominees on the very day of the judging. This is because the score assessment process is time-intensive. This time around, we have worked with IMRB and devised a new process to make an early reveal possible.”
“There is no bigger or more attractive consumer segment in today’s market than the millennials. Recognizing this, last year at RJIA 2016 we introduced The Jewellery Buff’s Choice Award, to honour the finest design achievements of the year aimed at discerning young consumers. At RJIA 2017 we built on this success, with the support of bold and ambitious young achievers and youth icons including Sayani Gupta (Actor), Shriya Pilgaonkar (Actor) and Ruhi Singh (Actor). These special jurors have selected the best of the best bridal jewellery that is one supreme award-winning design from the nominations across four bridal categories finalised by the jury members. And to make it more exciting, for the first time in the history of these Awards, the final nominees will be announced during the Grand Jury Meet. However, the winners will be disclosed on the grand finale night in Mumbai on the 29th of July,” she added further.
Another Spectacular highlight of the Gemfields Retail Jeweller India Awards 2017 was the introduction of five new jewellery categories i.e.
- 9 to 5 Jewellery – daily work wear jewellery
- Revival Style Design – modern rendition of old jewellery styles
- Men’s Jewellery – exclusive men’s earrings, ring, chains, etc.
- Modular Jewellery – single pieces that dismantle to form different pieces of jewellery
- Precious Colored Gemstone Jewellery – exclusive ruby, emerald and sapphire jewellery
Speaking about these categories, Bhatta says, “RJIA has always endeavored to set the highest industry benchmarks for design innovation, while responding to emerging market trends. The five new categories reflect the incredible changes in the way that consumers today strategise their jewellery purchases. They want, and demand, jewellery that is tasteful and fashionable, yet multi-functional and adapted to everyday wear.”
According to Rupak Sen, Director Marketing & Sales, Asia & Middle East, Gemfields, “The Retail Jeweller India Awards (RJIA) is a unique initiative honouring the best in the retail jewellery industry. Since its inception, RJIA is the most prestigious and sought-after awards for the Indian retail jewellery industry. Since both Gemfields and RJIA thrive for the best and provide the right platform to the industry, we mutually decided to get associated with each other.”
According to Shirin Bandukwalla, Director, Solitaire Gemmological Laboratories, “SGL is happy to be associated with a platform like RJIA which identifies and acknowledges the creative doers of the jewellery industry.”
About Retail Jeweller India Awards:
Retail Jeweller India Awards was established in 2005 with the mission to take the US $30 billion Retail Jewellery industry forward by creating a platform for recognizing the best work of the industry in fields of design, retail and marketing. Also, known as India’s Oscars for the Retail jewellery industry and the only business awards specifically for retail jewellers in the country of 3 lakh retail jewelers.
With reputable jury, IMRB as the process auditors, the awards are the country’s premier and most authoritative national competition. It is an initiative of the Retail Jeweller Magazine, which is a specialized bi-monthly business magazine read by top jewellery retailers across 415 cities of India. Completely focused on the subject of jewellery retailing, the magazine enjoys highest readership amongst progressive jewellery retailers in the country. Delivering focused communication for 48,000 HNI readers it has emerged as a dependable and reliable source for industry happenings and developments.
About Gemfields:
Gemfields (India) Private Limited was founded in 2005. Gemfields PLC is an AIM-listed multinational natural resources company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, and is one of the world’s leading suppliers of responsibly sourced coloured gemstones like rubies and emeralds. The group owns the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia and the Montepuez ruby deposit in Mozambique. Gemfields produces around 25% of the world’s emerald supply and 70% of the world’s ruby supply.
About Solitaire Gemmological Laboratories:
SGL (Solitaire Gemmological Laboratories) is one of the leading gemmological laboratories in the world that provides professional gemstone identification and grading services to the gems and jewellery industry. All SGL laboratories, as a part of the seamless network use the same system, process, technology and methodology globally to provide top of the line service to the gems and jewellery industry.
