The second edition of Saffronart’s biennial jewellery conference, Mapping a Legacy of Indian Jewels, concluded on Saturday night with an overwhelming response from nearly 200 participants – including some who travelled especially for the event from locations as far as Italy, the US and Russia. The two-day event, which is part of Saffronart’s ongoing Dialogues in Art series, took place on 11 – 12 October 2019 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Mumbai.

The conference was curated by renowned jewellery historian Dr. Usha R Balakrishnan. The distinguished panel of speakers across both days included India’s foremost contemporary jewellery designer Viren Bhagat; international jewellery specialists Lisa Hubbard and Joanna Hardy; fashion designer and author Wendell Rodricks; jewellery historian Jack Ogden; art historian and author, Hugo Miguel Crespo; GIA’s Chief Quality Officer John King, an expert on coloured diamonds; Chief Advisor to the Maharaja of Kapurthala, Cynthia Meera Frederick; journalist and author, Manu Pillai; and Director of Eka Archiving Services, Deepthi Sasidharan. The conference was co-sponsored by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), partnered by the Diamond Producers Association (DPA) and the World Diamond Museum, and supported by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).

Saffronart’s President and Co-founder Minal Vazirani said, “Saffronart’s succession of jewellery conferences have created a unique global conversation around jewels that is centred in India, one of the most important origin points of jewels in the world. We are delighted to have spearheaded this pioneering effort that traces the dialogue between tradition and modernity, history and myth, and charts a contemporary Indian aesthetic in jewellery design. This second edition of the conference has gained a great deal of momentum, as it was a platform for information and learning which is not in the public forum. As a result, we have doubled participation and we will plan to host this as a biennial event. We look forward to continuing this journey and organising the third edition of the Saffronart Dialogues in Art jewellery conference in 2021.”

Dr Usha R Balakrishnan said, “The conference was a success beyond all expectations, and truly mapped the legacy of Indian jewels and looked at jewellery as art. It is my firm belief that it has served as a catalyst for the further study and documentation of this incredible heritage. Chinua Achebe, the Nigerian novelist and poet, famously said, “Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” Since gemstones and jewels can never reveal their journeys and stories, we have to be that historian, to share scholarship, make discoveries and introduce the art of jewels to collectors, connoisseurs, and enthusiasts. At Saffronart’s 2nd jewellery conference, speaker after speaker chronicled the histories of gems and jewels and related their journeys across time and continents.”