A trance listening, gemstone aficionado who creates for himself, prodigious jeweller Viren Bhagat believes that India is too caught up in the past and that we have to look beyond Maharajas to create a modern identity reports Vijetha Rangabashyam

There is an aura that surrounds jewellery designer extraordinaire Viren Bhagat that is unmistakable – humility combined with confidence that is unwavering. If half the jewellers imbibed in them his conviction, then they would all be making headlines for selling crores worth of pieces at auction houses. Yet here is a man who is extremely private and doesn’t resort to any form of promotion – in a time when the world is abound with narcissism inflicted mostly by social media, Bhagat’s compendium of awe-inspiring creations speaks for itself. So, when Saffronart announced that he was going to be the keynote speaker at their biennial conference, the whole jewellery fraternity was wide-eyed, gasping in surprise. And as expected, the venue was packed; had I gone any later, there wouldn’t have been any place for me.

Amongst the many pieces by Bhagat that have amazed us over the years is a pair of diamond jali bangles. It is a sublime confluence of Mughal lattice screen motif and an industrial aesthetic. “I was always fascinated by how bangles are crafted in different parts of India. I wanted to translate it to modern times in today’s context with platinum. I always try to bring Indian jewels to a modern context. Most Indians carry the Maharaja baggage with them. But how do we go forward from here? We have to create a modern identity . These bangles embody that,” he says.

In fact many of his pieces exemplify a mélange of Indian and European aesthetic – minimal use of metal, mostly platinum, so that the gemstones which he takes several years to collect shine through. In June, a few of his pieces were auctioned at Christie’s,

one of which surpassed the estimate by almost three times. A diamond and emerald brooch with pear and circular shaped rosecut diamonds and circular-cut diamonds and an emerald drop inspired by the Mughal flowerpot motif went under the hammer for $399,000. Yet Bhagat reiterates the fact that he is not in this business for money. “It takes me six months to make a ring, so how do I make money? That’s what makes me different. My business is not a commercial venture.

I’m very happy that my contemporary pieces have found its way into museums ,” he says. His family hails from Lathi, a small villag in Gujarat. Begun by his forefathers 120 years ago, Bhagat grew around gemstones and jewels. “Since I was eleven, I would go to my father’s store and watch him and my uncles deal in gemstones with clients. The workshop would have 20 craftsmen at any given time. I would watch the setters and polishers and I would see these amazing gemstones pass through their hands.” As his dad’s business closed down, he started his entity along with his brothers in Kemp’s Corner, Mumbai.

The world thrives on the notion ‘Consumer is King.’ But what Bhagat does is completely antithetical to this belief. He doesn’t take commissions, creates maybe sixty pieces in a year and never repeats any design. “Why should I repeat when I can create something new every time?” he questions the audience. His remarkable designs have earned him well heeled patrons from across the world who resonate with his painstaking artistry and no-two-designs-are-the-same philosophy. “If I make a piece with 40 pearls which I have collected over 15 years how can I put a value and price to that? It’s about finding a patron who appreciates your jewels. Things are changing in India. Indian clients
- especially the young people have a major understanding of the world and they see the tangible value of these jewels .”

A spectacular artist who loves to begin his day making precise sketches, Bhagat believes that he has his late father’s genes when it comes to drawing. Vajubhai Bhagat was an artist and a professor at JJ School of Arts. “He taught the likes of Akbar Padamsee and Tyeb Mehta. On Sundays, they would visit our home in Marine Drive and have conversations about art for hours.

While art and design were ingrained in his formative years, it is only after he grew up did he experience a defining moment in his career. Bhagat visited Rome on a family holiday and witnessed firsthand the jewels at Bulgari. An awestruck Bhagat visited all their stores. On his return to Mumbai, he started sketching a collection and took the same to Geneva to meet Gianni Bulgari without an appointment. . “I didn’t get an appointment for two weeks. He eventually met me at lunch time and offered me a job.” However, Bhagat never ended up working at Bulgari as Gianni couldn’t employ a man, teach him all his secrets to only have him use them for his own business.

Today, he is joined by his sons Varun and Jay who he believes share the same ideology when it comes to carrying forward the Bhagat legacy. Someone in the audience asked him about his love for diamonds and Bhagat goes on to talk about flat cut diamonds. “They are very difficult to cut. They are beautiful, almost like drops of water, without much luster. My craftsmen follow my drawing to the T. They cut the stones as per my drawing. I am very deeply involved in the engineering of the jewel.”

Every artist has a muse and Bhagat with a coy smile confesses that his wife is his muse. But he goes on to admit that she is not the only one. “When you are a creative person, you observe things better than other people. I go for a run in the morning. And I see these fisherwomen next to Sassoon Docks and their sarees and jewellery are so fantastic! In general, India is my inspiration .” And what does the man listen to when he goes for his morning run? Trance. We wouldn’t have guessed that answer in a million years!