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Dream Trade
and each part taken separately. All constituent elements must be precise. A model of the actual piece can be made at this stage. After each component part has been made and finished individually to perfection, the piece can be assembled. Like artists, jewellers are influenced by certain things around them, which are then reflected in their work. Monica's strongest influence is her own culture. As she says, "Everything is so intricate and detailed, which I love. I take my inspiration from my own traditions and interpret them in a modern context."
Having gained a real understanding of the jewellery trade, if customers now go to Monica with a vague idea of what they want (for example a wedding suit with a necklace and earrings) she is able to offer really good service. "It's a bit like an interior decorator coming to your house: first they want to know what colours and styles you like. I have to work closely with my customers' needs because jewellery is a personal statement. I would assess their needs and give them an estimate. The design is then given to the craftsmen who would make a model for me. The fact that I belong to a family network means that I can be quite sure that anything I get will be of the highest quality. Our craftsmen are in India and we usually supervise them personally. After the customer is satisfied, I get the piece UK hallmarked."
Monica is clearly enthused by her career as a jeweller. She admits, "Jewellery is a special thing which you pass from one generation to another. It's something you should enjoy whilst you are living and you can pass on as heritage." As I was interviewing her, she received the news that a chain of department stores were interested in her work. This was victory in its own right. She was clearly delighted. Underlining her creative flair and strong family connections in the business is Monica's religious belief. She prays that God will see her hard work and see fit to reward her.
Monica at an exhibition showing her work
Alison Kent is Photo Editor and Art Consultant for Jain Spirit. For enquiries about Monica's jewellery... Tel +44 (0)161 428 7617
She was also lucky enough to do a special course run by Grant Walker, a design firm in London who run a design consultancy for other jewellers. This course helped her to see jewellery design from a different angle. Initially her inclination was to see jewellery in more traditional Indian terms when forms were changed slightly to make a new pattern. Through the Grant Walker course she learnt to look at jewellery totally differently: to look at something, may be a picture or even a leaf, and translate it into a piece of jewellery.
Monica has taken much inspiration from modern art. She might extract a tiny element of a picture and then work it up from two dimensions into three. By drawing and painting, she learnt to play with a form until she had created an aesthetically pleasing shape. This method, through inspiration, was quite different from the traditional Indian design. This process is similar to composing a painting. Instead of two dimensions, the jeweller - similarly to a sculptor - has to think in three dimensions. The form needs to be functional, it must sit on the body properly. The metal has its own nature, which also has to be taken into consideration and the stones have their own qualities, for example the amount of heat they can take. The metal and the stone have to relate well together.
As with a picture, the starting point is an idea. Working drawings are composed, then colours put in to see where the stones would sit best. The jeweller is given a set of stones to work with, then they are placed within the designs to see how much metal is required, how well they fit into the given criteria of the budget. The details of how the piece will be constructed have to be considered. Once the mechanics have been worked out, the piece has to be disassembled on paper
White gold & diamond ring designed by Monica
Jain Education International 2010_03
March - May 2002 . Jain Spirit
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