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ShareJuhu: Yamini Nair's parent dreamt of making their daughter a doctor. But Yamini had different plans. She wanted to play with colours, designs and metals.
She's not alone; many like her are opting for jewellery designing courses rather than the usual. "I had to convince my parents a lot. They thought it was not a good career option but now my mother can't stop flaunting my designs in front of family and friends," says Nair.
SNDT Women's University had launched a B.Sc in jewellery Design and Manufacturing degree course in 2008 and is the first recognised 3-year degree course in Asia. "Earlier we offered a diploma course in the same; so many students had to do BA or B.Com along with it. So we thought why not make it a degree course," says Devinder Layal, head of department.
Founded in 1994, Jasani Department of Jewellery Design and Manufacture was set up with the guidance and help of Decta Consultants of the UK and the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council of India. It is conducted by the SNDT Women's University, which is a pioneer institute for Technical Education of women's in India as a diploma course. Now many similar courses have mushroomed all over the county.
The course is not new but it has broken the stereotypical barriers as more and more people from non-jewellery business backgrounds are opting for it. Till recently, students opted for engineering or medical courses whereas such courses were a choice of girls from business families who either helped their family or got married into a similar family after completion of course. "In the past, majority of girls came from jewels families but today girls from various backgrounds apply for it," says Layal.
The degree courses curriculum is basic with some new topics which were added keeping in mind the market and its demands. Branding, retail management and visual merchandise are few of them. With so many brands coming up, branding will help students to know how to brand their line. As for visual merchandising and retail management, they will teach students how to display and sell jewellery as well as what colour is 'in' in which season.
"Designers, people from the market give us suggestions as per the market demand. Therefore, there is a constant evolution. We focus more on practical knowledge and also have live projects with companies. This will help girls especially if they want to open their own brands in the future," adds Laval.
In India, jewellery is an important fixation - we buy jewellery on special occasions, as gifts and sometimes without any reason. Although, even today many people still want the same old traditional gold jewellery with the typical designs. It's the young generation which goes for contemporary and colourful designers which are up to the international standards. The times are changing for Indian jewellery market and designers.
