Krishna Choudhary in his family’s haveli, Sara Sandas, which remains the family headquarters today. Photo credit: Santi Jewels.
Written by Vivienne Becker
Not many jewelers working today can claim to be 10th generation of a family dynasty reaching back to the late 17th century. It seems all the more surprising, and even incongruous, looking at the powerfully modern, ingeniously engineered Santi Jewels, on show this month in a private selling exhibition at Phillips London (September 20-23). Yet, for Krishna Choudhary, the creative force behind Santi, the way forward has been very firmly through the past, through the many generations of his family of jewelers.
Santi, named for Krishna’s father and mentor, Santi Choudhary, founder of Royal Gems and Arts, Jaipur, was launched in 2019, with a small but perfectly formed collection of refined, sophisticated, highly individualistic, one-of-a-kind jewels. They were revealed discreetly in Santi’s exquisite private Mayfair salon, decorated in soft, silky tones of dusty pink, the color of Jaipur, the Pink City, Krishna’s birthplace, birthright and enduring inspiration.
Santi’s private Mayfair salon in London. Photo credit: Santi Jewels.
The Choudharys trace their lineage, as bankers and jewelers to 1727, to the founding of the new city of Jaipur, by the cultivated, erudite Maharajah Sawai Jai Singh 11, ruler of Amer, Western India. He decided to move from the remote hillside location (the site of the Amber Fort), and to build a new city, to house the fast-growing population of his wealthy, flourishing realm. He created a city of great splendor, with wide boulevards, lavish palaces and a vibrant cultural and commercial life. Jaipur drew artists, craftsmen, merchants and tradesmen from across India, incentivized by the forward-thinking Maharajah. These artisans included jewelers, goldsmiths, gemstone merchants and lapidaries, who laid the foundations of Jaipur’s reputation as a world-renowned jewelery, gem-trading and gem-cutting center. The Choudharys, originally from Central India, were amongst the noble families who had migrated to Rajasthan, and then moved to Jaipur, where they were given privileges, lands and titles. The Choudarys rose to prominence amongst Jaipur’s social and cultural elite and were granted the license to mint coins for the state, while also managing the royal treasury of jewels. They installed themselves in an opulent haveli or mansion, Sara Sandas, conveniently close to the City Palace. This magnificent haveli, with its arched doorways, imposing dome, intricate courtyards and original 18th century frescoes, remains the family headquarters today. It is here that Santi Choudhary houses his heritage collection of rare and ravishing precious treasures, 17th and 18th century Mughal jewels and objects, collected through the centuries. A selection of these treasures will be on show at Phillips, alongside Santi’s contemporary jewels, to illustrate Krishna’s influences and inspirations, to make the all-important connection between past and present, with a glimpse of the future.
Located near the City Palace in Jaipur, the Choudhary family’s haveli houses a heritage collection of 17th and 18th century Mughal jewels and objects collected through the centuries. Photo credit: Santi Jewels.
Krishna Choudhary grew up immersed in the rich and ancient Indian traditions of gems and jewels. He learnt first-hand from his father, holding, examining and contemplating the extraordinary, historic jewels and objects in the collection, the jewels and gems that passed through his father’s hands, studying the age-old skills that brought them to life: stone-cutting and carving, kundan-setting, enameling, goldsmithing. He remembers the excitement when his father had bought something extraordinary, how eager he was to see what his father had found, and how happy when he was allowed to handle the object. “There was a lot of curiosity,” he says.
Krishna left home to study abroad, first a business degree, followed by postgraduate studies in Islamic and Indian Art History, and finally a gemology qualification from the GIA. Returning to Jaipur, surrounded once again by the historic splendor of the haveli and its treasures, he realized that gems and jewels were in his blood. With his new-found gemological knowledge, and his academic understanding of Indian art and design, the meanings and messages of motifs and devices, he was reawakened to the mystical beauty of antique gems and the awe-inspiring craftsmanship of Indian jeweled artworks. He understood, too, that he could give new life to historic gems, open a new chapter in their stories, looking at their history, their charm, through the filter of his personal vision of modernity. Ideas and designs began to take shape in his imagination, and he set out to perpetuate his heritage in his own individualistic way, building his own brand of contemporary, even avant-garde High Jewelery. He says, “Jewelery keeps moving forward. I felt we needed another narrative, and I thought I could add something from my learning, add to the wondrous quality and history of gemstones.”
Emerald flower earrings set with two round old mine Golconda Diamonds and oval-shaped cabochon Panjshir emeralds in platinum. Photo credit: Laura Randall.
Krishna understood enough to be able to break the rules and reinterpret and reinvigorate the traditions he so loves with a mix of audacity, ingenuity and reverence. Integrating them into dramatic jewels of masterful modernity that push boundaries of craftsmanship, with unexpected silhouettes, fresh color combinations, subtle or striking, and a captivating blend of strength and lyrical lightness, of serenity and exuberant movement, opulence and simplicity, the romantically familiar and the arrestingly new, the cerebral and the sensual.
As the Phillips exhibition shows to perfection, each jewel is designed around a rare, precious and soulful antique gem, or suite of gems. Krishna sources limpid Golconda diamonds, majestic Colombian emeralds and rich, wine-colored spinels from Afghanistan, velvety Kashmir sapphires, as well as lustrous natural Basra pearls, from the Persian Gulf, so redolent of both Mughals and Maharajahs and their inimitable style. To these he adds occasional superlative stones from newly discovered sources, including green tourmalines in his titanium web earrings, and cognac diamonds in his gold Cartouche earrings. He sets the most charismatic old-mine gems, with their secrets and stories, into modern, graphic designs juxtaposing antiquity with advanced high-tech materials like titanium, using mesmerizing techniques of gem-cutting, mounting and setting, to bring lightness and fluidity to opulence. He finds modern expressions for age-old Indian decorative and architectural motifs, patterns and decorative devices. His favorites include the cartouche, taken from the intricate arabesque lattices that traditionally framed floral motifs on tiles, fabrics, carpets; the chevron, symbolizing the flowing waters of the streams of paradise, one of the geometric patterns favored by the Mughals; the curvaceous mango, stylized vegetal, or paisley emblem with its sinuous, curling tail; the poppy, so integral to the Mughal flower cult, referencing the Central Asian origins of the Mughal dynasty.
Disc earrings set with one-of-a-kind cluster of paisley-cut diamonds, floating on engraved chevron waves in 18k yellow gold. Photo credit: Santi Jewels.
Delving deep into each of these enduring motifs, Krishna distills their meanings, messages and otherworldliness into pure line and fluid form. He explains, “I have inherited instinct from my father, and words from experts and scholars. Where once I might wonder why a particular gem, like a star sapphire, is so precious, now I can articulate what is special about an antique stone, or a carved gem, or relate the intricacies of an ancient craft-skill.”
An old mine diamond surrounded by an open chevron setting with diamond pave in platinum. Photo credit: Laura Randall.
I spent time with Krishna in his Mayfair salon, seeing and handling Santi jewels, along with antique jewels and objects from the family collection that inspired many of them, while we worked together on the curation of the Phillips exhibition. I was struck by what seems to be the rhythmic ritual involved as Krishna quietly and calmly produces each jewel, from some hidden place in his desk, or from behind a curtain, revealing each masterwork and each treasure, slowly, giving each its space, and a chance to breathe to unleash its full power and beauty on the observer. This is important—so much thought, work, time, skill and indefatigable gem-hunting goes into each creation that just 30-40 jewels can be created and crafted each year. I couldn’t help but think that Krishna’s entrancing presentation of his jewels and their inspirations connects to the ritualistic ceremonies still alive in Indian culture, and to the deep reverence still paid to jewels and gems in Indian life. I saw, too, behind Krishna Choudhary’s quiet, reserved demeanor, a diamantine determination to make his mark, bring something new to the world of High Jewelery and to perpetuate a rich heritage, both his personal family legacy and that of India, its traditions, rituals and deep-rooted beliefs, its noble artistry and craftsmanship.
Jewels By Santi
20 — 23 September 2022
First Floor Gallery at 30 Berkeley Square, London, W1J 6EX
For further information, please contact LMclean@phillips.com
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