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Sparkle Notes

Vogue India, November 2016
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From Mughal miniatures to Souza’s masterful strokes, NIRAV MODI’s dazzling creations blur the line between art and jewellery. The diamantaire opens up to Vogue about finding inspiration in art

NIRAV MODI’s Mumbai office looks more like an art gallery and less the head office of a diamantaire. As you enter, Bharti Kher’s I’ve Seen An Elephant Fly (2002), a life-sized elephant sculpture bearing her signature bindi design, welcomes you. Inside his cabin, Amrita Sher-Gil’s Boy with Lemons (1935) commands a place of pride next to a photo of the artist by her nephew Vivan Sundaram from his Re-take of Amrita series, while Subodh Gupta’s Gober Ganesha (2004), featuring brass cow-pies, lies on the floor. “I have around 300 artworks in the office,” says Moth. “It’s mostly by Modern Indian masters; there’s very little Contemporary art.”

Not surprisingly, Modi’s office also has an art lounge a temperature controlled space storing gems by Raja Ravi Varma, Akbar Padamsee and FN Souza. Surrounded by such high art, the diamond mogul doesn’t need to look far for inspiration. Modi, who has auctioned his pieces at Sotheby’s and Christie’s, created a cuff inspired by Gond art in 2012. More recently, he designed a line inspired by Monet’s paintings. “Both art and jewellery are inspired by nature. What’s common between the two is that they invoke a powerful emotion when you look at it,” he adds.

LOTUS COLLECTION “I saw Monet’s Water Lilies when I was 10 years old and have been fascinated since. With diamonds, emeralds and paraiba stone, this neckpiece works as a visual translation of the painting, though I reinterpreted it using the Indian lotus.”

MUGHAL COLLECTION “This range was inspired by the detailing that goes into making Mughal miniatures. We turned to the flower imagery and petals for our designs. In fact, we created jewellery as well as jewel cuts (we have patented the Mughal® cut) inspired by this form of art.”

SPRING COLLECTION “Souza has always been one of my favourite artists. For this line, I turned to this painting from my personal collection. The diamond jewellery with its shades of blue; green and orange captures the splash of colour you see in the artwork.”