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Devji Group dazzled at Jewellery Arabia with three stands showcasing several stylish and sparkly sets to excite customers throughout the festive season.
The exhibition, which was held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, attracted more than 600 exhibitors from 30 nations displaying a range of jewellery and luxury time pieces as well as precious stones of every size, shape and cut such as the rare $90 million 22-carat pink diamond ring.
Devji Aurum has participated in Jewellery Arabia since its inception in 1992, earning its place as one of the exhibition’s founder brands.
Every year, the 69-year-old jewellery designer and manufacturing group prepares an exclusive array of jewellery, captivating attendees with exquisite pieces that demonstrate excellent craftsmanship and ingenuity of design.
Brothers Prakash, the CEO of the retail wing, Bhaskar, the chairman of the group and Mahesh, managing director of Devji Aurum, were delighted with the positive feedback from customers and the sales made on the newly launched lines.
Mahesh, the third generation of the Devji Group who joined the family business this year said: “I’d like to thank the organisers of Jewellery Arabia for making this show consistent and getting the same kinds of numbers all the time.
“The market is tough out there. We need to stay innovative; creating new things and taking inspirations from the aspirations of our customers. Meanwhile, the customers need to gather the excitement from the jewelers. So when people say there is a bad footfall at an event, it’s not because there is a bad sentiment in the market, it’s because you are not creating enough excitement. Our new brand is creating excitement in the market.”
As an expert in bridal jewellery and with more than six decades of experience, Devji Aurum went above and beyond this year, showcasing more than 700 options in bridal sets in its five bridal categories.
Many of these bridal sets were designed exclusively for Bahraini brides, emanating from Devji Aurum’s dedication to observing roots of traditions and meeting the desires of local customers.
Following last year’s success, Devji Aurum featured its timeless ‘Ruhi collection’, which means the soul in Arabic, and other highlights included ‘Oubharia Classic’, ‘Oubharia Vivid’ and ‘Oubharia Essentia’ a collection reflecting the aspiration of the young at heart.
Mahesh added: “We started the Ruhi collection in 1996 the collection and we have expanded on that line for almost 22 years. This year we exhibited some new versions with the Ruhi.
“We also believe in the individuality of every woman and so our bridal sets fall into five categories to reflect the different types of brides – the Articulate Bride, the Exclusive Bride, the Elegant Bride, the Classical Bride and the Aesthetic Bride. Each masterpiece in this series bears a distinctive personality trait, expressing each bride’s true self and amplifying her inner radiance.
“On the first day of the exhibition, we had almost a huge amount of sales for our new line because it’s beautiful, light, affordable and elegant in terms of the design.”
Devji Aurum also unveiled its new Art Collection called Rafrafa at the Jewellery Arabia, which is an exclusive artistic collection designed in collaboration with Bahraini artist Khalil Al Hashimi.
‘Rafrafa’, which means flutter in Arabic, is designed to bear the signature bird sculpture of the visionary artist and its skilful translation by Devji Aurum into gold jewellery.
The entire collection is designed by Devji Aurum’s craftsmen paying keen attention to details.
Mahesh, who conceptualised the collection, said: “The Devji family have been patrons and connoisseurs of various forms of art for seven decades, introducing intricate forms of designs through jewelry. The Art Collection is a fruition of the brand’s vision to bring fine art and finesse all under one roof.
“Khalil is an amazing artist and I really admire his work. His beautiful bird sculpture had no wings. When I asked him about the wings he said that he sees the bird in that manner. Immediately, it reflected to me that it’s all about perception. There was a wonderful chemistry and I felt I had to build a collection on this. We staged a small press conference a few months back in our store and Jewellery Arabia is the first time it was featured. People have really appreciated the line. The Rafrafa Collection captures the aspiration of free minds towards enlightenment”
Artist Khalil, who holds a Master’s degree in Sculpture from the Academy of fine arts, Leningrad, Russia, has featured his work internationally and across the gulf. His signature bird sculptures are a recurring motif in his career constantly deconstructing the material to reveal its ethereal beauty.
Khalil added: “As a child, living by the shores of Manama, I always admired the seagulls that treaded on fine sand and leapt into flight with the winds. They were creatures that danced between two worlds; free and majestic. As an artist, I longed to celebrate that spirit of eternal freedom in my sculptures. I am thrilled that this manifestation through the efforts of Devji Aurum has been transformed into a wearable token and hopes these birds find a nest in your hearts like they found their way into mine”.
Then again, according to Mahesh, that is what every woman is looking for…daily, wearable designs with splashes of colour too.
He said: “I think customers want colour for the festive season as well as something they can wear daily. You have to remember that the women of today are both social and professional, spending at least eight hours a day working. So they need something that they can wear to the office as well as for a night out with family and friends. They need something beautiful, light and something they can wear on a daily basis.
“Daily wear is important but can we actually build a fashion line around it? That’s what we are trying to see. If you ever visit our factory, which is in Salman Industrial City in Hidd, we have close to 18 designers working and studying trends from all around the world. We also have our own trend book which is an internal Devji Aurum document. We start predicting our own trends because we need to be about a year or six months ahead of the market in thinking, so we don’t follow other trend books. I can’t compare the Middle East to European countries or the market in the US because every country has its own trend. We need to predict what will be the trend here and for 2020.
“What I see in 2020 is going to be very exciting because I think it will be a wonderful mix of modern colour elements in ethnic jewellery, which is going to be amazing. Modern elements are so tough to set in ethnic jewellery because the moment you do that, ethnic jewellery loses its base. It’s not ethnic anymore and then it’s modern. If someone can do this, and that’s what we are trying and I think hopefully we will succeed, if you can bring in these modern elements into the ethnic basis, I think it will be very exciting for the client.”
Devji Group’s Dynamic Solitaires booth was also available at the exhibition to assist shoppers in finding the perfect diamond to fit any occasion. It was launched for thos patrons who like to buy solitaire diamonds.
“Shoppers always had a problem with deciding which diamond is best for them and figuring out cut, size, cost and so forth,” Mahesh added. “People asked me these questions for many years. I felt it’s important to find a solution to it. I come from an IT background; I’m a software engineer myself. I thought its best that we build a system that can satisfy all these problems, get a great price for the customers and get them the benefit they need. We built the software system and based on the software system we connected our network. We have a diamond office in Dubai. Today, we have in our data base more than 100,000 stones. Now customers can come in and request the cut, size and colour they want and the system will automatically calculate everything for them, giving them the best price possible. Plus shopper can see the diamond by the certificate or using a 360 view and after that choose the diamond.” They then design the item of jewellery and create it to the clients liking.
“So the customer saves money, time and everything is taken care of,” added Mahesh. We kind of cut out the middle men and directly deal with the manufacturers who are cutting the diamonds. We also deal with the end consumers so we have a wonderful transparent system. It is also by the Devji Group and is a separate identity. It’s something we like to promote where other jewelers can actually be a part of it too.”
