After establishing a jewellery empire that is
today considered India's crowning glory across international shores, Rajiv
Arora and Rajesh Ajmera, founders of Indian jewellery House Amrapali, were
guests of the Queen at a reception held on Monday 27th February, 2017, at
Buckingham Palace to mark the start of the UK-India Year of Culture.Honored to be recognized by the Queen, Amrapali
was the only jewellery house from India to be present at the event, reiterating
the brand’s forte of recreating the great India design story. On meeting the
founders, The Queen fondly remembered her Jaipur visit in 1961, while The
Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton reminisced about wearing Amrapali earrings
on her maiden visit to India last year. Her Majesty and The Duchess were also
very excited on hearing the news of the forthcoming Amrapali Museum in Jaipur
that celebrates the jewellery and object d’art that the founders have collected
on their travels since founding the House in 1978.
"The Amrapali Museum will showcase a variety
of pieces influenced by British Gold and silver smithing, but that has been
made in India. These pieces would be Amrapali’s contribution to India culture
year in U.K. and would be a great source of research and study for British
museums, designers besides students of arts and culture”, said Rajiv Arora.
Celebrating the longstanding ties between the two
nations, the reception brought together those who are custodians of Indian
culture, from film to sport, business to art. The cultural exchange between the
UK and India has resulted in a beautiful creative dialogue and a constantly
evolving source of inspiration. This melting pot of aesthetics is present more
than ever in jewellery, Amrapali remaining true to their DNA with traditional
techniques coupled with an East meets West approach to design.
On the occasion, Mr. Arora said, "It's been
an honour and privilege to have been chosen by, Her Majesty, The Queen, to
represent our nation at this special reception. For years, Amrapali has had
close ties with the UK and I consider it my second home. This is a wonderful
way to enrich the relationship between both our nations further and strengthen
our cultural bond."
Amrapali arrived in London in 2002 participating
in a 28 day Bollywood inspired installation in Selfridges, this was later
followed by the opening of their space in Harrods, the first Indian jewellery
house to take up residence in the world famous department store. Today Amrapali
not only can be found in Harrods but also their boutique on Beauchamp Place,
Dover Street Market and Net-a-Porter.
