It’s never pleasant when you’reonthevergeofdisappearing into the oblivion after spending a considerableamountoftimeatthetop. So you could probably sympathise with jewellery designer Jamini Ahluwalia’s long, beaded chains. Season after season, they have been the darlings of society divas, sitting pretty around Crystal Noir-scented necks and skimming Roberto Cavalli-wornnavels.This, till Ahluwalia’s latest collection of charms disrupted their smooth run. And going by the international craze for little talismans, the navelgrazers might as well give up the fight.Charms have been in existence ever since the Neolithic Age.They wereworn as jewellery by the pharaohs, used for forbidden religious activities during the heydays of the Roman empire, loved by Queen Victoria and carried home from Europe and the Pacific islands by American soldiers for their sweethearts during World War II. Charms have always been cherished gifts, traditionally given to women on special occasions like marriage, births and anniversaries, engraved with the date and occasion.Today, at Ahluwalia’s south Mumbai studio, these little trinkets rule the roost. “Charms are very hot internationally, and they are picking up here,” she says. “I expect them to last till winter,” she adds. “In fact, vintage charms used in the 1950s are surfacing now and are valued by collectors. They are often sold at auctions conducted by Sotheby’s and Christie’s,” she says.Designer Anita Vaswani, who shuttles between New York and Mumbai, has spent the past few months stringing together feathers, coral chillies, semi-precious gems, shells and Turkish beads in her signature quirky style. Her jewellery label is aptly called Stoned. “What I love about charms is that there’s no order in it. Anything can be put together and it looks great,” she says. Abhishek Bachchan and Avanti Birla have been sporting her pieces.Ahluwalia also has a line of yoga charms—Om signs and Ganeshas for the navel. For those who believe that size does matter, she’s stringing together bunches of crochet, gold beads and coral sticks into charms. For Valentine’s Day this year, Vaswani set up a D-I-Y charmbar at Mumbai’sThe Oak Tree, where customers were encouraged to pick from a variety of charms and string them onto necklaces and bracelets. She also had a collection of cutesy charms for children.At international fashion houses, charmsarethefocal point intheirjewellerycollection. ThehistoryofChanel and charms are interwoven—Coco Chanel was so attached to them that she filled her Paris apartment with symbols like the lion’s head, the fourleaf clover, the sheaf of wheat and the Cameliaflower.Today,KarlLargerfeldusesthesame symbols in the brand’s ready-to-wear collection, be it in the formof buttons or costume jewellery. Louis Vuitton’s 2006 spring-summer collection, The Charms Extraordinaires line, has mini charms symbolising the historyofthebrand.Swarovski is also planning to add a linktothechainandindulgeanimaland bling lovers. The brand’s next Lovlots collection has cute crystal-studded dogs, sheep, snails and cows. And there’smore—Vaswani’snextaregoing tobehealingcharms,whileAhluwaliais coming up with celebration pieces for marriagesandbirths. Yup, those longchain days are gone!
