Viren Bhagat is one of the iconic jewelers of our time. He calls his wife his main muse, runs in the morning and is also inspired by Indian culture. At the same time, the style of the master is quite european: Bhagat skillfully uses foreign techniques and even invents his own.
Viren Bhagat says he not only creates jewelry, but works of art. It can take him up to 6 months to make a ring. The master's works don't end up in retail stores: they are bought by collectors.eurs and VIP customers.
Become a master
Viren Bhagat was born in a small village on the west coast of India. Her family was engaged in the jewelry business, but not very successfully. Three generations of Bhagat Jewelers have tried to do business in Mumbai, Gujarat but failed.
Viren became interested in jewelry during his school years. After school, he goes to the Bhagat Brothers store, owned by his father and uncle. The boy was watching how the adults communicated with the providers.eurs and customers, looked at the store windows. The most interesting thing was in the workshop: 20 jewelers were creating jewelry, bringing every detail to perfection. They also told the boy about the precious stones, theeur origin and valuation methods.
Viren Bhagat's father was a professeur art school. Contemporary artists constantly visited his house: they argued for hourseures on art, sometimes turning into a cry. The boy sat on his father's lap and listened. He wasn't going to be an artist, but the art world was close and interesting to him.
In the 1980s, Viren Bhagat went on vacation in Europ. It was there that he first saw Bulgari jewelry and was delighted with it. Back home, Bhagat took a pencil and created a series of his own sketches, which Gianni Bulgari sent.
The answer did not come right away. Six months later, Bhagat received a letter in which a famous createur jewelry was inviting her to a meeting. What else can you dream of? Bhagat collected all his drawings and went to Geneva.
Gianni Bulgari very much appreciated the work of a talented young man and offered him a long-term contract. But Bhagat did not want to bind himself to obligations: he valued freedom very much. Despite this, the meeting proved useful: as the jeweler later recalled, she convinced him of the correctness of the chosen path.
World renown
By the time Viren Bhagat decided to go into jewelry, his father's business had gone bankrupt. But he was not discouraged and in 1991 opened a boutique-workshop with two brothers. Viren designed the jewelry, Bharat took care of the organizational issues, and Rajan communicated with the clients.
At first, the profit only covered the cost of rent. The brothers chose a small store without a window, and the location was not very good. But gradually they attracted the attention of the fashionable public and the fame of the talented Indian jeweler went beyond the borders of the country.
A few years ago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York hosted an exhibition of the Qatari collection of Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani. It included 6 unique pieces, most of which were of venerable age: porcelain from the Ming dynasty, a Mayan jade mask, ivory figurines from ancient Mesopotamia. Bhagat's works were also part of the collection – a pair of bracelets and an illuminated brooch. Apart from him and Joël Arthur Rosenthal, no contemporary jeweler has been so honoured.
Viren Bhagat himself has long been called the enigmatic jeweler of our time: he has never appeared in public. In 2020, the master broke the established rules and for the first time personally presented his work at the TEFAF exhibition, one of the most important international events in the field of art. The event took place from March 7 to 11 and ended earlier than expected due to the coronavirus outbreak, but managed to leave a lot of vivid impressions. Bhagat presented 50 works, including a sapphire ring with a shank made of diamond discs.
How does the master work
Viren works in the basement of his own house. He is assisted by two sons and hired staff. In total, the company structure includes 4 workshops with 20 high-level jewelers, many of whom have been working since the inception of the brand.
Viren Bhagat does not use the usual advertising and marketing tools: he does not chase titles and public recognition. The master only creates 50 to 60 pieces of jewelry per year. Most of them are sold before the work is completed.
According to Bhagat, his main muse is his wife. And he also looks for inspiration in the environment: every morning, the master goes running in front of the fishing villageeurs of Colaba and watch how the peacheseurs gather in the sea. The gait, clothes, accessories of local residents – all this inspires and awakens a lot of ideas in him. Returning from an errand, the master sits down at the table and begins to work, listening to music – mostly trance.
Style Features
In Bhagat's works there is a piece of Indian culture: its amazing architecture, its music, its design, its ideas about beauty. The master does not create traditional jewelry, but all are largely inspired by India. It is a unique combination of tradition and modernity, harmonious and impressive.
India is the cradle of the art of jewelry, but the idea is specific here. In ancient times, it was customary to buy gold and precious stones in this country in kilograms. That's why the aesthetic was very specific – pompous, luminous, emphatically luxurious.
Bhagat works differently: he uses metal to a minimum. A distinctive feature of the master is an almost invisible platinum setting: the set stones literally float in the air. The flat cut predominates, which is made in the company's own workshops.
Viren Bhagat prefers the "5 treasures" of the Mughal era:
- diamonds;
- sapphires;
- emeralds;
- ruby;
- pearl.
He buys stones in advance, amassing an impressive collection at home: it includes Kashmir sapphires, Colombian emeralds and Golconda diamonds. When creating the next sketch, he selects a suitable copy in advance – and doesn't calm down until he finds a perfect match to the drawing.
Prices
Prices for Viren Bhagat's works are in the seven figures. For example, a 5-row natural pearl necklace with diamonds recently sold for $1. The master says he does not seek commercial success or fame, which does not prevent him from being one of the highest paid jewelers of our time.
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