C.R. Bhadrinaath zooms into a picture of a gold haaram on his mobile. The piece has a breezy design, yet there is grandeur with a dash of white and golden south sea pearls, and rubies with a chunky peacock as pendant.
“As we talk, a bride-to-be in Rameshwaram is enjoying her special moment too as she sees this, her curated antique bridal jewellery,” he says. We are at Bhadrinaath’s award-winning jewellery store, Muhurtha Jewels Palace, located at Mahalingapuram in Pollachi.
He displays another work of exquisite craftsmanship — a pair of hand-crafted bangles with pearls and corals. “My wife was eyeing it. But, one of our customers, who came here to buy a pair of earring, loved the bangle design and has booked it,” he laughs. His wife B.Vishwapriya is all smiles as she says how the new designs fly off their shelves. “Be it bangles or pendants or chains, any new design we bring in is sold in no time. Our customers trust us. No two pieces look alike. Every single piece is hand-picked,” she says.
FOR COIMBATORE 23/03/2017: (Metro Plus) Antique jewellery at Muhurtha Jewels Palace in Pollachi, near Coimbatore. Photo:S. SIVA SARAVANAN
Pan-India collections
The couple travel extensively all over India to bring back unique pieces from Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Bengaluru, and Kolkatta. While Bhadrinaath is the third generation entrepreneur from his family in jewellery business, his wife has a Masters in international business. Bhadrinaath himself worked as a business analyst in the software industry in the U.S.
“It gave me great industry exposure. When I decided to take a plunge into our jewellery business, I learnt that the industry has reached a saturation point. There are thousands of options and so many manufacturers,” he says.
The opportunity came with the segment that offered pocket-friendly light-weight jewellery. “Our focus is on variety and quality. From 1000s of chain designs, we might just pick 15 or 50 that are new and contemporary. Every month, we keep adding new vendors and new products. We keep a close watch on the emerging trends. There is transparency in our pricing as we want to be accountable for every single rupee the customer spends on our jewellery” he says.
They have a private lounge at the store specially for bridal jewellery. Some of their best is showcased there. Like the haaram strung together in an antique style with golden south sea pearls and a hand-made pendant that recreates the concept of Vrindavan.
FOR COIMBATORE 23/03/2017: (Metro Plus) Antique jewellery at Muhurtha Jewels Palace in Pollachi, near Coimbatore. Photo:S. SIVA SARAVANAN
Geometric designs
For a modern touch, there are light-weight designer neck pieces with Swarovski adding the bling. A designer bangle has cut work, rose gold leaf work and designs in rhodium.
“We got this from Mumbai. Bangles in geometric designs and party wear collections come from Mumbai while those in simpler designs in gold are from Kolkatta,” says Bhadri.
Vishwapriya says, “Most brides prefer antique jewellery as it gives them a sense of royalty, but at the same time they want it light weight.”
Muhurtha offers many light weight and less expensive options. They have chains weighing as little as two gms. These are imported from Italy and are predominantly of rhodium and rose gold. For elaborate pendants, you can also have just silk threads to be used as a neckpiece. There are wrist bands made in four gm gold, and Italian kadas for gents.
Driven by customers
The couple takes pride in the fact that they never repeat their designs. They customise regularly for their clients who they say are their main motivation. “For example, people in the South don’t much care for big chunky ear rings. We also minimise the use of kundan here as it has no resale value. Our customers bring in a lot of positivity to our business. They value the time we invest in bringing the best collections for them. .”
He shows me a Ganesha necklace, handmade and with Swarovski crystals.
“The original design was bigger and came with rubies and emeralds. We improvised on the design and made it less expensive. Similarly, we took inspiration from an antique nakshi work that had Burmese rubies and worked on it and reduced the use of gold by several grams. Obviously, the cost came down.” Sometimes, they bring various elements together to create a piece. Like the kasumaala set. “We sourced the kasumaala from Coimbatore, an antique uncut diamond pendant from Hyderabad and a ruby chain from Bengaluru and integrated them. Our customer was thrilled.”
FOR COIMBATORE 23/03/2017: (Metro Plus) Antique jewellery at Muhurtha Jewels Palace in Pollachi, near Coimbatore. Photo:S. SIVA SARAVANAN
Precious stones and more
At other times, Bhadri persuades their clients to try out new things. One client wanted an emerald chain with an emerald pendant, but he talked her into okaying the use of some rubies and Swarovski into the piece and she was delighted with the results.
Industrialists, actors like Karthi and Vaiyapuri, shop at their store. “Tourists from Kerala also drop by when they visit TopSlip and Valparai. When we started, we wanted to cater to customers in the 100 km radius, but now we have gone as far as Bengaluru, Chennai, Erode, and even Rameshwaram.”
Distance is no barrier as Bhadri reveals how they connect with brides-to-be over Skype or Whatsapp. “One of our customers is now working in New Zealand. She is on the look out for the perfect jewellery for her muhurtam and reception. We are working on it.” Bhadri says before they launch into designing for a bride they take into account the colour of her clothing for the wedding, her preference of stones, colours, etc. But most importantly, he says, “ We want to get to know the person we are designing for. I always want to have an organic connect with my customer before I design for her.”
Awards
Muhurtha Jewel Palace has won the Tamil Nadu Retailer Jewellers Award for store of the year (under 5,000 sq.ft.)
It was in the top four at the National Jewellery Award for best single store of the year in South India
Muhurtha Jewels Palace is open on all days from 10 am to 8 pm. Call: 98946-91946 or e-mail bhadri.cr@gmail.com
