Anita Agrawal of Jewels 4 Ever (Aka Greatest Bargains Jewelry) and Anita Bhandari of Aarkish Diamonds win three worldwide jewelry design awards, INSTORE journal’s 2021 annual design contest. The duo received the next awards: Second place by the judges’ choice and in addition received the Retailer’s Selection Award within the Greatest Earring Over $5,000 Class for his or her “Spring Goddess Earrings” and the Retailer’s Selection Award within the Coloured Stone Jewellery Over $5,000 Class for his or her “Blue Flame Pendant”, within the 2021 INSTORE Design Awards.
The INSTORE Design Awards are distinctive in that they incorporate a blind-judging element—1st, 2nd, and third locations in every class are chosen by a handpicked group of high retailers and influencers. There’s additionally a separate voting information and on-line voting that decides a “Retailer’s Selection” winner for every class permitting retailers from throughout North America to see the entire high designs and choose a winner.
Each second-generation jewellers and daughters of immigrant dad and mom, Agrawal and Bhandari have a mixed expertise of 72 years within the jewelry trade. Their contrasting specialties allowed for the duo to take daring steps within the design course of. Jewels 4 Ever (Agrawal) makes a speciality of inexpensive fine-coloured stone jewelry and Aarkish Diamonds (Bhandari) makes a speciality of high-end customized diamond jewelry.
The duo has tangentially recognized of one another for over 20 years, however this was their first collaboration. Their friendship and partnership had been expedited by the worldwide pandemic, when Bhandari, a board member of Trend Group Worldwide Toronto (FGI Toronto), requested Agrawal to take part in an Instagram stay session to debate jewelry traits.
Of the popularity, Agrawal says “it’s an honour to be acknowledged as a small enterprise proprietor and Canadian producer. I’ve labored on this trade for thus lengthy, and each of us have made 1000’s of items, however it feels much more important an achievement when different trade retailers choose your designs.” Bhandari provides “We had been up towards legendary designers and multi-million-dollar companies on this competitors, similar to Gabriel & Co, and Erica Courtney. So, there have been quite a lot of very robust submissions”.
Agrawal and Bhandari are additionally grateful to the a number of native goldsmiths, artisans, CAD designer and stone setters that helped deliver their creations to life. Agrawal says “This pandemic actually highlighted the need of small companies to come back collectively and collaborate.” Bhandari provides “There’s a lot expertise on this metropolis”.
As for what’s subsequent, the duo hopes to promote the 2 items and proceed their collaboration on the a number of new items they’re engaged on!
About Anita Agrawal: Agrawal’s firm Greatest Bargains, has been in enterprise since 1991 and this 12 months celebrates 30 years. Her model “Jewels 4 Ever” was based in 2012 and solely focuses on the enterprise’ low-cost Canadian-made gemstone jewelry line. Agrawal’s work has been featured in quite a few nationwide and worldwide magazines and in 2019, she was invited to be a keynote speaker to the Bangkok Worldwide Gem and Jewelry Honest in Thailand. She presently hosts a YouTube video collection known as “CJ Designer’s Discuss” in collaboration with Canadian Jeweller Journal, showcasing proficient jewellers from around the globe. The present has amassed over 10,000 views in simply 3 months. She can also be a part-time professor on the Faculty of Enterprise at Centennial School.
Agrawal holds a Masters in Social Anthropology from Carleton College, a B.Sc. hon from the College of Toronto and a post-graduate diploma in e-commerce from Centennial School.
About Anita Bhandari: An skilled with over 30 years of expertise within the jewelry trade, Bhandari comes from an extended line of diamantaires and spent a lot of her youth within the Antwerp diamond market. Along with her huge expertise and information of the commerce, she made her manner into the Toronto Diamond district the place she based Aarkish Diamonds Inc. in 2000. Bhandari is obsessive about style, jewelry and diamonds and celebrates this as a board member of the Trend Group Worldwide – Toronto chapter. Bhandari holds a BBA from the European College in Barcelona. She can also be a Hoge Raad Voor Diamant [HRD – Diamond High Council] Gemmologist and graduate of the Worldwide Gemological Institute.
Spring Goddess Earrings:
14kt Inexperienced Gold Earrings set with 84 uncommon color graduating alexandrite stones roughly 7.5cts, 2 giant inexperienced Afghan Aquamarines, weighing 30.96cts, and several other diamonds. Complete Weight 30.96gms. Evaluated at $50,000 CDN
Blue Flame Pendant
14kt White and Yellow Gold Pendant with over 18cts of pure sapphires and 0.73cts of pure yellow fancy diamonds. Complete weight 35.7grams. Evaluated at $26,000 CDN
