Mumbai, 18th February 2020: It was a night to remember as the stars of the gem & jewellery sector walked away with their trophies even as Bollywood stars cheered them on for their achievements! 35 awards in 8 categories were given away at the 9th edition of the annual National Jewellery Awards (NJA Awards 2019), an initiative by the All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC), the apex body for domestic jewellery sector, were held at Hotel Renaissance Powai. Actor Sharad Kelkar hosted NJA 2019 and actress Esha Gupta gave away several awards to add glamour & glitz to the Awards.
Malabar Gold Pvt. Ltd. won the CSR award. Mahesh Jain from PB Society Jewellers, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, was honoured with the Anmol Ratna award. Gem of the Year North – Subhash Bhola (BholaSons Jewellers Delhi; Gem of the Year West – Mr. Atul J. Shah, Chandukaka Saraf, Pune; Gem of the Year South – AS Sriram, ANS Jewelry Salem; Gem of the Year East – Madanlal Bamalwa Nemichand Bamalwa & Sons, Kolkata. Prerna Khurana from Khurana Jewellers, Amritsar, won the Woman Entrepreneur Award. Sanjib Dey won the Designer Award (Hand Sketch/ CAD) and Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers won the Artisan/ Craftsman Award. 10 student winners won scholarship worth Rs. 1 lakh each (total of Rs. 10 lakh) from the International Institute of Gemology (IIG): Rishav Sharma, Mir Aminur Rahaman, Dinkey Bagaria, Sumana Das, Vaishali Jain, Neoty Patra, Khushboo Moryani, Ritika Paliwal (from Sawansukha Institute), Swetha Shanmuhavel (NIFT Chennai) and Seema Bubna (INSD).
Other awards were as follows: Kulthiaa Jewel (East India), Sona Chandi (North), Malabar Gold (South) And KK Jewels (West) won the Single Store Of The Year Awards. The Campaign Of The Year Winner – Viswa And Devji Diamonds Private Limited. Jewellery Award Winners are as follows: The Bride’s Pride (Gold Bridal Jewellery Of The Year) – C. Krishniah Chetty & Sons (P) Ltd.; The Bride’s Pride (Diamond Bridal Jewellery Of The Year) – Mehta Emporium Jewellers; The Bride’s Pride (Jadau Bridal Jewellery Of The Year)- Sabine Jewellers; Couture Jewellery Of The Year (Gold Or Diamond)- Sawansukha Jewellers Pvt. Ltd.; The New – Age Women’s Jewellery (9 To 5 Jewellery – Gold Or Diamond) – Bhindi Jewellers; The Touch Of Color (Colourstone Jewellery Of The Year) – Narayan Jewellers Pvt. Ltd.; Platinum Jewellery Of The Year – Emerald Jewel Industry India Limited; Paramparik Jewellery – An Artisan’s Pride – Mahabir Danwar Jewellers Pvt. Ltd.; Zirconia Jewellery Of The Year – AVR Swarna Mahal Jewelry Private Limited; Bangle/Bracelet/Kada Of The Year – Kays Jewels Limited; Ring Of The Year – Hanumant Diamonds; Earring Of The Year – Enshine; All Eyes On Him (Men’s Jewellery Of The Year) -Kirtilal Kalidas Jewellers Private Ltd.; Accessory Of The Year – Abhinandan Jewellers; Traditional Silver Jewellery Of The Year – Sri Vasavi Thanga Maaligai.
Mr. Anantha Padmanaban, Chairman, GJC, said, “The winners of GJC’s most prestigious and eagerly awaited NJA Awards 2019 clearly indicate that small, medium & large jewellers from diverse parts of India are now taking centrestage and competing to win amongst the best in the country. The entire country should applaud their relentless spirit, energy and enthusiasm as they are marching on despite several challenges in the business environment. NJA awards salute India’s legendary heritage and culture of producing one of world’s finest jewellery especially handcrafted ones. NJA proves that India has immense pool of talent of artisans and craftsmen as well as young students taking up the profession. We are happy that each of the student winners will get a scholarship of Rs. 1 lakh sponsored by the education partner International Institute of Gemology (IIG).”
Mr. Ashish Pethe, Convener, NJA Awards, Director GJC, added, “GJC has ensured that NJA becomes bigger and better than ever before with 770 nominations from all over India. This year, NJA awards honoured those who showcased creativity, innovation, inspiration, passion, craft and devotion. NJA awards honoured the rich Indian artistic acumen and creative designs in the Make in India gems and jewellery industry. It paid rich tributes to the business & marketing acumen of the jewellery manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, aspiring jewellery designers, craftsman and students of gems and Jewellery industry who fought against all odds to win a customer.”
Mr. Ashish Kothari, Co-Convener, NJA Awards, GJC, said, “Every shortlisted nominee is also a winner as choosing the winners was a very difficult task due to the high quality of the entries. Everyone demonstrated phenomenal creativity and diversity in their entries for various categories such as Bridal in Gold, Diamond, Platinum, Jadau, etc.; Men’s jewellery, Accessory of the year; Silver Jewellery of the Year winners of NJA 2019, etc. The winner’s creations reflected the aspirations and designs of the modern consumer while upholding our design legacy.”
Mr. Nilesh Shobawat, Co-convener-NJA, GJC, said, “We are grateful to our sponsors NSE, e-Johri, World Gold Council, Swarovski Gemstones, Forevermark, International Institute of Gemology, Laxmi Diamond, Jaigulab Dev Jewellers and BVC amongst others. We are grateful to the Jury member and Ernst & Young. We are grateful to members for sending so many entries and participating whole heartedly in the process. We thank the gem & jewellery institutes and design academies for sending large number of entries.”
NSE presented NJA 2019 powered by e-Johri & World Gold Council (WGC); Trophy partner – Swarovski Gemstones; Supporting Partner – Forevermark; Laxmi Diamond – Jewellery Partner; Logistics Partner – BVC; Education Partner – International Institute of Gemology. The Grand Jury comprising actress & former Miss India Universe Simmran Kaur Mundi, actress Ms. Mannara Chopra, Mr. Rajiv Popley (Director- Popley Group), Mr. Riyaz Gangji & Mrs. Reshma Shetty Gangji (Fashion Designer Label- LIBAS); Mr. Anand Shah (Jewellery Designer Brand) and Mr. Gautam Banerjee (Jewellery Designer Academy) adjudged entries Ernst & Young are the process advisors to the awards this year, adding scrutiny and secrecy to the awards, thus ensuring unbiased and transparent process.
About GJC: The All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) represents over 6,00,000 players comprising manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, distributors, laboratories, gemologists, designers and allied services to the domestic Gems & Jewellery industry. The Council functions with the objective to address the industry, its functioning and its cause with a 360 approach to promote and progress its growth, while protecting the industry’s interests. GJC, since the last 14 years, has been serving as a bridge between the government and the trade by undertaking various initiatives on behalf of and for the industry.
