Classic jewelry designs showcase Indonesian talent
Classic jewelry designs showcase Indonesian talent
By Parvathi Nayar Narayan
JAKARTA (JP): "Love Indonesian products" was the theme of a recent show of jewelry designed by Een Hendratmo and promoted by Martha Tilaar. The show illustrated a combination of stones and designs emanating from Indonesian culture.
The motto, which is an idea that has become popular in Indonesia, encouraged Indonesians to appreciate and buy products made in their own country. The exhibition and sale of gold and silver jewelry set with both precious and semiprecious stones was held at Puri Ayu Martha Tilaar on Feb.9.
The highlight of the afternoon was a fashion show with models in chic gowns elegantly draped with gauze scarves or fringed stoles -- the perfect foil for the glittering jewelry. The black gowns designed by Ramli had the right touch of detail with a panel embroidered in sequins, a subdued flash of gold, and a worked border. They were interesting without detracting from the real stuff on show -- the jewelry.
Mainly in sets of a necklace with matching earrings and a ring, the jewelry was some times accompanied by a bracelet. Some of the pieces were exceptionally delicate, the gold worked so fine that the skin of the wearer was visible underneath.
In others the gold was worked more solidly, and heavily encrusted with gems. Others were pendants strung on beads, chokers and brooches. There were a few pieces with a modern flavor, some really unusual ones with large uneven pearls. There were also interesting pieces using blue topaz, carved coral and deep puce amethyst. The finale was an exceptionally corpulent piece, a heavily worked necklace with more than 1200 diamonds. It was perhaps too ornate for modern taste, but the craftsmanship was excellent.
About 60 pieces were displayed, some new, some borrowed from old customers for the show. This is Een Hendratmo's first major public exhibition since she established her company, Mizula Jewellery, in 1980. Before discovering her vocation, Hendratmo tried her hand at many things, as varied as computers, mechanical engineering and sales. Her earliest inspiration was from her father.
Her father was an artist and jewelry collector. He would explain to his young daughter what the shiny green stone she admired was, and the formula for gold. Hendratmo was always sure of her ability to draw. Thus the knowledge she sought was more about the technical aspects of jewelry. She acquired an understanding of the value and nature of precious stones. Most importantly, she learned the knack of explaining to the craftsmen how exactly she wanted her designs to be translated into metal and gemstones.
Every piece of jewelry is exclusively designed for one specific client. Hendratmo aims to harmoniously bring together the design, the stones and the wearer. That each design is unique is one of her selling points. Her "one design for one piece" ratio is for gold jewelry. In silver the ratio is one to five, for accessories one to ten. Over the years themes have come up in her designs, motifs such as the spire of a mosque or a flower.
Her favorite gem is the yellow diamond. "Rare stones the color of champagne," she says. Hendratmo also advises her clients on what stones would suit them best. For instance, she feels a honey or wheaten complexion sets off white diamonds the best. For very fair skin, she would recommend colored stones, say a blood red ruby set in tiny diamonds.
Her biggest problem with customers is when they insist on something she knows will not translate well. She has customers both from Indonesia and beyond. Hendratmo prefers classical designs and works on the premise that one can get tired of mere prettiness, but rarely tires of classic beauty. She draws inspiration from classical Indonesian styles like traditional Javanese jewelry.
The limited guests included Nina Akbar Tanjung, the wife of the minister of housing, Emil Salim, the wife of a former minister of population and environment, and Nelli Adam Malik, the wife of a former vice president.
A member of the audience said "She (Hendratmo) is very brave to start with a show of this size, but she has talent. I saw her earlier work at the Arya Duta. Her designs were rather heavy then, but she has improved a lot."
The venue, the Puri Ayu Martha Tilaar shop, was the brainchild of Martha Tilaar and sells traditional skin and hair care treatments, makeup, and traditional clothes and accessories. Tilaar wants to educate women about beauty care and beautiful products from Indonesia.
Tilaar plans to continue her program of promoting Indonesian talent, and sees her shop as the best venue.
"Indonesians appreciate products from Japan and Paris, but now we have to concentrate on our culture, our products," she insists.
Although the main objective of the show was to show and sell the jewelry, another stated objective was to showcase the importance of focusing on the talent available in Indonesia.
The synergy between Hendratmo and Tilaar proves that to see a glittering collection of jewelry on show, one does not have to visit Tiffany or Cartier showrooms overseas.