Masaba Gupta brings her fine jewellery collection to Chennai

Identity Crisis, a collaboration between House of Masaba and Amrapali Jewels features 46 pieces in 18 carat gold with precious gemstones

When Masaba Gupta designed her first piece of jewellery in 2018, the world was a different place. Then came the pandemic, lockdown, and — on a happier note — motherhood, last year. Six years on, in 2024, she designed her second collection of jewellery titled Identity Crisis, in collaboration with Amrapali Jewels. A lot has happened in this time — the pandemic led her to shrink her label — and she agrees these impacted and influenced her design process. On the other hand she also credits the COVID-19 period for turning her into an entrepreneur. Up until then she was a pure designer, a creative person.

“I designed this fine jewellery in the peak of my pregnancy. By the time 20 pieces were still left, I was in the third trimester and could not travel to Jaipur to see them,” says Masaba who was in Chennai to showcase this collection at Evoluzione.

Jewellery is something she wanted to do for a very long time. Both Masaba and her mother, Neena Gupta, love jewellery. They mix, match, and layer their pieces, some really old and passed down from Neena’s mother.

“The way I wear my fine jewellery is different from what other people think fine jewellery should be,” she says, adding, “The brand was growing between 2022-24. We were going through this internal churn. Our consumers wanted to buy more quality and less quantity. They were making informed choices like why am I buying this? All those things made a difference. We introduced couture. And the final stop of that was fine jewellery,” says Masaba.

The 46-piece collection features earrings, necklaces, haslis, bracelets, kadas, each with a design twist that is quintessentially Masaba. They are set in 18-carat gold with precious stones like yellow sapphire, peridot, rubies, morganite, and aquamarine, among others. A lot of it is single pieces.

The Trinket Hoarder necklace, perhaps the most photographed piece from this range, features eight different colour stones across a mix of motifs that are tied together in an intricate web of layers. “It is provocative jewellery,” she says. You will find an old school kada with words like ‘peace’ and ‘strength’, a necklace with the words ‘Nirbhau, Nirvair, Nimrata’ and a chunky gold earring with a camera motif.

Some of the symbols that have populated her garment collection over the years now find representation in jewellery. You will find the ubiquitous palm, Nandi, toffee, and camera on earrings, lined up on chains, chokers, or as a charms. These motifs stand for moments when the brand made important decisions; they are almost like protective talismans, she says, adding that the palm was the first print for her debut collection.