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Fashion

Elegantly alluring are these 'Silkwrap' designs by Sharmini presented at a recent show held at the Continental Hotel.

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Still a sea of activity
By Esther Williams
A couple of decades ago, a festival or wedding warranted a shopping expedition to Pettah, the commercial hub of Colombo. The day-long trip consisted of clothes-buying at Main Street, a break for refreshments at the popular Titus Stores followed by jewellery shopping at Sea Street, not necessarily in that order.

Designer Kokila Liyanage will unveil some Lankan national costumes and other creations from his own collection at a "Foreign Affairs Fashion Gala' to be held in Los Angeles on June 16. Liyanage earlier presented his designs at the Black Business Expo in 2000. He has worked as a designer for American companies such as BCBG and Isabella Fore.

With the appearance of shopping malls and departmental stores on Galle Road and Duplication Road extending from Colpetty to Bambalapitiya and Wellawatte, there has been a gradual decline in visitors to Pettah. Nevertheless, the jewellery stores in and around Sea Street are still teeming with activity, with people hopping from shop to shop, browsing busily to get the best possible deals. And surprisingly there seems to be enough business to go around.

This being the wedding season with many auspicious days falling in August, Sea Street has a steady flow of customers. Whenever people decide to buy jewellery, one key factor is the trust that is established between the jeweller and his customers. Whether one needs to buy new jewellery, exchange old for new, get it polished or have ears pierced manually, it's all happening on Sea Street.

The narrow, winding road that houses over 150 jewellery stores comes awake around 9.30 a.m. and business continues until 6.30 or 8.00 in the evenings. The majority of the shop owners are of Indian origin and most shops carry the names of South Indian actresses.

The decor and appearance of some of the showrooms has certainly changed, in keeping with the times and is perhaps a reflection of their prosperity. The plush interiors are decorated with mirrors brought from India and special lighting effects enhance the jewellery, making it more eye-catching. Most have workshops, right behind their showrooms where the ancient handmade techniques are still applied.

Single piece designs or co-ordinated sets are made to order at the Manamagal Jewel Palace that caters to big business, Rs 25,000 and above. The showroom has been renovated for the fifth time since 1980 when it started and has behind it, in the narrow, 100 metre long space, little rooms that serve as their workshop.

Within that area, 24 carat, eight-gram biscuits are melted using coal, mixed with 600 ml of copper and shaped into small rods, in the old fashioned manual way. A little gadget turns these rods into wires of different diameter.

Skill that comes from years of practice is required for the job. Almost 60 persons whose families have been in the jewellery making business for generations are employed in this unit. Sales personnel - Nagules and Ganeshan have been in the shop for several years. "If we can satisfy the customers, they invariably come back," they say.

Popular jewellery store Lalitha Jewellers was started by M. Shanmugavelautham and his son M. S. Kandasamy, way back in 1951 as a small retail outlet to sell gold jewellery. During the early days, Managing Director, Sellakumar Kandasamy (grandson) recalls that outstation groups/families would come to consult the jewellers, discuss patterns and then would stay on for lunch before they arrived at a decision.

Their present showroom on Sea Street, air-conditioned in the early '70s (first on the street to do so) was designed in 1987, and was at that time considered quite adventurous in terms of display. They were also the first to introduce the concept of table and chairs, hotel-style, where wedding groups could sit around comfortably and make a group choice rather than the 'over the counter' interaction.

Besides the traditional chains, rings and bangles (mainstream jewellery), they accept orders for platinum set with stones which is the 'high end' jewellery.

Although Lalitha's has a few Indian craftsmen, like Chiddhambaram Archarie who has been with them for 50 years, they also engage Sri Lankan craftsmen who turn out excellent 'high end' jewellery with stone settings and filigree work for Bengali designs (ethnic jewellery). Chiddhambaram's grandsons are also employed in Lalitha's.

To turn out their jewellery, Lalitha's uses the modern technique of casting in one master mould. But each piece is hand-finished and set with stones wherever necessary, as they cater to individuals and not a mass market.

There are also a few shops owned by Muslims and Sinhalese. A reputed name among them is Swarna Mahal which today has 13 outlets, making it the largest chain of jewellery stores in Sri Lanka. They have two shops in Pettah, and now hope to open new outlets in Ratnapura and Kurunegala.

The average Sri Lankan customer buys jewellery of the highest value (22 carats). In the recent past however, many of the modern jewellers make 18 carat gold jewellery, targeting the young people who see jewellery as a fashion accessory rather than an asset. This has started a different trend which may see more changes in Sea Street in the years ahead.

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