Man-made Exquisiteness

1. Man-made Exquisiteness There is nothing that humans can’t do. From the stone age to the digital age, no other species has brought as much change as we have done. Here are some examples of how humans are creating exquisite beauty with their bare hands. By: Soumya Jain What is the point of living if there are no beautiful things around you? Humans learnt that early. And while natural beauty is of course painting our landscapes, we have created some objects which always show us how we are capable of creating exquisiteness. Here are two examples. Jaipur Rugs

2. The business of carpets is age old. From hand-woven carpets to machine manufactured ones, the industry has grown by leaps and bounds. But there is one company which is going back to the roots. Jaipur Rugs, an Indian carpet-making company, is completely people-led. “Innovations

3. holds the power to change the world and each of us are capable to bring the change,” says N.K.Chaudhary, the founder of Jaipur Rugs. The rugs company wants to encourage the creative minds of artisans to ensure a unique design, unparalleled colour combinations, and more than that, an individualistic approach. Jaipur Rugs follows a very disruptive form of supply chain management. The raw materials are delivered to the artisans, so they can work from home. This gives the artist his creative freedom as well as ensure a healthy work environment for them. No wonder the brand is one of the most successful carpet companies in India, with multiple international collaborations under its belt. Synthetic Diamonds Now this is an example of nature being mimicked. And while the duplicate will always hold lesser value than the original, it still does not undermine the power of humans. It was in the mid-1950s when synthetic diamonds started appearing in the market. Since then, three different techniques have been developed to produce synthetic diamonds. While previously synthetic diamonds were limited to only yellow and other coloured diamonds, recent technological advancements allow production of colourless synthetic diamonds that can easily deceive the eye and pass off as natural diamonds. Present day synthetic diamonds possess properties such as thermal conductivity, electron mobility and hardness that are at times superior to natural diamonds. They are increasingly used in high-tech cutting and polishing tools, heat sinks, and electronic applications are being developed which include their usage in gyrotrons, high-frequency field-effect transistors and high-power switches at power stations. Analysts estimate that more than 95% of the industrial grade diamond demand is supplied with synthetic diamonds. While it may be difficult for synthetic diamonds to make their way into the retail jewelry market, they are here to stay. They are the future.

4. Soumya Jain is the Chief Editor & CEO of LuxuryFacts.com – the first and only luxury blog and magazine in India. She is also the Co-Editor of ‘The Luxury Market in India: Maharajas to Masses’, published by Palgrave Macmillan and launched in September 2012. The book is a window into the highly complex Indian luxury market. Soumya is also a visiting lecturer for luxury marketing and online journalism at leading educational institutes in India. She has been invited to speak at conferences and address industry colleagues about the Indian luxury market. Recognising her knowledge of the market, she has been quoted by media such as Fast Company, Wall Street Journal & Financial Times among others, while also contributing articles on luxury in various publications.