The Asian elephant is in danger due to the perpetual human-elephant conflict and lack of enough land for India’s National Heritage Animal. The World Land Trustand ethical colored gemstones mining company, Gemfields have joined hands with Jaguar Land Rover and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA India) for the Emeralds for Elephantsinitiative. The endeavor collaborated with ten of India’s top jewelry designers to create a unique ‘pop up’ collection of bespoke Zambian emerald jewelry. Since the ‘Emeralds for Elephants’ event in London in 2010 was a huge success, they decided they should bring it to India. The funds collected from the auction of these unique emerald pieces inspired by elephants will help support the conservation initiatives of Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). The headline piece of the collection is a Ganesha sculpture with a 638-carat Gemfields Zambian emerald created by renowned artist, Arzan Khambatta.Khanna Jewellers’ Zambian Emerald necklace and earringsVummidi Bangaru Jewellers’ Zambian Emerald necklace and earringsMeena Jeweller’s Zambian Emerald necklace and earringsMadhuri Dixit, who is the brand ambassador for the initiative, launched the collection. Madhuri looked stunning in her gold ensemble perfectly complemented with stunning emerald jewelry. She spoke about the importance of elephants in Indian heritage and expressed her concern for their decreasing numbers. The collection will go on tour around India to each of the designers’ boutiques from August to October 2011. On 14 October, Sotheby’s will auction the collection at an exclusive event held at the Taj Mahal Hotel Mumbai, with a percentage of profits from each jewel going towards the World Land Trust’s ‘Indian Elephant Corridor’ project.
Also present at the occasion were: Anna Haber – Global Marketing Director, Gemfields PLC,
Rupak Sen – Asia and Middle East Head of Marketing and PR, Gemfields PLC, John Burton – CEO, World Land Trust, Vivek Menon – CEO, Wildlife Trust of India, Nirupa Bhatt – Managing Director, GIA (India and Middle East) and Aarti Surendranath.
The World Land Trust and ethical coloured gemstones mining company, Gemfields, together
with Jaguar Land Rover and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA India), have
collaborated with ten of India’s top jewellery designers to create a unique ‘pop up’ collection
of bespoke Zambian emerald jewellery. Following the success of ‘Emeralds for Elephants’ in
London in the summer of 2010, the aim of this collection is to create awareness and raise crucial
funds for the conservation initiatives of Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) for the Asian Elephant
in India. The headline piece of the collection is a Ganesha sculpture with a 638 carat Gemfields
Zambian emerald created by renowned artist, Arzan Khambatta. The collection will be launched
in July and will close with a Grand Auction at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai on 14 October
