On 24 August, amid the lush calm of Folly at Amethyst, Aurus and Moi brought The Collectibles to Chennai, not as a showcase alone, but as an invitation into a deeper inquiry. An inquiry into what we choose to hold on to, what we pass forward, and how objects quietly become vessels of identity, memory, and belonging.
At its heart, The Collectibles emerged from a fascination with convergence, how cultures, materials, and traditions from seemingly opposite spectrums meet and give rise to something both familiar and entirely new. Over years of research and making, we have witnessed craft not simply as technique, but as testimony: of place, of people, of lived histories. This Chennai chapter allowed that philosophy to unfold in an intimate, human way.
Image: The collectible pieces.
Jewelry as Cultural Language
The Collectibles draws deeply from beadwork traditions of Gujarat, particularly Kutch and Kathiawar, reinterpreting them through contemporary fine jewelry. Glass beads sit alongside gold, silver, diamonds, and gemstones, materials often placed in opposition, now brought into deliberate dialogue. Beading and micro pavé, traditionally viewed as embellishment, become central languages of expression.
In a world increasingly shaped by mass production, algorithmic aesthetics, and visual sameness, this body of work asks a quieter but more urgent question: what makes an object truly collectible today? Not as accumulation, but as an act of preservation. Not as trend, but as continuity.
Each piece presented at Folly’s carried the trace of the hand, the tactility of labour, the patience of process, the intimacy of making. Collectibility here was not about rarity alone, but about resonance.
What Does One Pass? What Does One Keep?
An integral part of the Chennai evening was a panel conversation that reflected on this very question. Moderated by Doyel Joshi and Neil Ghose Balser of Howareyoufeeling.studio, the dialogue brought together Abhimanyu Alsisar, Manu S. Pillai, and Puja Shah to unpack how objects accrue meaning over time, and how they become markers of personal and collective identity.
From heritage preservation and historical memory to lived experience and emotional inheritance, the discussion unfolded as a meditation on legacy. In an era of templates and replication, the panel explored how authenticity is formed, why certain objects endure, and how craftsmanship becomes a quiet form of resistance against disposability.
The conversation resonated deeply with Chennai’s cultural fabric, a city where tradition and modernity coexist without urgency, allowing stories to mature rather than compete.
A Continuum of Conversations
The Chennai showcase followed an earlier chapter in London, where Aurus and Moi presented the Kutch Collectibles alongside a panel conversation with renowned jewelry journalist Melanie Grant. That exhibition, and the subsequent presentation at the Society of Jewelry Historians’ symposium on Beads at Burlington House, laid the intellectual groundwork for Chennai.
If London was about articulation and context, Chennai was about embodiment, about presence, people, and pause.
The evening gathered voices from across design, history, fashion, and the arts, individuals who share a reverence for thoughtful creation and cultural storytelling. Each presence added texture to the dialogue, reinforcing the idea that collectibility is shaped as much by community as by craft.
Beyond a Showcase
More than a jewelry presentation, The Collectibles in Chennai became a cultural moment, one that honoured how tradition continues to pulse beneath contemporary design. It was a reminder that jewelry, at its most powerful, is not ornamental alone. It is archival. Emotional. Alive.
As Aurus and Moi continue this journey, The Collectibles remains an evolving series, shaped by place, conversation, and the hands that make and wear these objects. Chennai offered us reflection, warmth, and clarity. It reminded us why we make, why we preserve, and why some objects deserve to be carried forward.
Because in the end, collectibility is not about what we own, but about what we choose to remember.
Image: Kunal Shah, Deepshikha Khanna, Abhimanyu Alsisar, Puja Shah.
