Luxury Indian Ocean No1 Édition 2014 | Page 91

Luxury products and services Ravi Jeetshan is the Mauritian jewellery world’s enfant terrible. He was the first to bring in a breath of fresh air, reinventing the laws of traditional design to make them his own. Coming from a long line of jewellers, Ravi was given complet freedom when he took over his father’s business thirty years ago. Even if he had seemed destined to follow a Fine Arts career, he didn’t need much persuasion, although he has never lost his passion for drawing. The Ravior jewellery business runs on teamwork and shared responsibility. “Our strength lies in our creativity and the quality and service we offer,” says Ravi, who has won enough awards to take his reputation far beyond Mauritian shores. Today, confident in this expertise, he plans to develop a franchise network. Ravi is constantly innovating and his creations reflect his quest for the sublime―take, for example, his amazing collection of pendants, made of white gold and set with diamonds, in the form of glass bulbs filled with water, evoking light, life and knowledge. His inspiration is as eclectic as his enquiring mind. Coral, ebony, glass: he dares to bring together all kinds of materials, combining them with white gold, titanium and diamonds. The resulting hand-made pieces, produced in limited series, are unique, each with its own story to tell and evoking a particular emotion. Siddick Caunhye is also the heir to a family tradition. Founded in 1958 by his father, Caunhye Jewellery has built over the years a solid reputation. Each generation has made its contribution and today Siddick’s nephew, Shabeer, ha s joined in the venture. He designs the models for the two annual collections, even if, as his uncle adds, everyone pools their ideas, for they work as a team. Although the firm has grown since his father, it has not lost its soul. The Caunhyes and their Indian craftsmen, known for their gold craft skills, continue to work with the same passion and attention to detail, creating unique bespoke pieces for a demanding clientele. In the same way, diamonds and other precious stones are carefully chosen in the famous halls of Anvers and South Africa. The Caunhyes make no compromises when it comes to quality. Celebrities like Brigitte Bardot, Johnny Halliday and actors Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas were right to trust them. “We try to make something special to satisfy the wishes of all our customers, ” Siddick Caunhye assures us. Meanwhile, he hopes that, in due course, one of his children will take up the challenge of carrying on the family tradition. Both of them represent what Mauritian jewelry can offer today, the best in innovation with respect to tradition. Siddick Caunhye Luxury Mauritius 91