India's DNA can help it become a global art connoisseur: Rahul Kadakia

The international head of jewellery at Christie’s said Indians buy auction-house jewellery pieces to consume.

By Masoom Gupte, ET Bureau | Oct 08, 2019, 08.00 AM IST

Rahul Kadakia feels Indians have it in their DNA to be collectors.

Indians know a thing or two about buying jewellery. The obsession is so complete that Rahul Kadakia, international head of jewellery at Christie’s, observes, “It’s in our DNA.”

Kadakia said, “I find that Indians, with their history of buying jewellery, art, architecture..., have it in their DNA to be collectors, to be educated connoisseurs of every area of the art market.”

On the subject of buying auction-house jewellery pieces, he said that while Indians do look at the value of the investment and opportunities for it to grow, they, more than anyone else in the world, buy to consume.

Perhaps when he presents to potential buyers Mughal jewels and 20th century creations by leading jewellery houses, he’ll take comfort in the fact that some pieces will play a key part in milestone celebrations, and not get simply locked in vaults.

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Earlier this month, a missing part of British monument Stonehenge (representative image) was returned to the historical site after 60 years. In the art world, however, once an artefact is stolen, it’s rarely found again.

(Text: Viandra D'souza)