The International Institute of Gemology (IIG) celebrates Ms. Rakhee Biswas Deb’s recognition in the Best Jewellery Designer category at the first edition of the International India Jewellery Awards, an initiative by the India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA) and Tefla. For the institute, the occasion celebrates both her achievement and the journey of a student who developed a longstanding passion into a professional practice and a business of her own.
A practising advocate at the Gauhati High Court, the Guwahati-based designer had been fascinated by jewellery since childhood, particularly the heritage pieces worn by women in her family. During the Covid lockdown in 2020, she enrolled in IIG’s online jewellery design programme. The format allowed her to study from Guwahati and pursue her interest alongside her established profession.
She subsequently founded Eraya, taking her ideas into manufactured jewellery and building an identity as a designer and entrepreneur. Her latest award follows earlier honours, including the IBJA Golden Girls Award in 2023 and recognition at the National Jewellery Awards.
“Jewellery has fascinated me since childhood, especially the pieces worn by women in my family. I built my career in law, and during the lockdown I decided to study jewellery design through IIG’s online programme. That gave me a way to take a longstanding interest forward. Building Eraya and receiving recognition for my work has made that decision particularly meaningful,” said Ms. Rakhee Biswas Deb.
Reflecting on Ms. Rakhee’s journey and IIG’s role in helping students pursue their ambitions, Rahul Desai said: When someone joins IIG, they are giving time to something they want to do with their life. We have a responsibility to help them take that ambition forward. The curriculum provides the foundation, while the purpose of that education is realised when they can use it to build a career, open an office or studio, or establish their own business. Ms. Rakhee has built something of her own through that journey. Celebrating her achievement is also celebrating the reason we do this work,”
“The quality of design education becomes visible when a student can make independent creative decisions. Ms. Rakhee came to IIG with a lifelong interest in jewellery and a perspective shaped by her own experiences. Our role is to help students develop that perspective into a design vision they can carry through to finished work. Eraya gives her vision an identity of its own, and this award recognises the work she has created through it,” said Gunjan Sapra, COO & HOD of Jewellery Design, IIG.
Rahul Desai and Gunjan Sapra were present to congratulate Ms. Rakhee at the ceremony, where her manufactured jewellery piece was honoured.
IIG places student’s dreams and their vision for the future at the centre of its educational purpose. As a specialist institute offering programmes in gemology, diamonds, jewellery design, and retail, it offers various learning formats to make professional education accessible to people with different ambitions, locations and career histories. Ms. Rakhee’s experience demonstrates the relevance of that approach for someone pursuing a new profession alongside an existing one.
Ms. Rakhee’s achievement is a proud moment for IIG because that progression is visible in her work. Her award recognises her ability as a designer, while Eraya stands as the enterprise she has built around it. Her journey shows how a passion, given education and sustained commitment, can become a profession at any age.
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