Mumbai, India--India International Jewellery Week (IIJW), a five-day fashion-filled extravaganza that puts jewelry design and craftsmanship in the spotlight, opened Sunday in Mumbai, India.

The event, which drew high-end retailers from India and abroad and is the first of its kind in Asia, is being held at the Grand Hyatt Mumbai from Aug. 15 through Aug. 19. It was organized by the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), which serves as the apex of the gem and jewelry trade for India, and which is supported by Indian government's Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
  
"The IIJW is a platform to showcase India's prowess in jewelry, be it design, innovation, craftsmanship or quality," GJEPC Chairman Vasant Mehta said in a press release about the event. "Having attained our leadership in diamond manufacturing and being the fastest growing jewelry manufacturing destination globally, it is time to showcase India's expertise in design and make India the most sought after destination for designer jewelry."
 
The five-day extravaganza includes a series of fashion shows featuring the collections of 30 established jewelry designers, design houses and up-and-coming designers hailing from jewelry manufacturing centers in Delhi, Jaipur, Junagad, Kolkata, Bangalore and Mumbai. From top designer names such as Farah Khan Ali, Varun D Jani, Bina Goenka, Rhea Nasta, to prominent India design houses including Mirari, Gitanjali, Amrapali, Tanishq, Ganjam, the event showcases the nation's most exquisite jewelry collections, the release said.

The event kicked off with a Gitanjali Lifestyle show, and was to wrap up with a grand finale show dubbed the "Best of Best" at 9 p.m. Thursday, which will send choice pieces of jewelry from each participating designer and design house down the runway.
    
Along with the jewelry collections, top Indian fashion designers, including Wendell Rodricks, Nandita Mahtani, Anna Singh, Raghavendra Rathore, Archana Kochhar, were to present their collections during the show, with 24 models gliding across the runway. Each of the fashion shows at the event were orchestrated by India's top choreographers. Also on the catwalks: More than 15 leading Bollywood stars, slated to join "celebrities from all walks of life," including attendees from India's fashion, TV, film and corporate worlds.

The high-wattage event also drew 50 members of the international press, representing various trade and lifestyle media and the event was expected to draw buyers from Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, China, Italy, Thailand, Malaysia, Libya, Morocco, Iran, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, the release said.
 
IIJW was slated to be promoted on TV shows that will air across three leading Indian networks, according to a press release. PC Jewellers was to present three episodes titled Jewels of Bollywood on Zoom Television; three episodes of Indian Divas on NDTV Good Times are to air after IIJW and also two one-hour segments titled Making of IIJW are to appear on Imagine Television.

For the first time in the history of any fashion week in India the IIJW, will be live online, live on TV, live on mobile and live on radio, organizers said.