Despite the vast array of shopping destinations in Jakarta, the most popular venue seems to be the city’s huge malls, which is a pity because there are a whole host of unique places to shop just outside of these malls.
One such interesting place is Adhara Silver Gallery (former Utami) located in Cilandak in south Jakarta. Myself and a few others recently visited the gallery as part of the Indonesian Heritage Society’s Explorer group activities.
The space atAdharafeatures both a silversmith’s workshop and shop, offering beautifully handcrafted silver jewelry as well as some insight into how it is produced.
Adhara’s history dates back to 1978 when a Swedish jewelry designer and silversmith, Vivianna Torun, and an Australian geologist, Mansur Geiger met and decided to start a small workshop. They designed and produced jewelry using raw, natural materials, working together with local Indonesian artisans. After many years the first gallery, named after Mansur’s wife, Sri Utami, was opened to showcase the jewelry that they produced. In the 90’s the workshop also produced and supplied the first gold jewelry collection for Georg Jensen of Denmark.