Mohan Priya, NJA 2026 Student of the Year

Where did she start? On paper

Every R3 student starts in the same place, and so did Mohan Priya. The manual course is drawn by hand from the first class to the last. No computer. No CAD.

The early weeks are unglamorous. Stone shapes and their facets. Pencil shading, again and again, until a round brilliant looks like it is catching light. Gold texture. Only then the pieces themselves: band and cocktail rings, tops, jhumkas and chandbalis, pendants, churis and kadas, and at the end polki necklaces and a full bridal set. The course closes with an exam and a portfolio of the student's own designs.

We teach it in that order for a reason. Someone who has never drawn a setting by hand will build models that look right on screen and fail at the bench. Prongs too thin to survive setting. A gallery so tight the polisher cannot get in. Drawing is how you learn what metal and stone will put up with. A jury looking at a design sheet can usually tell whether the person who drew it knows that. Our guide on whether to learn manual or CAD first goes into this in more detail.

What did the Advance course add?

Advance Jewellery Designing assumes you can already draw. We ask beginners to finish the manual course and come back to it afterwards. That is the order she took them in.

This is where the drawing turns technical. Faceted and curved stones, polki shading. Metal textures and the old techniques, filigree and meenakari. Prong, bezel, pave, pressure, invisible and channel settings, each drawn clearly enough for a karigar to build from. Four-view technical drawings of solitaire rings and pendants. Diamond balis, chandeliers, ear cuffs and fancy kadas. Then heavy Indian bridal necklace sets, and a final portfolio.

The first course teaches a drawing that looks good. The second teaches a drawing a workshop can make. A design going in front of judges needs both.

Can you train for a national award online?

Yes. Both of her courses run as live classes, not recorded videos: three a week, with no more than five students in a batch. That number matters more than it sounds. With five people on the call, the mentor can see your sheet, spot where the shading has gone flat, and say so while the pencil is still in your hand.

Every class is recorded and stays yours, so a missed evening is not a missed lesson. There is a separate doubt-clearing session for whatever the recording does not answer.

The manual course is taught by Suparna Pattanayak Maity. She joined R3 as a student and won this same title at NJA 2025. The academy is led by Rayala Rahul Rao, a GIA Graduate Gemologist and Diamond Graduate with 13+ years in the trade. You can meet the full teaching team.

Who has won Student of the Year for R3?

R3 Jewel Academy students have won Student of the Year at the National Jewellery Awards in each of the last five years.

Two names stand out to us. Sakshi Tandon won twice. And Suparna, last year's winner, now teaches the course this year's winner started in.

What would her route look like for you?

The same two courses are open to anyone, including people who have never drawn a piece of jewellery. Nobody can promise you an award, and we won't. What we can show you is where our winners started: the manual course is the one they came through.

Both come with a certificate, a portfolio, and placement and freelancing assistance. Students who want to take their designs into production usually add CAD Rhino next. Every fee is on the courses page.