The 2011 gem and jewelry exposition season is underway, with the Sparkle-2011 show in Surat closing today and the India International Jewellery Show Signature scheduled to run through tomorrow in Mumbai.

Among the standout items on display at Sparkle-2011 are a diamond bustier set with 500 carats of Belgian diamonds and 200 carats of rubies set in white gold and a necklace made of diamonds and antique coins.

The bustier, designed by Anamika Khanna, is valued at $1.3 million and is owned by the Orra, the retail jewelry arm of the Rosy Blue diamond company. The bustier was recently modeled by Bollywood star Maliaka Arora Khan at a jewelry exhibition in Delhi.

The necklace – whose coins date back to pre-Independence times – features over 1,600 pieces of diamonds with a total weight of 8.60 carats. The stones and the coins are set in yellow gold.

One of the star items at the India International Jewellery Show Signature, which closes Monday, is an 18-carat solitaire diamond with a value of over $1.1 million.