Indian Accessories

Though ancient Indians from the Indus Valley Civilization used to adorn themselves with various kinds of ornaments, Indian jewelry designs using precious stones and pearls along with gold and silver saw its blossoming only during the

Mughal period in the 16th to 19th centuries. Indian arts, especially miniature paintings depicting exquisite pieces of richly carved jewelry with beautiful embellishments hold testimony to the enormous wealth and resources of the Indian royal families. The jewelry designers got their models from the various facets of nature including mango fruit, cobra hood, rice gram, cucumber seeds etc, The famous paisley motif, an example, found in the traditional Indian jewelry design, is a pure representation of the mango fruit, Many Indian kings of the late 19th century brought out exceptionally unique ornaments with the help of famous European designers, Van Clef and Carter, using colorful gems for an added rich look.
Indian art and culture show traces of various rulers and religions, over the past many years, selecting the best from them, at the same time retaining its uniqueness. You can find a variety of Indian jewelry design, each representing a particular region. The popular fine filigree work, typical of the Indian states Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, needs a lot of patience and time to complete since the designs are very complex. This design is done with entwined silver or gold threads. The metal threads are plaited very carefully and slowly and fixed to the underlying metal groundwork by soldering.
Temple Jewelry, also known as Kemp set, is mainly worn by Indian classical dancers especially Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancers from South India. These traditional jewelry pieces are made of pure silver, dipped in gold and embellished with gem stones. Certain professional craftsmen take one month to a year depending upon the design to complete the whole set of jewelry for ears, feet, waist, nose, hands, fingers, legs and neck. In olden times this temple jewelry, made of pure gold with a combination of rubies, emeralds, diamonds, pearls and sapphires, was worn by temple dancers called Devadasis. This traditional jewelry is also worn by South Indian brides and in important functions and parties.
Minakari or enameling jewelry, born out of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan’s great vision, is a unique combination of gems, enameling pigments and precious stones. Each special design is arranged in a peculiar way that the gems and stones also sparkle along with the enameling light of the ornaments. These are usually expensive and available as necklaces, rings, earrings and a whole set.