Traditional Jewellery of Pakistan
Pakistani traditional jewelry is a blend of tradition, latest designs and techniques. Pakistani women have a great passion for jewelry and all women wear them, even males sometimes, irrespective of their place in the society.
For them it is a source
of communication of a message of love, hatred, power, marriage and hierarchy. The rich Pakistani women wear gold ornaments studded with gemstones like diamond, rubies, emerald and pearls. Middle class less wealthy people go foe gold adorned with less precious stones while the poor wear jewelry of silver or other inferior metals.
The Pakistani jewelry is a perfect combination of ancient Mughal and latest modern jewelry. Pakistan was described as a “treasure trove” having its rivers full of stones. The wealth in natural resources coupled with the love of ornamentation resulted in the richness of jewelry worn by men and women from the ancient times. The Mughal emperors showed particular interest in increasing the collection of fine jewelry.
In Pakistan you can see even a poor person wearing at least earrings that might be gold or look like gold. Costly ornaments are not at all a ceremonial symbol in Pakistan, but are used on a large scale in big ceremonies like weddings when the bride is adorned with rich jewelry. In the Pakistan tradition jewelry pieces are worn by married women while widows never wear any form of jewelry.
Pakistani traditional jewelry is timeless and handcrafted to withstand everyday use and so fabricated from heavy metals. Present city women prefer to wear silver trinkets and seeing the growing popularity of silver jewelry the city shops copy each gold piece in silver as well.
The art of making fine jewelry is done by a special caste of people known as “sonars”. This skill and expertise is handed down from generation to generation. Their skill is visible in their ability to accommodate two gems or stones of different shapes in such a manner that you cannot differentiate them with a naked eye.
The most popular technique used by the jewelers is “Kundan” introduced by the Mughals in the 16th century. The Kundan is a complicated technique used for crafting very delicate jewel pieces. The Kundan jewelry is very famous for its beautiful craftsmanship.
Jewelry plays an important role in a Pakistani wedding, In addition to the usual sophisticated pieces worn on neck and hands the brides wear ‘nath’ a nose ring and ‘tikka’ similar to a pendant hanging on the forehead of the bride to enhance her beauty. The modern Pakistani bride opts for necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings are designed in the latest trends.