Jewelry is among the oldest decorative arts. It highlights how there is a sense of beauty in the world that drives all humans to gravitate to tangible objects that are beautiful and make them desire to look better. Early societies wore jewelry as amulets against ill fortune and bad health. There is a strong link between gemstones and luck. We hear stories of people long ago who somehow managed to find it through gems and jewelry. The myths gave birth to jewelry fashioned into symbols believed to bestow fertility, wealth, and love. Jewelry had magical properties, according to the ancients. 

Later, jewelry came to symbolize human relationships and commitment. Slaves wore bracelets to identify themselves. A wedding ring represents two people’s commitment to each other. At that time, jewelry was symbolic of wealth, status, and membership. The jewelry of that era signified wealth, quality, and membership. As per what it means, the materials used to make pieces of jewelry kept evolving.

Hunters, hunters, and tribal communities made jewelry first using various materials they could find at their disposal – stones, skins, feathers, plants, bones, shells, wood, and naturally made semi-precious materials such as obsidian. Then, through the advancement of technology, artisans started to tame metals and precious gems and transform them into objects of art that have influenced entire cultures and many types of jewelry styles today.

Nevertheless, even today, jewelry is worn to meet the same purpose–expressing oneself non-verbally, showing wealth, rank, political and religious affiliations, or affection toward another. Due to its timelessness, jewelry has become a target for continuous improvement.

The history of jewelry in India 

India has been the world’s sole supplier of gemstones for over 2,000 years. The coveted diamonds of Golconda, sapphires of Kashmir, and pearls of the Gulf of Mannar in India attracted traders from land and sea alike. Power, prosperity, and prestige were attributes associated with jewels for rulers. It is almost always true that jewelry’s value increases in India and does not decrease. 

The Indus Valley is the origin of India’s fascination with jewelry around 5,000 years ago.

Indian beads were manufactured in giant factories and exported to every country in the world. Indians also used diamond drills, which the Romans enjoyed. The merchants of the Indus Valley Civilisation fashioned semi-precious materials into tubular or barrel shapes, decorated them with carvings, bands, dots, and patterns, or set them minutely with gold. Indus Valley Civilisation people were highly sophisticated based on the jewelry they wore and what they made. They had an exquisite aesthetic sense backed by superb engineering skills. A necklace unearthed from Mohenjodaro currently resides in the jewelry gallery of the Indian National Museum in Delhi. 

Following Mohenjodaro’s decline, Indian artisans had greatly honed their skills. In the pendants of large earrings from this period, there is intricate filigree work, embossing, and micro-granulations. Bharhut, Sanchi, and Amaravati sculptures and paintings feature various kinds of jewelry. According to the chronicles of Paes, a Portuguese traveler who visited the Vijayanagar empire in the 16th century, the Vijayanagara civilization dealt in gold, pearls, and precious stones.

The Jadau technique is said to have originated in Mughal India, but artisans in Rajasthan and Gujarat could add their unique touch and make it their own. Jadau is made by heating gold until it is pliable. Afterward frames and designs are crafted, lac inserted into hollow structures and precious stones. In any case, after the stone has been professionally mounted, only gold melted with the help of an electric heater, and no adhesive is applied, the jeweler begins the meenakari work, patiently adding each color to the piece. The result of this lengthy process is a beautiful piece of jewelry that was fit for a king and still is today. Mir Osman Ali Khan, once known as the richest man globally, had an incredible collection of jewels as the last Nizam. In 1947, when Queen Elizabeth II married Prince Philip, he presented her with a stunning diamond necklace from the Nizam of Hyderabad. 

Among the Nizams’ collection are several remarkable pieces, including a satlada, a seven-strand pearl necklace containing approximately 465 Basra pearls. The pearls come from the modern-day Iraqi city of Basra. These pearls have earned a place in history for their perfectly round shape, silver-white color, and beautiful luminosity. Among the jewelry worn by the women of the Nizam court were paizeb anklets. These anklets were hinged gold panels studded with gemstones. India’s jewelry design began to absorb influences from its colonial rulers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Cartier, a renowned European jeweler, started to create pieces for the maharajahs using Indian stones inspired by works made in Paris as the design evolved and the cultural narrative became more complex. 

Indian jewelry is incomplete without mentioning two of the world’s most famous jewels – the Kohinoor diamond and the Hope diamond. Entrenched in history, having been passed down by some of the greatest rulers of massive empires in the Indian subcontinent, the Kohinoor is a priceless diamond the size of a ping pong ball. Legend has it that the diamond was discovered in Guntur, in Andhra Pradesh, in the 13th century. However, there has been a dispute over the diamond’s ownership by four countries – India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Britain – since its storage in the Tower of London in the United Kingdom.

The Hope Diamond weighs 45.52 carats and is one of the most spectacular gems in the world. However, the world’s largest blue diamond is a cursed gem that brings bad luck to those who own it. Initially discovered in India, the stone appears to have originated from the sculpted statue of a goddess. A French traveler purchased the emerald gem for 3,000 pounds by King Louis XIV of France in 1668. It boasts 16 pear-shaped and cushion-cut white diamonds. 

There you go! A brief history of jewelry making in India through the prism of traditional Indian jewelry. 

We hope this article has given you an insight into jewelry’s evolution and made you realize that jewelry is a fascinating subject and offers plenty of career opportunities.

Where can you learn more about jewelry designing?  

Several comprehensive courses are available in colleges and universities. The J.D institute of fashion technology offers several diploma and degree courses in jewelry designing. By introducing students to the fundamentals of jewelry design, these programs allow them to develop their independent artistic vision and practice. It explores jewelry’s evolving cultural and historical significance in contemporary society using an experimental and exploratory approach. Students will be informed of and trained in the art of jewelry design and be able to be innovative and efficient designers. 

If you are interested in jewelry design, sign up for our courses immediately!