Pearl jewelry, an ideal gift for your lady love

Planning to gift something to your girl this anniversary? Flowers, perfume, diamond studs… all seem an idea too worn out? Confused? Well, you’ve come to the right place to untangle your doubts. One thing is clear, gifting something on the lines of jewelry would be a safe idea, however, it ought to be a classy one. And what better than a beautiful sleek and long string of fresh water pearls coupled with pearl drops for the earrings.

The designs in pearl jewelry have undergone a revolution. Right from a myriad variety in pearl necklaces, bracelets, watches to now anklets, one would also see a variety in even colours. Multi-coloured pearl strings, golden, black and pink coloured pearls are now a rage and much in demand for their class. Also, apart from the old round shaped pearls, there is quite a variety in shaped pearls. Button, pear, pipe shapes have seeped in and are much talked about. 

Try it yourself… don a pair of steel grey coloured pearl string with pearl dots and you’ll realize the panache you exude when you become an object of admiration for others.

With the accessories like bracelets, watches also becoming a rage, you count on pearl jewelry to accessorize your apparel when heading for a party. Pearls are indeed wardrobe staple for the fashionistas. A perfect gift for your beloved’s birthday, anniversary or just another occasion which you want to make it special.

Unless you’re not aware of the variety in pearls, read below to educate yourself:

Freshwater Cultured pearls: These pearls have natural origins and are borne in shells. They are then processed and made to look more beautiful. After they are taken out from the shell, they are cleansed, then treated in warm and cold chemical solution and then bleached. After bleaching them, they are polished with a mixture of cornmeal and wax.

Freshwater pearls come in various pastel shades of white, black, pink, peach, lavender, plum, purple, and tangerine, depending on the type of mussel. The typical size of freshwater pearls is 2mm - 16mm with 7mm - 8mm being the most common.

Black Tahitian pearls: Originating from the warm waters of South Seas of Myanmar, Indonesia, they are born in their natural black colours. No doubt, when worn in the form of a sleek string, they’d look absolutely fabulous.

South Sea Pearls: They are the most expensive of all owing to their rarity and thick nacre. Found in the South sea of Myanmar and Indonesia, They produce 10-20 mm pearls of silver or gold color the largest of any cultured pearl.

Akoya Pearls: The lustrous and the classic white coloured pearls belong to this category. So now you know which one is the most scintillating of all, don’t you? Typical Akoya pearls range from 5 mm to 11 mm, with the 10 and 11 mm sizes rare finds. These pearls, however, can also be found in cream shade as well as in a classy tinge of rose and ivory. 

check out the beautiful collection of pearl jewelry at Mudit International  

Costume jewelry for the style divas

Costume jewelry, this range is associated with style and panache. They are absolute personality enhancers, worn by the fashion conscious to define their fashion statement. Costume jewelry may be a designer neck piece or a sleek earring… whatever you wear stylizes you and renders a new chic appeal to your personality.

It is stylish and inexpensive… a perfect wear for the style hives who love to spot a head-turning look without burning a hole in their pockets. Yes, costume jewelry is inexpensive owing to its not-so-expensive materials, like, rhinestones or lucite, set in pewter, silver, nickel or brass. One would see glass beads, crystal, semi-precious stones used in place of the real gems.

However, one would also see vintage costume jewelry making quite a fad among people. The only difference lies in the usage of gold-plated or silver plated metal as the basic material instead of the cheap brass or lucite. Such jewelry can give a real lustrous look to even the trained eyes. Such jewelry is spotted by women in special occasions like marriages, formal parties etc.

Costume jewelry transcends the concept of young and old. It is meant for adornment by those who wish to get noticed, nevertheless the time and place. Smart jewelry is worn by smart people who wish to get noticed to get their work noticed. Such jewelry is ideal for ‘conversation starters’, wherein people would give attention to appeal and by default, listen to your ideas.

Owing to its cheap cost, they are worn on a day to day basis. If you get tired of one piece, you can safely keep it back to your jewelry box and pull out another one. Changing hairstyles every weekend for a new look seems quite a bizarre idea, at least you can now afford a piece of jewelry to enhance the beauty of your ensemble and thus your look.

The designs of the costume jewelry depends on one’s imagination… it could be a unique design, an amalgamation of traditional and contemporary, or just an imitation, it is the best way to look ever graceful without splurging much.

Buy Designer jewelry from Mudit at affordable prices!

Irish Jewelry Online - Irish and Celtic Jewelry handmade in Ireland

Star Sapphires The Star Ruby Shop presents a mesmerizing collection of natural and untreated blue star sapphires. Buy Burmese star sapphires, Ceylon Star Sapphires and African Star Sapphires at our online store.

Types in Indian jewelry

Sometimes used as a security in times of contingency…. sometimes as an ornament worth flaunting, the tradition of adorning oneself with jewelry has rather become more vigorous with time. Artisans and goldsmiths were once patronized by their rulers for carving exclusive pieces of jewelry… today, this art of carving jewelry has improvised with better techniques and designs and open for all.

Heavy jewelry in Gold has so far been the traditional favorite of Indian women, but, with the time, new fashion has seeped in, for better I’d say. Gemstones encrusted in Platinum, silver and other metals are quite in today. In fact, this versatility in jewelry is not observed in the fashion norms, but, also observed in different regions and states of India. What is popular in one state, may not be worn in the other.

This article is a guiding tour to acquaint you with different styles and traditions observed in jewelry in India.

Jadau Work:

This one-of-its-kind work is a major example of traditional Indian beauty. Introduced by Mughals, this art form is predominantly prevalent in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Jadau jewelry is made with precious and semi-precious stones engraved in Gold, wherein, it is first mildly melted to a pliable state, then, stones are engraved in it with great precision. After the Gold cools, the stones get fixed on it without any adhesive.

Jadau jewelry, a great example of indigenous skills is gifted to women in marriages and other auspicious ceremonies. Jadau is a team work, which involves the making of the basic design, then, engraving of stones and making holes, and last, enameling. Utmost attention is given on the detailing of the stones and enameling.

Kundan Work:

Kundan kari reached Rajasthan during the Mughal rule, wherein it grew and improvised… today, Rajasthan is a hub of Kudan Kari. Huge, elaborate pieces of Kundan Kari jewelry worn by the Mughal queens, is basically stone engraved on one side of gold jewelry and meenakari ( enameling) on the opposite side.

Kundan Kari is a skillful play of setting gems. First, the holes are cut for the gems, then they are engraved with utmost precision and then, the pieces are enameled. The core of the ornament is made out of lac, a natural resin. Later, lac is inserted into the hollow parts and is then visible from the front, through the holes left for the gems. Highly refined gold or kundan is used to cover the lac and gems are then pushed into the kundan.

 Lac Jewelry:

Originating from Rajasthan, Lac Jewelry has gained considerable amount of popularity in India. Besides necklaces, one cant forget to mention the famous Lac bangles worn as a style statement by the youths of today.

The process of making lac jewelry is complex. Glass beads, flower shaped mirrors and decorative wire are also used for the enhancement of beauty of the jewelry. The bangles of lac consist of an inner-core that has a covering of thin layer of superior quality lac. Core lac, when mixed with a material similar to white clay, strengthens the bangle. The heating, mixing, kneading, and hammer pounding of the parched ingredients takes place repeatedly and dough like mass is formed.

Once this mass is heated, it is shaped further and the expansion of the lac takes place in lieu of bargained diameter. This results in thickening of bangle. Further, a tool (flat-shaped) is used to roll the bangle across the flat surface, which gives it a proper thickness. The shaping is done by suppressing the length of lac into grooves (colored) on every side of the mould. The lac takes the shape of the groove into which it is forced. This process, which requires great precision, produces the most beautiful pieces of jewelry.

Meenakari Jewlery:

Introduced in Rajasthan, this art work is considered the most exquisite among the all types. In Meenakari jewelry, precious stones are set  and then enameled with gold. The metal piece on which the work is to be done, is fixed on the lac stick. Then, designs of flowers, birds and fish are engraved on it.

The beauty of the Meenakari Jewlery predominantly depends on the choice of colours used. The beautiful combinations of turquoise blue with gold and red with gold are most seen.

Navratna Jewelry:

In Navratna jewelry, nine auspicious stones are used in a single ornament. The belief behind this is that the nine stones together ensure well being of the person who wears it. In India, Navratna jewelry has been given major importance, because of its astrological significance as well as its innate charm. The nine stones used in the jewelry diamond, ruby, emerald, coral, pearl, sapphire, garnet, topaz, and cat's eye. As it is believed in astrology, each planet watches over one of the nine gems and offer power.

Pachchikam Jewelry

Popular for its crude look, Panchchikam Jewelry is quite a delight among Gujaratis. Here silver is used as a base metal for its malleability. So, after the silver is melted, stones including glass and precious are engraved into the holes and is carved into a beautiful shape.

The art of making Pachchikam jewelry is a traditional art form of people in Gujarat who love to adorn themselves in beautiful pachchikam necklace, bangles and anklets.

 

 

             

From aesthetic to funky... the changing trends in jewelry!

A country which boasts a rich history replete with powerful kingdoms and empires, indeed deserves illustrations and books penned on its rich culture. And, to me, Indian culture ushers the memories of those exotic and dazzling pieces of jewelry donned by the opulent Maharanis.  In fact, the latest flick, Jodha Akbar, starring the world’s most beautiful woman, Mrs Aishwarya Rai Bachchan spotting some of the most spectacular jewelry, is quite a delight for the jewelry lovers like me.

 Looking at the trends in jewelry, it is imperative for me to start right from the dawn of the civilization. Some of the earliest form of humans, the tribals, made abundant use of raw materials like wood, feathers, stones et al to carve something what we now call, jewelry. In fact, any thing and everything handy, like, fruit seeds, animal bones, claws, were picked to fashion their jewelry. Even today, visit the tribal groups like Munda from Jharkhand, Khasi from Meghalaya et al and you'll find some odd women spotting similar kinda jewelry.

Delving into the pages of our oldest epics, I found elaborate pages on gold and silver ornaments. Watch any of these epics telecast on television and you’d know what I am talking about. An elaborate piece of jewelry for every part of the body... tikkas for the forehead, anklets, bangles, mangalsutras et al. Well, so many jewelry forms do reflect the talent and creativity of our goldsmiths, dont they?

Rich, beautifully designed gold ornaments where a forte of that period. Even the warrior animals, like elephants, horses were beautifully adorned in ornaments much to the dismay of their contemporary situation. Then came a revolution in the business of jewelry making by the onset of the Mughal empires. They brought the fashion of gems engraved jewelry on the forefront. India became the major source and trading centre of the precious stones.  The ostentatious display of jewels worn by the mughals in my history books and museums are big head-turners for sure.

Any way,then came the jewelry for divinity. Rudraksh, sandalwood beaded necklaces were meant to don the spiritual souls and their portraits.

Ask me and I believe, today’s era the best. The concept of spiritual and aesthetic jewelry has today merged into costume jewelry. An era where fashion is the driving factor for one’s jewelry purchase and not just financial security, spirituality or opulence. 

It is well observed that the old and gone is yet creating a rage today. Take for example, the kundan work, filgiri work et al. Also, precious and semi-precious stones designed in delicate and chic designs are in. Wood, glass and other stones engraved jewelry are today in and fashionable. 

Jewelry is no more feminine... as both guys and girls indulge themselves into sleek, definitive jewelries to make a statement. Also, piercing is what they say, the cool thing today. So, one may find funky stuff like sleek earings, nose pins, rings used as popular accessories for piercing.