Types of Jewellery

While the terms 'antique jewellery' and 'vintage jewellery' are used interchangeably, the difference is in the time period. Jewellery is considered to be antique when it is a hundred years old or more. A piece of vintage jewellery is at least fifty years old and in designs that are classic and never 'go out of fashion'. Usually, antique jewellery is too rare and valuable to be worn regularly, but vintage jewellery is worn as a fashion statement by people who have access to them.

We hear a lot about antique jewellery these days. Genuine antique or vintage jewellery is quite rare and not easy to come by. That is why such jewellery is expensive. When a piece of antique jewellery does become available for sale, the price you will pay is not so much for the actual weight of the precious metal it is made of and/or the gemstones it is studded with.

So, at Sree Vasavi Thanga Maligai, we make these beautiful designs available to our customers by reproducing them in gold and giving them an antique look and finish.

Temple jewellery is the name given to the jewellery worn by Bharatnatyam dancers. This kind of jewellery is inspired by ornaments used to decorate the idols of Hindu gods and goddesses in South India. These are ornate and employ traditional motifs of peacocks, parrots, fishes or images of gods like Ganesha and Lakshmi. Temple jewellery is made in silver and then plated in gold. It is usually stone-studded using rubies, emeralds, white sapphires and pearls and includes ornate as well as simple necklaces, bangles, earrings and nose-pins, besides odiyanums (waist belts), vankis (armbands) and talai saaman, jadai naagam, billai, etc. (ornaments for the hair).

There are two kinds of temple jewellery in the market today - pieces made in gold and set with authentic gemstones, and gold-plated pieces made in silver and set with synthetic rubies, diamonds and emeralds. The second variety is obviously more affordable.

At SVTM, we offer exquisitely-crafted temple jewellery made of 22k gold. As of now, we do not offer gold-plated temple jewellery.

A bead is a small decorative object formed into a variety of shapes with a hole pierced into it for treading or stringing. Beads are found in a wide variety of materials from paper, glass and wood to metals such as gold, silver, brass, copper, etc. Beads have been worn as jewellery the world over in virtually every culture since time immemorial.

Pearls and coral beads are organic in composition while many precious and semi-precious gemstone beads are formed of minerals. Beads are worn in strands by themselves, or used to embellish necklaces and earrings.

As obvious as the name suggests, when we speak of bridal jewellery, we are referring to serious jewellery, big pieces that are heavy and/or ornate. In every culture, the bride is the focus of attention in a wedding - it is, after all, her big day- followed by the bride and groom's immediate family.

In India, parents begin to collect jewellery for the bride from the time she is born.

In south India, bridal jewellery typically includes the odyanum (waist belt), kasu mala, mangai mala, nethi chutti, vanki, jada naagam, addigai, kaapu, nosepin, metti (toe rings) anklets.

In the North, where a bride is adorned with solah shringar or sixteen items of adornment, her jewellery would include maang teeka, baju band, haar, kangan, bichchu, payal, rings, jhumka, and kamar band.

Custom jewellery, also known as fashion jewellery, junk jewellery, fake or faux jewellery or 'fallalery', are inexpensive accessories that are used to look fashionable without costing much. These are meant to compliment a fashionable outfit or costume.

Fine jewellery is expensive and one worries about carrying them around or allowing children and teenagers to handle them. Essentially, fashion jewellery is faux jewellery and the exact opposite of fine jewellery which is made of silver, gold or platinum and/or studded with precious or semi-precious gemstones.

Cheaper metals such as nickel and pewter are used to make fashion jewellery which often has a light plating of gold or silver to give it a 'real' look.

Strictly speaking, there is a distinction between costume and fashion jewellery. Costume jewellery became popular in the West in the 1930s. Fine jewellery is expensive and has mostly been passed on from mother to daughter. For the purpose of safety, these designs were reproduced in brass and plated with gold or silver. Synthetic stones or similar stones (spinels for rubies, green onyx for emeralds, rhinestones and white sapphires for diamonds) were used in such reproductions.

The term 'filigree' is derived from the Latin 'filum' (thread) and 'granum' (grain).

Filigree jewellery is intricately worked gold or silver jewellery with fine bead work and delicate twisted 'threads' or wires soldered to gold or silver to form artistic motifs. Commonly found in Indian and Asian jewellery, this craft form was also popular in Italy and French metalwork between 1660 and 1900.

Although filigree work has become a special style of jewellery, such work was historically considered part of the skill-set any goldsmith worth his salt would possess. In India, granulation in filigree work is called rawa kaam, while wire-work is called tarkashi kaam.

India boasts of a long and rich tradition of beautiful hand-crafted jewellery. The craftsman (known as achari or karigar) in India makes jewellery by hand even today, with skills passed down from father to son for several centuries.

Traditionally, the goldsmith was also the craftsman and would be skilled in all jewellery-making functions from start to finish - melting the gold, designing and forming, setting stones and polishing the jewel. The process is laborious and time-consuming, and requires special tools to produce jewellery which is unique and not mass-produced. The beauty of handmade jewellery lies in the fine detail and intricate workmanship of each piece.

In India, you will see an astonishing variety of handmade jewellery - temple, jadau and kundan work, with and without gemstones, with intricate filigree work or amazing repoisse, chasing and stamping work (nakshi kaam).

In contrast to handmade jewellery is the modern machine-made or casting jewellery, where the entire process of manufacturing a piece of jewellery is mechanised and generally produced in bulk.

Kundan, in Sanskrit, means 'pure gold'.

When we speak of kundan jewellery, we are actually referring to a style of setting gems - usually uncut diamonds or polkis - using 24 carat gold foil.

In modern diamond jewellery, prongs are used to hold the gemstone. In kundan jewellery, 24k gold foil is used between the mount and the stone. Other gems commonly seen in kundan setting are emeralds, rubies, sapphires, spinels and pearls. Modern kundan pieces sport semi-precious stones such as tourmalines, onyx and turquoise.

Although kundan jewellery is made in various parts of the India, Jaipur is perhaps the best-known centre for such jewellery. The specialty of kundan jewellery made in Rajashtan and Gujarat is the stunning minakari or enamel work on the reverse of the jewel. Kundan jewellery made in south India does not sport such enamelling.

Due to the high cost of kundan jewellery studded with diamonds, a lot of jadau jewellery today uses flat pieces of glass instead of diamonds.

This style of jewellery was introduced in India by the Moghuls.

Polki is the name used for uncut, flat-cut or rose-cut diamonds. These are not as thick as regular-cut and facetted diamonds (such as round brilliants) nor do they sparkle so much. It follows, then, that polkis cost less than brilliants diamonds. The polki is also called valandi and typically used in jadau/jadtar/kundan jewellery.

Nowadays, in order to made kundan jewellery more affordable and within the reach of more people, we use glass instead of polkis/uncut diamonds.

Minakari - derived from the Persian words mina or heaven, and minoo or the azure blue sky, is the Indian art of enamelling metal with vibrant colours and beautiful designs. It is similar to cloisonné work used to decorate jewellery. Cloisonné work has been popular since long in Western Asia, China, and some parts of Europe. What we know today as minakari enamelling is thought to have been brought to India from Iran.

The craftsman or minakar melts metal oxides with finely-powdered glass to form the desired colour. This is then applied to the surface of the metal in the chosen design and fired in a kiln to set. Minakari work is done in various centres in India and each has its own distinct style and use of colours. For example, in Varanasi the dominant minakari colour is a dusky pink or 'old rose'. In Lucknow, greens and blues are enamelled on silver.

However the most famous and vibrant minakari on jewellery is made in Jaipur and Delhi.

Navaratna is the name given to the nine gems that represent the nine planets in Indian astrology. The name is derived from Sanskrit; nava means nine, ratna means gems.

The belief is that, when worn together in a particular setting, these act as a talisman against negative effects and bring good luck to the wearer.

The nine gems and the planets they are said to represent are

• Ruby (Kempu or Manek) - Sun 
• Pearl (Muthu or Moti) - Moon
• Coral (Pavalam/Pagadam or Mangal) - Mars
• Emerald (Patchai/Patcha or Panna) - Mercury
• White/Yellow Sapphire (Pushparagam or Pukhraj) - Jupiter
• Diamond (Vairam/Vajram or Heera) - Venus
• Blue Sapphire (Neelam or Shani) - Saturn
• Hessonite (Gomedakam or Gomed) - Rahu (north or ascending lunar node)
• Crysoberyl Cat's Eye (Vaiduryam or Lahsunya) - Ketu (south or descending lunar node).

From a purely aesthetic point of view, jewellery sporting the navratnas solve many a fashion quandary. With the entire rainbow of colours in one ornament, navaratna jewellery can be worn with almost any dress, for casual or formal occasions, depending on the size of the piece.