Jaipur founded its jewelry industry in the early 1700’s by a man named Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the Raja King of Amer. He was also a mathematician and an astronomer. The royal family developed the importance of fine craftsmen to create luxury items including jewelry at that time. The Maharaja was the 8th generation member of his family and he encouraged jewelers’ from Delhi, Agra and Varanasi areas to come to Jaipur and settle down there. He built a City Palace in the center of town.
Jaipur is the capital of Rhajasthan and is the historic, lovingly titled ‘pink’ city. This name comes from the pink color of much of the architecture in that area.
The artisans of Jaipur became master gem cutters, including garnets, rubies and emeralds. They became masters at a style called ‘meenakari’ which is an enameling process that layers translucent, brilliant colors of melted glass over patterned fine gold. When you look through the enamel you see the intricate gold textures below. Jaipur is also a hub for pearl trading, and an area where some of the world’s most rare and beautiful fresh water pearls are found.
Emeralds and Rubies came to Jaipur from other parts of the world, however emeralds were also found in the area of Jaipur in the 1970's. Most of the emerald in Jaipur comes from Zambia or Brazil, and the rubies come from the legendary Mogok valley in Burma. Polki style diamonds are flat and uncut, set in fine or high karat golds. They are backed with silver foil which is the replacement for the pavilion on a traditionally cut natural diamond. The term Jadau means to set gemstones in gold. There were inlay craftsmen cutting gemstones and embedding them into the metal.
Today Jaipur stands as one of the great jewelry capitals known for its fine craftsmanship. Our store's owner Theresa just came back from visiting this magical land of jewelry and gemstones. We offer some pieces that are from her trip to India. The fine art of producing jewelry is one of the largest industries in India, an idea that began with one man’s vision to create a city devoted to manufacturing the most beautiful jewelry and luxury goods made in the world.