Jewel Sutra

Jewelry styles and the current trend in market

With a gram of 24k gold touching NRs. 4,500.98 as I’m typing, the price of gold is soaring. The steep hike in the recent times, however, hardly seems to affect the crowd of customers that hover around local jewelry stores. And these bright stores are definitely not in short supply. Jewelry stores with their large display windows and brightly lit interiors dot most commercial areas in town. And one look at the display will reveal the styles that dominate the jewelry bazaar.

First, you are bound to spot the solid gold traditional bridal jewelry. No matter the ethnicity, the wedding jewelry of the bride has certain mandatory gold essentials—be it tilhari, nyapu shikha, natha, nau-gedi, kantha, sir-bandhi, or bulaki. Most of these traditional ornaments are elaborate and bulky, and preferred in the auspicious metal—gold. Nirmal Krishna Shrestha, who comes from a family of jewelers for generations, shares that gold jewelry still dominates the market, “People prefer to spend on gold anyway because it is a good investment”. The owner of Gems Ornament Emporium, Shrestha shares that despite the availability of cheaper and finer diamonds, his observation is that customers are driven by the ‘gold is safer’ mentality, and since it is also the requirement for most of the traditional bridal jewelry, all-gold jewelry comprises most of his sale.

Now, the faceted precious stones that dazzle in the jewelry stores’ bright lights will definitely catch your eye. A lot of the jewelry that incorporates precious stones is structured in designs that many local jewelers call ‘Victorian inspired’ and some others refer to as ‘modern’. Though we have a tendency to club this not-traditional style together, the trend is mostly reminiscent of Late Victorian influences along with a broader European sway, and these days some even edging on vintage replicas. A faceted emerald or ruby with a diamond-surround is a common yet popular design that represents this style. A similar style elaborated as neck-pieces with the main frame designed as stylized vines or florals centering on a few precious stones is what you’ll see a lot of. This ‘style’, so to say still dominates the market to a great extent for the smaller daily-wear jewelry as well as the elaborate party-wear sets. “Why is it that most people stick to this style and most of the jewelry stores limit their designs to the same?” I asked one of the customers at a store, who I spotted purchasing some jewelry. “If you prefer wearing precious stones, then this is the style most people are comfortable with because it isn’t as drastic as Art Nouveau or Retro, so it suits most people’s taste”, replied Mahima Shakya; I spotted her buying earrings—pear-shaped emerald, within a graduated circular-cut diamond surround.

The more Victorian looking designs you will actually find in shops in Thamel that are referred to as ‘Gems and Jewelry’ stores. Muhommad Shafiq, the owner of Mumtaz Jewelers, shares that tourists from West look for Victorian and contemporary designs, and are fascinated by the handmade look. Providing just that, this jewelry store is strategically located on the ground floor of the Sanchaykosh Bhawan in Thamel. The jewelry here depicts typically Victorian styles mostly set in silver. A set of moderately-elaborate earrings that I pointed at out of the lot displayed was tagged NRs. 30,000. Designs like wreaths, diamond-set ribbons and bows, decorated frames with shell and leaf motifs have a hand-made finish that attracts the attention of the visiting tourists who, Shafiq shares, are spontaneous and design driven.

If you frequent the jewelry stores, you will have surely noticed the sudden surge in the traditional Indian, or specifically Mughal and Rajasthani inspired style. It is a surprise that while most lifestyle trends here are quickly inspired by the Bollywood ways, jewelry has been an exception so far. The Mughal motifs and minakari that have been integral in Indian jewelry—and thereby Indian cinema as well—have been able to gain a hold only quite recently in the Nepali market. Now, you will find most jewelry shops displaying very Indian designs with polki, and kundan work in jadau style of setting. The peacock is the most common motif you will be able to spot among the displayed items. Elaborate stylized flower-heads, Mughal or Rajasthani motifs are complete with uncut diamonds or polki, and minakari or enamel work. Many of the jewelry stores claim that these have been bought all the way from Dubai.

Designer and certified diamond grader, Sandeep Gupta shares that Indian jewelry designs have recently gained immense popularity. Elaborate neck pieces and complementing earrings all in typical Indian styles with polki as the protagonist are even being bought as bridal wear. A lower range in terms of budget replaces the uncut diamonds with kundan or glass work which makes this style of jewelry more affordable, as he puts.

Also the co-owner of Om Gold House and Balaji Diamonds, both part of the family business, Gupta divulges that he buys these sets from Dubai as well. On enquiring why he doesn’t choose to buy it from the neighboring country where the style originates from, which I would also assume cuts costs, he replies that export quality items are available in Dubai and he is assured of the quality. “In India, you will have to look much harder to find such quality, and you will have to be very careful about the quality and standards. Each piece needs to be checked to be a 100 percent sure. Dubai has no such hassles”.

He also divulges that there is a lot of intricate work and skills that go into the traditional Indian styles of jewelry, making charges of the make steep. He opens up a box to display an elaborate neckpiece and earrings set that is dotted with polki work centering into large uncut emeralds, and the outermost ring decorated with garnet drops all mounted in gold and connected with intricate chain-work to give the large neck-piece the needed flexibility. He shares that the set will cost NRs. 12 lakhs out of which the making charge itself is 3-4 lakhs.

This style is a sweet contrast to the dominant taste for faceted stones as most Indian techniques use uncut stones both precious and semi-precious. The use of semi-precious stones is also more excessive. Details are highlighted by oxidized outlines to replicate an antique feel. You will also notice a lot of other influences in these very Indian designs. An Egyptian style woven gold band is artistically placed as the main structure to which all the polki, kundan and minakari work is intricately interlaced. You will even find the traditional Nepali bridal jewelry like nathas and baagmukhi chura tweaked with a bit of minakari to give it an Indian twist.

The last category that deserves a quick mention is what the sales girl at the jewelry store might refer to as ‘contemporary’. You could say it is reflective of some Art Deco, and Retro influences on our more European inclined styles. But this style is limited to small pedants and daily/office wear earrings and is available in selected shops.

The styles available in the local market are gradually providing the consumers with the long-pending variety. Like one of the sales girls I encountered during my rounds of the jewelry stores rightly said, “If the suppliers take the risk of introducing experimental designs in the market, consumers’ curiosity will drive them towards developing a taste, which would imply ascending demand”. Like all other global trends, different jewelry styles have already found comfort in our conscious or subconscious minds with what movies, series, and the internet are visually feeding us. So, something as simple as Sworovski stores opening up here is already making splashes in the traditional-mentality driven jewelry market. And the prediction is change is bound to come, sooner than later.