Indian women love jewellery. I will even go so far as saying that jewellery is the one great love of our lives. If you are thinking “Yeah, so, most women do…” then you’re wrong. Nobody loves jewellery like we do. We have all grown up coveting necklaces that our mothers wore for weddings, the bangles that our grandmothers wore everyday, and their special occasion kadas that came out for festivities. We wanted it for ourselves, and we couldn’t wait to get married because we were told that the treasure would be ours when we got married.
Well, then we all grew up. I’m hoping at least ‘you’ did, because my brain is still stuck with my mom’s enamel bangles. Although jewellery is not the reason you should be getting married, you’ve got to admit it’s tempting. It’s beautiful, enchanting and bloody expensive! Not all of us have doting grandmothers, who owned and passed onjadaujewellery, or indulgent parents who can afford to splurge on the jewellery that we want. It’s not something to break your heart over.
Here are a few of my favourite styles, now available in imitations as well.
1. Kundans
Kundanjewellery is probably one of the oldest style of jewellery in India and the most traditional of styles too. Originating from the western part of the country, it was initially worn only by the royals of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Kundan means highly refined gold. The kundan necklaces are usually very elaborate and beautiful.
The above pair of balis in kundans and pearls are by Karigari. Karigari has outlets in most malls across India and can be bought online from indiamart.com and other websites too.
2. Temple Jewellery
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Temple jewellery, as the name suggests, is inspired my temple architecture and idols. It’s one of the signature styles of jewellery commonly worn in Tamil Nadu. It’s almost always only in gold. It has very intricate designs and is totally a must own style. Sets like the one seen in the picture below can be found at southindiajewels.com
3. Kaasula Peru Or Kaasula Maala
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Kaasula peru is an age-old design synonymous with jewellery coming from Andhra and Tamil Nadu. Initially, it was just gold coins (each one a few grams in weight) joined together to form a beautiful chain. The design has undergone a lot of changes and experiments. Now there are plenty versions of it. It is even being fused together with (in terms of design) the mango maala,about which we will talk next.
4. Mango Maala
The mango maala, quite like the kaasula peru, is a very traditional South Indian jewellery style. Its design, quite simply put, is mangoes strung together. The mango design can either be set in just gold, or be a combination of gold and gemstones including diamonds. It is now being teamed with the kaasula peru, which would make the eventual design even more elaborate.
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Imitation or artificial jewellery available in the market today could put the original pieces to shame. It’s not just about being able to afford it, sometimes if you are practical enough (not my strong point though), you can see that it makes better sense to buy imitations than the original pieces. Wedding jewellery is elaborate and expensive and in most cases never used again. Those pieces just go into bank safes and wait there, till someone really close gets married, and you find a valid excuse to doll up that much! Or till you can pass them on to your children.
Who would’ve thought you could now buy imitations of the very traditional kaasula peru and mango maala?
5. Gutta Pusalu
Gutta pusalu is inspired from Nizami jewellery and is very lively and colourful. It’s mainly bunches of tiny pearls strung together and hanging from a gold chain. It is now like the rest of the traditional styles being combined with other gems and stones.
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Traditional gutta pusalu are a speciality of Hyderabad. A walk down the old stores around Charminar will surely give you a few imitation options.
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6. Jadau
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Jadau style was brought in by the Mughals. It’s not very different from kundanand polkijewellery.
7. Antique South Indian Jewellery
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Traditional South Indian jewellery is mostly gold with rubies and emeralds set in floral designs. These designs are unique to the southern part of the country.
8. Pieces Inspired By The Nizami Jewels
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The Nizams of Hyderabad are known not just for their cuisine but also for their awe-inspiring jewels. Once you look at the display of jewels, you will be a loyal fan for life. No wonder then, that the Nizam-inspired pieces are a huge rage right now.
9. Diamonds
Stuff that bridal dreams are made of. Well, even the imitation diamond jewellery is pretty dreamy. You can splurge on a few imitation diamond sets and not worry about emptying your bank accounts. Try mirraw.com and ebay.com . They usually have a good collection for imitation diamond baubles.
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As you girls might have guessed by now, I’m a South Indian (yeah, yeah, I know you could tell from the list above) and my world of jewellery is limited to southern states and what movies showcase, you know… so I can fall in love and act like a kid in candy store around them. These are my favourites, but I’m looking forward to being enlightened about other styles too.
Share with us the other styles of jewellery, specialities in terms of design or craftsmanship, styles that are associated with brides from a particular region etc. and help us showcase them.
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The post 9 Stunning Artificial Bridal Jewellery Sets You Can Splurge On appeared first on The Bridal Box.