If you are searching for a quality diamond or emerald Jaipur is just the place for you. What’s more, if you believe in the occult, you can even find jyotshis (palmists and astrologers) to dig out your lucky stone. They’ll tell you precisely the clarity and carats required to ward off the evil eye or reverse a spell of ill luck.
The Pink City is known for its vast array of precious and semi-precious stones, running the gamut from diamond, emerald, sapphire and ruby to topaz, jade, garnet, amethyst and turquoise. The craft of cutting and polishing stones to achieve the most gleaming facets has been honed to perfection. Watch the craftsmen at work in Johari Bazaar.
Moving from gems, the next stage is obviously transforming them into exquisite jewellery. Bengali craftsmen, who settled in Jaipur centuries ago, are the acknowledged masters. The two special techniques practised in Jaipur – kundan and meenakari – are equally intricate and splendid, and it is impossible to say which outshines the other.
Kundan is the Mughal-inspired art of setting of stones in gold and silver. Gems are bedded in a surround of gold leaf rather than secured by a rim or claw.
Hindu Punjabis brought Meenakari, or the skill of enamelling, from Lahore to Jaipur. Did you know that enamelling was originally meant to protect gold, which in its pure state is so soft and malleable that it can easily wear away? The Mughal fashion was to enamel the reverse side of jewellery to protect it from contact with the wearer’s skin.
Enamelling is a champleve technique, which in simple English means that a recess is hollowed out in the surface of gold or silver to take in a mineral. For example, cobalt oxide, which gives a blue colour, is then fired into the depression so as to leave a thin line separating the segments of colour. You can observe jewellers doing the enamel work at the Jadiyon ka Rasta in Jaipur. An ornament with both kundan and meenakari is so astoundingly magnificent that it seems to have been conjured up by rubbing Aladdin’s magical lamp.When buying jewellery or precious stones, be sure to get a receipt clearly stating the name of the shop, price and carat. Always go to a trusted, well-reputed jeweller. |
