Age adds an alluring mystique to jewellery

THE PATINA OF AGE ADDS AN ALLURING MYSTIQUE TO JEWELLERY CRAFTED WITH SEASONED EXPERTISE MANY GENERATIONS AGO. AN ODE TO THIS DAZZLING BEAUTY IS A NEW MUSEUM THAT HAS CAREFULLY COLLECTED HEIRLOOM JEWELLERY DOWN THE YEARS FROM ALL ACROSS INDIA

Many, many moons ago, the ring once glistened on a bride’s nostril, the bangles made music on a slender wrist. The golden flowers trailed down thick braids, strings of gems adorned the neck, anklets tinkled on pretty feet... The years have rolled by, the people have passed on, but the jewellery is still as arrestingly beautiful, with the patina of age lending them a new alluring mystique.

Exquisite, grand and meticulously crafted heirloom jewellery are works of art and cultural markers tracing design histories down generations in different parts of the country. And an ode to these precious beauties is the freshly unveiled Amrapali Museum in Jaipur — a conscientiously curated and artistically displayed collection of priceless, pan- Indian heritage jewellery.

PASSION & MISSION

Conceived by men on a mission, to save and share rare designs in precious metals and gems with all, Rajiv Arora and Rajesh Ajmera, of Amrapali jewellery, have been sifting, sourcing and selecting unseen trinkets over the past 40 years to create their labour of love. “Even the thought of losing such brilliant creations to the crucibles, for reshaping, was painful. Such exquisite craftsmanship would have been lost forever,” says Rajesh, sharing the moment when late at night in Calicut, somewhere in the 1980s, they chanced upon sacks of vintage jewellery being virtually dumped at the local jeweller’s

kaarkhaana for being melted and reshaped into new ornaments.