Indian Antique Jewelry - Types, Designs & Styles

Jewelry items that are older than 100 years and have witnessed the human evolution over these years constitute antique jewelry. The phrase “antique jewelry” is generally used to refer to previously owned jewels as well as the jewelry items crafted using earlier styles that were customarily associated with the era of yore, but it does not necessarily mean pre-worn or handed down.  Antique jewels are becoming highly wanted in the modern world because of their time-worn looks, state-of-the-art workmanship, and high quality gems used as well as their one of a kind rusty look.  Antique Indian jewelry can be well identified by its distinctive design, lustre and materials used. These can be typically categorized by the era to which they belong.

In the olden days, precious metals like gold, silver and platinum were very commonly used to craft the jewels to be adorned by the royals. However, the commoners still stuck to copper, alpaca, iron and aluminium. Now-a-days vintage jewelry is available in a combination of the above metals, to suit the fashion requirements as well as the pocket of the adorner.Precious stones like sparkling rubies, lush emeralds, sapphires and crystal clear diamonds were studded to make the jewels look ornate. Also, semiprecious ones like topaz, tourmaline, and aquamarine were used to add a tinge of colour to the jewels. However, now synthetic stones, strass, enamel, marcasite and other semiprecious stones are also being used in combination with the precious ones to make the jewels accessible.There were numerous reasons as to why our ancestors wore jewelry. One of the most important being that the jewels were often used to denote one’s social status. By just a glance at one’s jewels one could guess the area to which the adorner belonged, his profession, marital status and much more. Also, jewels were made for special happenings like coronation ceremonies, solar and lunar eclipses, falling comets, changing seasons and even wars

Design, Style and Users  : In the by-gone era, it was the royalty who were responsible for commissioning as well as introducing new trends for different fashions. This trend was further followed diligently by the nobility and commoners. Also, the priests from temples, churches and various other religious institutions played a major role in the commissioning of jewels. There were wholly and solely responsible for designing religious antique jewels that were known to hold mystical powers sufficient to turn a petty pauper into a king and even vice-versa.  Therefore, apart from the aesthetic value, the jewels were crafted to serve far superior supernatural purposes as well.