If one has a chance to go back in time, one of the must-see things would be the jewelry boxes for women of the Indian royal families. India’s history with jewel making is one of the oldest and dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization. Gold earrings, necklaces as well as bracelets were already made at this time.

In the jewel making history of the nation, the Mughal Empire was considered the most important. Believed to possess divine powers, the Maharaja was central to the functioning of the state. Therefore, only he was believed worthy of wearing a lot of jewelry.

The Navratna (meaning nine gems) was one of the most popular jewelry forms worn by the Maharaja. This was an amulet made of nine precious stones. These nine gems are diamond, pearl, ruby, sapphire, emerald, topaz, cat’s eye, coral, and red zircon.

Of all these, the diamond is believed to be the most powerful and has been cut in many ways. Diamonds had a lot of significance attached to them by Mughal Emperors. They believed it to be a road to immortality and even had their names and titles and carved.

These stones were used in the creation of rings, necklaces, amulets as well as to adorn turbans. European styles inspired from the Renaissance period were how the kings’ rings were made. Thumb rings had a common pattern of a scrolling leaf on the inside.

Turban jewelry also made its debut at this time. The jewelry of Emperor Akbar was a mix of Iranian as well as European cultures. Kalghi or turban plume created out of gold threads and also found in Safavid paintings were made at this time.

Necklaces that the king wore were made of pearls, sometimes mixed with gold and other times with gold and even gemstones. When Jahangir ascended to power, turban plumes had a heavy stone of pearl or ruby attached to it. The emperors of those times even had gold slippers to wear.

Several medieval accounts tell of the Kings of Tanjore who wore minimal clothing laced with jewels. The King of Maabar in fact, wore just a loin cloth that had a lining of emeralds, rubies as well as sapphires. He even had a necklace created out of 104 pearls and which came all the way to his waist.

Several styles have come about thanks to the amount of attention paid to jewelry among Indian royalty. The Meenakari and Kundan styles were created by the Mughal. Human head beads and funnel-like designs were some of the designs by the royalty among the Nagas.

In the trousseau of women, jewelry played a huge role. Women came to their husband’s palaces with jewelry boxes made of marble, lacquer, onyx etc, filled with their jewelry. The jewelry cases were further decorated with hand carvings, precious stones etc.

Up to now, jewelry has an important role in Indian cultures. It is essential to every auspicious occasion.

This article was written by Ruth D’Souza Prabhu of MarqART Gift Shop. Our jewelry boxes feature evocative wood art designs, created from unique wood grain patterns and colors. A fine addition to your dressing table or as a gift. Please visit http://www.marqartgiftshop.com to browse & buy exotic jewelry boxes that will give you a lifetime of pleasure!