What is Kundan? A 17th-century setting style, reinterpreted today.

Kundan — from the Sanskrit kundana, "pure gold" — is one of the oldest jewellery techniques still in continuous practice on the Indian subcontinent. It was perfected in the imperial ateliers of the Mughal court under Akbar (r. 1556-1605), Jahangir, and Shah Jahan, where Persian-trained karigars (artisans) refined the kundankari setting style alongside meenakari enamel in shared workshops. When Mughal patronage dispersed in the 18th century, the technique migrated to Jaipur (founded 1727) and Bikaner, where Rajput courts continued the same tradition. Both cities remain the principal kundan workshops today.

The defining move of traditional kundankari is the gold foil. A sheet of 24-karat gold — softer than the 22k used for the bezel, hammered thinner than writing paper — is hand-cut to fit the back of each stone, then burnished against the stone with a bone or steel tool. The foil acts as a mirror. Light that would otherwise pass through the uncut gem is reflected back through it, producing the warm interior glow that distinguishes kundan from every other Indian setting style.

The traditional process has seven named stages: ghaat (framing), paadh (foil-laying), khudai (stone-setting), meenakari (enamel on the reverse), jadai (final assembly), pakai (firing), and chillai (polishing). Each is taught at its own bench. Apprentices in Jaipur still spend three to five years on the foil-cutting bench alone before they are allowed to set a stone — a pace the technique imposes, not a marketing decision.

At Nandai we work with the same Jaipur workshops, but we reinterpret the silhouette in fashion-jewellery materials: gold-plated brass settings, kundan-style coloured glass, American-diamond accents. The layout — the bezel shape, the stone composition, the meenakari reverse — is the part you are paying for, and the part the heritage technique gives us. The price band sits between ₹1,500 and ₹3,000 because the base is plated brass rather than 22k gold, not because the design language is any less considered.

If you want the heritage silhouette without the precious-metal commitment, this is the line to start with. Pair an antique-gold-finish Kundan-style choker with a kurta in deep emerald or wine and the silhouette reads as bridal-heritage from across the room — which is the point.