Why we kept the Nandai catalogue small on purpose.
A short note on how four heritage techniques, hand-set in Jaipur, end up in our 35-piece catalogue.
Nandai is a small, founder-run jewellery house. We launched in 2024 to sell direct under our own trademark — Nandai Art — after years of seeing very good Indian work reach Western customers only through resellers and large branded houses.
The catalogue is intentionally narrow. Four heritage techniques (Kundan, Polki, Meenakari, Rajputi), 35 pieces today across them. We add slowly because every piece is hand-set; the production rate that hand-setting imposes is not a marketing decision, it is a fact of the technique.
Most pieces in the current catalogue are gold-plated bridal sets — a base of brass or German silver with a 1+ micron antique-gold finish, set with uncut stones (Kundan), enamel work (Meenakari), or a combination. Polki, where the catalogue includes a single uncut-diamond piece, is the most labour-intensive line.
What you are paying for, in our pricing, is the hand-setting and the finishing. Anyone can buy raw stones; what is harder to source is artisans who can set Kundan without cracking the foil, or fire Meenakari without burning the colour. That is the moat, and it is the only thing on this site we would describe as proprietary.
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