Kundan
Mughal-era silhouettes, reinterpreted in fashion jewellery.
Origin
Kundan — from the Sanskrit *kundana*, "pure gold" — is among 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 the meenakari enamel they shared a workshop with.
When the Mughal patronage dispersed, the technique migrated south and west — most decisively to Jaipur (founded 1727 by Sawai Jai Singh II) and to Bikaner in northern Rajasthan, where Rajput courts continued the same patronage tradition. The two cities remain the principal kundan workshops today; nearly every kundan piece sold in India still passes through a Jaipur or Bikaner setting bench.
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 a sheet of 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 seven-stage sequence (ghaat, paadh, khudai, meenakari, jadai, pakai, chillai) survives essentially unchanged. Apprentices in Jaipur still spend three to five years on the foil-cutting bench alone before they are allowed to set a stone.
Nandai reinterprets these traditional steps in fashion-jewellery materials — gold-plated brass settings, kundan-style coloured glass, and American-diamond accents — making the heritage silhouette accessible at fashion-jewellery prices.
How a traditional Kundan piece is made.
- Step 1 illustration is pending workshop photography.
Ghaat · framing
A lac-and-resin core is poured into a metal frame and shaped to the layout of the final piece, ready to receive the stone beds.
- Step 2 illustration is pending workshop photography.
Paadh · foil-laying
In the traditional process, hand-cut 24k gold foil is burnished against each stone bed with a bone tool until the leaf sits flush.
Khudai · stone setting
Uncut stones are seated above the foil and held by a thin gold lip rolled over the girdle — the layout move kundankari is defined by.
- Step 4 illustration is pending workshop photography.
Chillai · finishing
The piece is fired briefly to fuse the metalwork, then hand-polished and meena-painted on the reverse — the hidden signature face.
Our Kundan-inspired edit.
In the words of the master.
The foil is the soul of the traditional piece. Whether it is real or reinterpreted, the geometry of the setting is what your eye remembers.
Trained in traditional kundan design, now crafting fashion-jewellery pieces that bring the silhouette to a wider audience.
TODO: commission a portrait + lineage interview with the named artisan once the workshop visit is scheduled.