Indian Jewelry Guide
Indian Jewelry 101 | Caring For Your Jewelry | Indian Jewelry Terms
Indian Jewelry 101
(Source: Asian Bride Magazine)
Preet Collections guide to Indian bridal jewelry - don't get married without it.
As an Indian bride it is your birthright to adorn yourself with the most extravagant jewels on your wedding day. Anything less would just be a waste of time, not to mention take away some of the most fun and girly moments of your wedding preparations!
Whether you're Hindu. Sikh or Muslim the bride often wears a variety of accessories before and after marriage making the giving and wearing of jewelry one of the most complex and time-honored processes of marriage. In fact ours is the only culture to attach so much significance to our bridal jewelry.
Traditional bridal jewelry entailed wearing cumbersome ornate gold items. But today that standard has relaxed, meaning that brides have access to stunning pieces with different colors, shapes, and textures.
It all looks pretty enough that brides enter upon the full work without really knowing why. Before they know it, the idea of parading about in every single beautiful piece, each weighing almost a ton, starts to daunt them.
So to make it a little better on you, it is well worth reading up on why we wear them and what bejeweled item goes where and how. Thankfully for you, we've put it all together a first timer's guide to Indian Jewelry to ensure that whether your bridal look is radiantly traditional or laced with a more westernized theme, the jewelry you wear will proudly proclaim it.
Jewelry worn on your Head:
Tikka
The tikka is normally clipped into the head's crown with a chain ending in the shape of a delicate symbol that dangles neatly on the forehead. Hair is usually styled with a middle parting to keep the tikka in place. This item is one of the most attractive items of bridal jewelry and is often seen as an extravagant version of the bindi. Today they come in all sorts of designs that are embellished with a variety of precious and semi precious stones.
Jhoomar
The joomar is a jeweled hair ornament that hangs over one side of the head. Often worn in accompaniment to the tikka, the pendant's design is often more elaborate and showy as it serves to complement the face. But be sure that its shape is similar to the tikka to make the look more uniform.
Sahara
An elaborate hair accessory that takes part of its shape from the tikka and the jhoomar. In its most simplest of forms, the sahara has a central piece running down the head's center with an attachment on either side that runs along the front part of the hairline and clipped into the side. But today the sahara can have many strands that run from the center, with beads hanging off them.
Nathni
The nath is a nosepiece in the shape of a ring with a chain, which normally hooks onto the ear. Traditionally a bride, who doesn't have her nose pierced, would be obliged to have it done especially for the wedding. Thankfully for those dead set against the pain of piercing their nose times have changed where jewelers are creating painless pieces That can be conveniently clipped inside the nostrils-it's as easy as that!
Earrings
The earrings tend to be quite large accompanied by an adornment of semi precious stones. Another popular type of earring is the jumka which is bell shaped. If you are sensitive when it comes to heavy earrings sometimes they are attached to a string of pearls or matching semiprecious stones which can be held behind the ear lobe to support the weight and allow you to continue to look impressively elegant in manner and extravagant in taste.
Jewelry worn on your Hands and arms:
Panja
The Panja is a bracelet with up to five chains funning down the back of the hand ending in rings. These days with convenience playing a big factor, many brides opt to wear a Panja with just one ring, as it looks more elegant as well as a little more manageable.
Kalireh
The Kalireh is one of the items with a deeper meaning. It consists of a variety of bracelets, which have decorated coconut and metal pieces hanging off them. It is meant to symbolize the bride traveling to the new marital home, the coconuts showing that her stomach would never be empty and the jewels symbolizing that she would always have money.
Churha (Choora)
The Churha is a set of dozen bangles in both red and cream given to the bride by her uncles. Tradition says that they should be worn for as long as possible but the bride may remove them three days after the wedding if desired.
Kangaan
Better know as Bangles, the Khagann has become an item of Indian Jewelry that has crossed over our western contemporaries. These bangles come in a variety of shape, sizes, and colors. Bangles tend to be worn not just by the bride but also by most of the women on auspicious occasions like a wedding. Most bangles are sold in sets of 24 but thick bangles can be worn individually depending on the desired look and style.
Rings
The ring is not solely an Indian tradition; it is the most traditional and well-recognized form of wedding jewelry in any culture. The continuous circle is a symbol of continuous and never ending love and fidelity. If your wedding is all about going traditional, you might want to consider wearing an arsi, a lavish thumb ring with a mirror front. Suffice to say it's not a one for modern service, but it excludes exotic antiquity that would sway any traditional brides.
Jewelry worn on your Neck:
Mangalsutra
One of the most important items of jewelry is the mangalsutra or "thread of goodwill" which can be seen as an additional representative of the marriage union to the ring. It is usually a chain of black beads strung onto a black thread along with a gold pendant. Many women feel that there is a lot of prestige attached to the offering of the mangalsutra as it represents the love offered to them by their husbands. The black beads are seen to protect against evil, and so due to this significance, the Mangalsutra remains the one piece that hasn't been changed by modern trends.
Rani haar
As its name suggests, the rani haar is one of the most majestic and stunning pieces of bridal jewelry. It comprises of a long necklace with a pendant attached that tends to be heavy and elaborate. Traditionally worn by queens and princesses to convey their important status, it is now available to all brides who want to look and feel like a dignified queen on her wedding day!
Jewelry worn on Your Feet:
Payal
As the bride tends to be bare foot during the ceremony, the most popular item of jewelry worn is the payal, a delicate anklet sometimes set with a variety of spherical balls that jingle with every movement. However small rings can be worn around the toes known as bichua. These are silver and joined to the payal with a chain.
Hope you find the above information useful. You are now ready to sparkle on your Big Day with beautiful unique jewelry from Preet Collections. We look forward to serving you.
Caring For Your Jewelry
Jewelry must be properly cared for. Dust, Pollution and daily wear can cloud the brilliance of a gemstone and dull the surface of Silver and gold plating. Some simple, basic care can help preserve and protect your Preet Collections Jewelry for years to come. Avoid from contact of Organic Chemicals i.e Perfume, Sprays, and Water. Avoid exposing gold to household bleach which will quickly cause gold to disintegrate and discolor. Silver tarnishes rapidly when exposed to salt air and products containing sulfur, such as rubber gloves and certain papers. To remove tarnish, we recommend a non-abrasive silver polish. Storage is also important. Between wearing, we recommend that you place your jewelry in its original casing provided by Preet Collections. Take care to protect your jewelry from impact against hard surfaces and avoid contact with abrasive surfaces. Many stones such as amethyst, emerald, pearl, peridot and tourmaline are all very delicate and easily abraded. Enameling can also chip or scratch when struck. Extreme temperatures, perfumes, cosmetics and household chemicals can also damage jewelry. We suggest that you avoid wearing your jewelry during activity that would expose it to these risks. If you have any questions regarding your jewelry please free to contact us.