India Jewelry

Jewelry exported from India is very popular all over the world. If you
were to take a walk down the country's historic past, you'd find that
India jewelry is very much a part of the country's essence and dates
back to the Mohenjodaro and Harappan time periods. In those days,
elegant and intricate jewelry was designed and crafted for the country's
many gods. Since then, jewelry crafting in India has been given a royal
patronage because it was so much more than merely a tool of aesthetic
beauty, it was a sign of divine abundance and material blessings. There
is a piece of Indian jewelry made for almost every part of the human
body, and much of it can be worn with both elegant and everyday
clothes. While Western jewelry is generally lighter and trendier, jewelry
from India is more extravagant and almost "chunkier" in the sense that it
is heavier and noisier. This is demonstrated by the fact that in India,
jewelry is sold by weight (grams), regardless of how much effort the
jeweler put into the piece.

Since India jewelry is crafted not only for humans but also for gods, it
has a higher standard of excellence than jewelry from any other
country. This "divine purpose" of Indian jewelry has fascinated
foreigners for centuries. India is believed to have been one of the first
areas to have mastered the skill of jewelry making. Jewelry in different
forms such as country-seeds, feathers, leaves, berries, fruits, flowers,
animal bones, claws and teeth have been shaped for thousands of
years in India. India produced so much jewelry because it was easily
converted into cash, and thus it served its owner as financial security
and as an investment. This "investment" mentality is evident in the
plethora of ornaments worn by nomadic and migrant tribal communities.
India jewelry is also loved because of its diversity. Every single state in
the country offers its own jewelry style, from the heavy use of gold
jewelry in the south, to the use of silver in the northern regions.

Hindu community's in India form a major component of their "streedhana"
gifts out of jewelry (which are gifts given to a woman at the time of her
marriage). Traditionally, the only wealth a woman has of her own is the
jewelry that she receives on her wedding day. Therefore, if the woman
comes from a wealthy family, she is covered in gold and jewels. Much
of this jewelry is gold (often 22k), because gold is regarded as a symbol
of life and of purity. And after death, it is customary that jewelry is
thrown to the gharials in respect.