Indian Jewelry
The Indian subcontinent has the longest continuous legacy
of jewelry making anywhere. While Western traditions were
heavily influenced by waxing and waning empires, India enjoyed
a continuous development of art forms for some 5000 years.
One of the first to start jewelry making were the peoples
of the Indus Valley Civilization. By 1,500 BC the peoples
of the Indus Valley were creating gold earrings and necklaces,
bead necklaces and metallic bangles. Jewelry in the Indus
Valley was worn predominantly by females, who wore numerous
clay or shell bracelets on their wrists. They were often
shaped like doughnuts and painted black. Over time, clay
bangles were discarded for more durable ones. In India today,
bangles are made out of metal or glass. Other pieces that
women frequently wore were thin bands of gold that would
be worn on the forehead, earrings, primitive brooches, chokers
and gold rings.
India was the first country to mine diamonds, with some
mines dating back to 296 BC. However, axes dating to 4,000
BC found in China, contain traces of diamond dust used to
sharpen the blades. While China used the diamonds they found
mainly for carving jade, India traded the diamonds, realising
their valuable qualities. This trade almost vanished 1,000
years after Christianity grew as a religion, as Christians
rejected the diamonds which were used in Indian religious
amulets. Along with Arabians from the Middle East restricting
the trade, India’s diamond jewellery trade lulled.
Today, many of the jewelry designs and traditions are still
used and jewelry is commonplace in Indian ceremonies and
weddings.
Urmi Jewellery presents a dazzling collection of Indian
Jewelry at extremely competitive prices.
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