Amrapali Jaipur on Honouring Craft and Culture for the Indian Bride

An ode to Indian brides, Amrapali Jaipur is one of the most celebrated names in the world of luxury fashion and Indian heritage jewellery. Known for their integral craftsmanship and traditional artistry, they seek to take the world of fashion to newer heights with their innovation and designs. Founded in Jaipur in 1978, their pieces are largely inspired by the royalty of Rajasthan as they blend tradition with modern elegance. Their intricate, silver, Kundan and Meenakari, along with their uncut diamond pieces, are what make them stand apart. With each creation telling a timeless story of royalty and beauty, Amrapali Jewellers have made a mark as a crest of Indian heritage exhilarated for the modern world.

Ahead of the FDCI Manifest Wedding Weekend, Manifest had the opportunity to interact with Amrapali Jaipur Jewellers to know more about their journey and standout moments that have remained with them forever.

Manifest: What goes into the making of your beautiful jewellery business?

Amrapali Jaipur: So, what goes in? So, what goes into the making of Indian jewellery is a lot of passion, a lot of hard work, and the right team of craftsmen. I think designing is something which we do, conceptualising is something which we do, but giving life to those pieces is done by the master craftsmen we have in our workshops. Usually, the team—the design team—would sit with me and we would come up with a concept. That concept is then introduced, which can have different stone-cutting techniques, various kinds of textures of gold, various colours of enamel, and putting all of them together is what Indian jewellery making is all about.

I keep saying that when I used to be in London and see pieces made by craftsmen there, I felt one craftsman could make, say, a ring. But in Indian jewellery, not one craftsman can make a ring. You need a team of at least 10 people—which includes the designing team, the team that's going to make the ghat (the base), the team that's going to make the actual piece, the craftsman who's going to do the engraving, the craftsman who's going to do the enamelling, and the craftsman who's going to do the jadai work in it. So, there are so many multiple stages, and all these craftsmen need to be masters in their technique.

So, I think that is the most important. Conceptualising happens in a lavish room or in design rooms, but the actual beauty comes when these pieces are made. There are different ways of doing it when it comes to silver and gold. What I’ve just explained is gold. In silver, we have a whole different team which works on a similar process, but there—instead of jadai, instead of enamelling—there is setting. There are various parts: there's polishing, there is plating, and there’s also when you're doing two-tone plating in certain pieces. So, there are lots of processes which happen parallelly in that direction.

So, I think making Indian jewellery is not an easy task. As much time and ambition goes into designing, we need the same kind of time and ambition from the craftsmen, and they need to be motivated to create something outstanding.

M: From your perspective, which trends are currently shaping the jewellery landscape and how are they going?

AJ: So, I think the jewellery landscape is an evolving subject. Back in the day, we used to see this happen — I used to see this happening — from colours of handbags, what the new shoe collection was going to be, etc. So, it was very fashion-driven and very season-driven. But I think now, coming to a point where fashion and seasons change so quickly, I think there is a time in jewellery which is more timeless. I think pieces which are going to have more wearability, I think pieces which are being driven by a lot more colour — something which is going to be heirloom — I think these are more of the subject; these points are more important for jewellery making today.

We continuously at Amrapali keep this in mind, and we regularly explain this to the client — that what you are buying today is... of course, the gold prices have gone up so much. The investment point of view is extremely important, which we have seen in how gold prices have done very well versus what they were before, and they are going to do well. So, we explain these things to the client. We explain that it’s not just about gold; it's also about gemstones. So, a lot of use of colour — and people enjoy using a lot of colour or appreciating a lot of colour.

Also, there is a very big shift coming from precious gemstones to semi-precious gemstones — a lot of high-end semi-precious gemstones, be it spinels, be it tourmaline, a lot of tanzanite we see instead of blue sapphires being used in Indian jewellery. I think these are the forms of colour. There are different garnets — orange garnet, spessartite, and hessonite. All of these are being celebrated in Indian fine jewellery making, and I think that is more of a trend, or that is more of something of a new chapter in Indian jewellery making. Because trends keep coming and going. But this is something which is going to be a whole different era, which is what Indians should be making, and is what jewellery is evolving towards.

 M: Any standout moments or lessons along the way?

AJ: Amrapali is a brand which always brings Indian handcraftsmanship, Indian jewellery making, and takes it to different parts of the country, different parts of the world. We are very excited to be in Delhi and to showcase our new bridal pieces for the upcoming event.

My journey in Amrapali started in 2002. This was from me being introduced into the business in London. We had a concession in Selfridges. This was an event which was 23 and 1/2 days of Bollywood. We went to London, Selfridges, for 23 1/2 days for this event, and we ended up being there for 12 years in Selfridges. It was a very successful event, which resulted in us securing a permanent spot in Selfridges at the time. I think those are the most memorable years for me.

Coming into the jewellery business, learning the jewellery business, studying gemmology during the day and then learning how to talk to the client, show them jewellery products, explain to them Indian craftsmanship — and this was very exciting because this was non-Indian clients. So, the interest a client would bring to the piece, and what they wanted to learn, was significantly more when they saw Indian craftsmanship being presented in London. So, I think us being in London in 2002 in Selfridges and then eventually in Harrods for another 12 years was the most exciting thing and a massive learning curve for both me and the brand.

Inspired to get started on that wedding wardrobe moodboard? Head to the FDCI Manifest Wedding Weekend this August 2–3, 2025, at the Taj Palace, New Delhi, for the hottest fresh-off-the-runway couture looks and jewellery. Register here.