What came from outside (here, Persia) gradually became the identical to the Indian culture. Thanks to the effervescent and colourful India that not only accepted and adopted the art but helped it grow into a form of art that is tasteful, rich, rare and thus revered by connoisseurs. We are talking about Meenakari or enamelling that has come a long way to now become synonymous to Indian jewellery making process. After enjoying the status of being a symbol of affluence, during its down days, the humble art was looked at as a medium to break the monotony of golden bling and add little colour. However, the art is back with a bang and has brought along itself an array of new possibilities that can be termed as revolutionary. %% The popularity of meenakari has crossed many political boundaries and we have many other countries with their versions of enamelling, for example, French enamelling and Turkish enamelling. With the time witnessing a renaissance in the art if meenakari, it was both our moral duty and business to inform our readers about the same. So we found out from some of the industry leading manufacturers, retailers and designers about the same. %% Anil Talwar, a stalwart in the field of gem and jewellery, took immense pleasure in explaining us the history and importance of meenakari. “Meenakari is not only about adding a little colour to a drab piece of jewellery, it’s about beautification of a jewellery piece, which is itself created to beautify womankind. It has its own charm and its own fan following. The modern history of meenakari is no less than a fairy tale. What started as a royal liking was reduced to be a means of giving a little colour to gold and silver jewellery, but now it has evolved with time and is an art. I have seen market changing and meenakari has improved a lot down the line,” says Talwar, a jeweller and a connoisseur. %% Explaining more about the art, he says, “Meenakari can be done on 22k gold, which makes it a more valuable option of maintaining the quality of the gold while beautifying it with some colours. Meenakari is something that cannot go extinct forever, neither is it as popular as other jewellery making art.”%% He also pointed out that while we have good news of meenakari slowly getting popular, we also have a bad news, that is, good meenakari is hard to find. “Mostly meenakari is taken only as filling of spaces with colour, which is a bad approach. While a karigar, who is not well-acquainted with the art and its nuances will only use colour to fill the spaces in the jewellery and many a times very clumsily, but a designer, may add to the beauty and thereby the value of the jewellery by making the correct and fine use of enamelling. Well-designed meenakari jewellery is appreciated by connoisseurs, but unfortunately meenakari is not done correctly today. Moreover, meenakari is one way of making jewellery but not the only way. So, when people don’t find good meenakari, many opt for other designs,” he says. %%

When asked whether meenakari is appreciated by Indian youth or not, Talwar says, “Today’s youth is well-informed and ambitious. They like art and because meenakari is an art now, we definitely have youngsters asking for meenakari jewellery.”%% Yet another name in the field of jewellery, which stands apart because of its out-of-box designs, is Anmol Jewellers. The household jeweller for many Indian celebrities, Anmol Jewellers has also been doing some exceptional meenakari work. When asked if meenakari has been reduced to just add little colour in gold jewellery, Ishu Datwani of Anmol Jeweller says, “Meenakari is one of most beautiful jewellery craft. Gemstones have their own charm and meenakari has its own allure. But Meenakari certainly adds to the beauty of the gemstones, especially kundan jewellery as kundan jewellery always looks nicer with enamel bordering. Also, if meenakari is not done with the proper technique, it can look cheap. There is a right way and right technique of doing meenakari, the result of which is fantastic.” Giving more details about meenakari, Datwani says, “Meenakari is an art of decorating gold with enamelling in colourful motifs. It is a very intricate form of jewellery craft and adds colour and vibrancy to the jewellery. It is used in combination with kundan to enhance the beauty of the jewellery. Bikaneri and Jaipuruncut jewellery is usually crafted with intricate and colourful meenakari on the back side of the jewellery which actually enhances the beauty of the jewellery and makes it complete. Meenakari is as popular as jadau or kundan, in fact it’s an integral part of antique, jadau and kundan jewellery.”%% Talking about Indian youth and their interest in meenakari, he says, “If meenakari is used to create fashionable jewellery which is subtle and fancy with a bit of bling, then it can certainly become more popular among the Indian youth.” Sharing an experience of creating meenakari jewellery, he says, “We made a lovely peacock armband for actress Shilpa Shetty on her wedding. The peacock motif was ornately enamelled in blue, green and red and embellished with uncut diamonds, rubies with a pearl tassle.”%% Vijay Sandeep of Golecha Gems says that meenakari is 350 years old art, which was introduced to India by Mughals. “With such rich history and a royal status, meenakari cannot be something trivial. Only lack of knowledge can make people think it as some cheap option. Meenakari is something very exquisite and rich. Many opt for meena for colour in their jewellery as they cannot wear certain precious stone that might not suit them astrologically. But this doesn’t mean that meenakari is replacement of precious stones.”%%

Sandeep Golecha also says that common man also may not know details about meenakari. “There is Banarasi meena (pink meena), French enamelling, Turkish enamelling and more as a part of the world meena bazaar. Commoners may not value it because of lack of knowledge and meena may sell cheap because of competitive prices. However, if one understands the importance of the art, they will not mind paying the price. Meenakari can get a grand royal look which no diamond alone can do. It’s always a delight to work with knowledgeable client, who understand the value of art and effort and not only goes by the rates and prices of metal.” When asked about the youth’s interest in meena jewellery, he says, “It’s now more occasion and place oriented dressing today so youth wants to experiments with various designs and jewellery. While for office wear and casual wear they still prefer light weight diamond jewellery, for traditional occasions, they have no qualms in trying meena, jadau and antique. So meena is getting fairly popular among youth too.”%% A huge name in retail and manufacturing, Bhuramal Rajmal Surana, also second the opinion that meenakari cannot be a replacement for coloured stones or just an element that comeplements to jadau. “Meenakari is exquisite, fine art that connoisseurs understand and appreciate. Jadau gets its real sheen only after correct enamelling. In fact plain meenakari work itself is very rich and looks historic and because of this property, it has become an intrinsic part of jadau and kundan jewellery.” He says that though meenakari is well-appreciated in other countries, given the fact that it’s handmade and rich, Indian youth is yet to understand the importance of it. %% Siddharth Totuka of P C Totuka Jeweller opines, “With French and Turkish enamelling, which are more vibrant, Indian meenakari faces a competition. However, generally, meenakari or enamelling is fast catching up. Meenakari has acquired a status of being an art. While earlier meenkari comprised only 5 per cent of total jewellery manufacturing and now it has gone up to 30 per cent. In India, people like little meenakari in their jewellery pieces to break the monotony of it. Indian youth also loves meenakri and there is an extensive demand for meenakri jadau or plain meenakari jewellery from them. The latest in the market is filigree with meenakari, which is much delicate and rare.”%% When contacted, Abhishek Raniwala of Raniwala Jewellers, also gave a rationale behind the rising popularity of meenakari. “Meenakari is a symbolic trademark. It not only makes for super glamourous and rich jewellery, but also adds to the beauty of kundan and jadu jewellery. But meenakari cannot be taken as a cheap option, on the contrary, it’s more expensive, given the fact that it is done on 22 k gold jewellery. Though meena with kundan and jadau is more popular but, but we have clients who demand plain meenakari jewellery.”%%

Talking about the rising popularity of the art, he says, “Meenakari now is categorised under super luxury items and the reason is it’s handmade. Handmade stuff are valued much in western nation and fetch good price. Meenakari cannot be replicated and hence is always unique. Meenakari has its own space and importance and hence cannot be compared with other ways of making jewellery. Today, kundan-meena or meena in jadau is almost a club. Meenakari brings life to antique jewellery or jadaus. In olden days, sword handles, sword cases and necklaces had fine meenakari work.”%% Raniwala also says that though acceptability towards meenakari is growing but popularity might not be the right word. “Limited people have exposure about meenakari and hence it cannot claim the status of being popular. However, this doesn’t make it cheap or less important,” he concludes. %% After acquiring the status of being an art form, meenakari is all set to rule the market with its grandeur and majesty. The rising popularity of meenakari is symbolic to the fact that people are now going back to era of rich and colourful. With many leading jewellers and designer taking keen interest in doing some fine meenakari work for their clients with a rich taste, meenakari is sure to reach new heights. %%

What came from outside (here, Persia) gradually became the identical to the Indian culture. Thanks to the effervescent and colourful India that not only accepted and adopted the art but helped it grow into a form of art that is tasteful, rich, rare and thus revered by connoisseurs. We are talking about Meenakari or enamelling that has come a long way to now become synonymous to Indian jewellery making process. After enjoying the status of being a symbol of affluence, during its down days, the humble art was looked at as a medium to break the monotony of golden bling and add little colour. However, the art is back with a bang and has brought along itself an array of new possibilities that can be termed as revolutionary. %% The popularity of meenakari has crossed many political boundaries and we have many other countries with their versions of enamelling, for example, French enamelling and Turkish enamelling. With the time witnessing a renaissance in the art if meenakari, it was both our moral duty and business to inform our readers about the same. So we found out from some of the industry leading manufacturers, retailers and designers about the same. %% Anil Talwar, a stalwart in the field of gem and jewellery, took immense pleasure in explaining us the history and importance of meenakari. “Meenakari is not only about adding a little colour to a drab piece of jewellery, it’s about beautification of a jewellery piece, which is itself created to beautify womankind. It has its own charm and its own fan following. The modern history of meenakari is no less than a fairy tale. What started as a royal liking was reduced to be a means of giving a little colour to gold and silver jewellery, but now it has evolved with time and is an art. I have seen market changing and meenakari has improved a lot down the line,” says Talwar, a jeweller and a connoisseur. %% Explaining more about the art, he says, “Meenakari can be done on 22k gold, which makes it a more valuable option of maintaining the quality of the gold while beautifying it with some colours. Meenakari is something that cannot go extinct forever, neither is it as popular as other jewellery making art.”%% He also pointed out that while we have good news of meenakari slowly getting popular, we also have a bad news, that is, good meenakari is hard to find. “Mostly meenakari is taken only as filling of spaces with colour, which is a bad approach. While a karigar, who is not well-acquainted with the art and its nuances will only use colour to fill the spaces in the jewellery and many a times very clumsily, but a designer, may add to the beauty and thereby the value of the jewellery by making the correct and fine use of enamelling. Well-designed meenakari jewellery is appreciated by connoisseurs, but unfortunately meenakari is not done correctly today. Moreover, meenakari is one way of making jewellery but not the only way. So, when people don’t find good meenakari, many opt for other designs,” he says. %%

When asked whether meenakari is appreciated by Indian youth or not, Talwar says, “Today’s youth is well-informed and ambitious. They like art and because meenakari is an art now, we definitely have youngsters asking for meenakari jewellery.”%% Yet another name in the field of jewellery, which stands apart because of its out-of-box designs, is Anmol Jewellers. The household jeweller for many Indian celebrities, Anmol Jewellers has also been doing some exceptional meenakari work. When asked if meenakari has been reduced to just add little colour in gold jewellery, Ishu Datwani of Anmol Jeweller says, “Meenakari is one of most beautiful jewellery craft. Gemstones have their own charm and meenakari has its own allure. But Meenakari certainly adds to the beauty of the gemstones, especially kundan jewellery as kundan jewellery always looks nicer with enamel bordering. Also, if meenakari is not done with the proper technique, it can look cheap. There is a right way and right technique of doing meenakari, the result of which is fantastic.” Giving more details about meenakari, Datwani says, “Meenakari is an art of decorating gold with enamelling in colourful motifs. It is a very intricate form of jewellery craft and adds colour and vibrancy to the jewellery. It is used in combination with kundan to enhance the beauty of the jewellery. Bikaneri and Jaipuruncut jewellery is usually crafted with intricate and colourful meenakari on the back side of the jewellery which actually enhances the beauty of the jewellery and makes it complete. Meenakari is as popular as jadau or kundan, in fact it’s an integral part of antique, jadau and kundan jewellery.”%% Talking about Indian youth and their interest in meenakari, he says, “If meenakari is used to create fashionable jewellery which is subtle and fancy with a bit of bling, then it can certainly become more popular among the Indian youth.” Sharing an experience of creating meenakari jewellery, he says, “We made a lovely peacock armband for actress Shilpa Shetty on her wedding. The peacock motif was ornately enamelled in blue, green and red and embellished with uncut diamonds, rubies with a pearl tassle.”%% Vijay Sandeep of Golecha Gems says that meenakari is 350 years old art, which was introduced to India by Mughals. “With such rich history and a royal status, meenakari cannot be something trivial. Only lack of knowledge can make people think it as some cheap option. Meenakari is something very exquisite and rich. Many opt for meena for colour in their jewellery as they cannot wear certain precious stone that might not suit them astrologically. But this doesn’t mean that meenakari is replacement of precious stones.”%%

Sandeep Golecha also says that common man also may not know details about meenakari. “There is Banarasi meena (pink meena), French enamelling, Turkish enamelling and more as a part of the world meena bazaar. Commoners may not value it because of lack of knowledge and meena may sell cheap because of competitive prices. However, if one understands the importance of the art, they will not mind paying the price. Meenakari can get a grand royal look which no diamond alone can do. It’s always a delight to work with knowledgeable client, who understand the value of art and effort and not only goes by the rates and prices of metal.” When asked about the youth’s interest in meena jewellery, he says, “It’s now more occasion and place oriented dressing today so youth wants to experiments with various designs and jewellery. While for office wear and casual wear they still prefer light weight diamond jewellery, for traditional occasions, they have no qualms in trying meena, jadau and antique. So meena is getting fairly popular among youth too.”%% A huge name in retail and manufacturing, Bhuramal Rajmal Surana, also second the opinion that meenakari cannot be a replacement for coloured stones or just an element that comeplements to jadau. “Meenakari is exquisite, fine art that connoisseurs understand and appreciate. Jadau gets its real sheen only after correct enamelling. In fact plain meenakari work itself is very rich and looks historic and because of this property, it has become an intrinsic part of jadau and kundan jewellery.” He says that though meenakari is well-appreciated in other countries, given the fact that it’s handmade and rich, Indian youth is yet to understand the importance of it. %% Siddharth Totuka of P C Totuka Jeweller opines, “With French and Turkish enamelling, which are more vibrant, Indian meenakari faces a competition. However, generally, meenakari or enamelling is fast catching up. Meenakari has acquired a status of being an art. While earlier meenkari comprised only 5 per cent of total jewellery manufacturing and now it has gone up to 30 per cent. In India, people like little meenakari in their jewellery pieces to break the monotony of it. Indian youth also loves meenakri and there is an extensive demand for meenakri jadau or plain meenakari jewellery from them. The latest in the market is filigree with meenakari, which is much delicate and rare.”%% When contacted, Abhishek Raniwala of Raniwala Jewellers, also gave a rationale behind the rising popularity of meenakari. “Meenakari is a symbolic trademark. It not only makes for super glamourous and rich jewellery, but also adds to the beauty of kundan and jadu jewellery. But meenakari cannot be taken as a cheap option, on the contrary, it’s more expensive, given the fact that it is done on 22 k gold jewellery. Though meena with kundan and jadau is more popular but, but we have clients who demand plain meenakari jewellery.”%%

Talking about the rising popularity of the art, he says, “Meenakari now is categorised under super luxury items and the reason is it’s handmade. Handmade stuff are valued much in western nation and fetch good price. Meenakari cannot be replicated and hence is always unique. Meenakari has its own space and importance and hence cannot be compared with other ways of making jewellery. Today, kundan-meena or meena in jadau is almost a club. Meenakari brings life to antique jewellery or jadaus. In olden days, sword handles, sword cases and necklaces had fine meenakari work.”%% Raniwala also says that though acceptability towards meenakari is growing but popularity might not be the right word. “Limited people have exposure about meenakari and hence it cannot claim the status of being popular. However, this doesn’t make it cheap or less important,” he concludes. %% After acquiring the status of being an art form, meenakari is all set to rule the market with its grandeur and majesty. The rising popularity of meenakari is symbolic to the fact that people are now going back to era of rich and colourful. With many leading jewellers and designer taking keen interest in doing some fine meenakari work for their clients with a rich taste, meenakari is sure to reach new heights. %%

What came from outside (here, Persia) gradually became the identical to the Indian culture. Thanks to the effervescent and colourful India that not only accepted and adopted the art but helped it grow into a form of art that is tasteful, rich, rare and thus revered by connoisseurs. We are talking about Meenakari or enamelling that has come a long way to now become synonymous to Indian jewellery making process. After enjoying the status of being a symbol of affluence, during its down days, the humble art was looked at as a medium to break the monotony of golden bling and add little colour. However, the art is back with a bang and has brought along itself an array of new possibilities that can be termed as revolutionary. %% The popularity of meenakari has crossed many political boundaries and we have many other countries with their versions of enamelling, for example, French enamelling and Turkish enamelling. With the time witnessing a renaissance in the art if meenakari, it was both our moral duty and business to inform our readers about the same. So we found out from some of the industry leading manufacturers, retailers and designers about the same. %% Anil Talwar, a stalwart in the field of gem and jewellery, took immense pleasure in explaining us the history and importance of meenakari. “Meenakari is not only about adding a little colour to a drab piece of jewellery, it’s about beautification of a jewellery piece, which is itself created to beautify womankind. It has its own charm and its own fan following. The modern history of meenakari is no less than a fairy tale. What started as a royal liking was reduced to be a means of giving a little colour to gold and silver jewellery, but now it has evolved with time and is an art. I have seen market changing and meenakari has improved a lot down the line,” says Talwar, a jeweller and a connoisseur. %% Explaining more about the art, he says, “Meenakari can be done on 22k gold, which makes it a more valuable option of maintaining the quality of the gold while beautifying it with some colours. Meenakari is something that cannot go extinct forever, neither is it as popular as other jewellery making art.”%% He also pointed out that while we have good news of meenakari slowly getting popular, we also have a bad news, that is, good meenakari is hard to find. “Mostly meenakari is taken only as filling of spaces with colour, which is a bad approach. While a karigar, who is not well-acquainted with the art and its nuances will only use colour to fill the spaces in the jewellery and many a times very clumsily, but a designer, may add to the beauty and thereby the value of the jewellery by making the correct and fine use of enamelling. Well-designed meenakari jewellery is appreciated by connoisseurs, but unfortunately meenakari is not done correctly today. Moreover, meenakari is one way of making jewellery but not the only way. So, when people don’t find good meenakari, many opt for other designs,” he says. %%

When asked whether meenakari is appreciated by Indian youth or not, Talwar says, “Today’s youth is well-informed and ambitious. They like art and because meenakari is an art now, we definitely have youngsters asking for meenakari jewellery.”%% Yet another name in the field of jewellery, which stands apart because of its out-of-box designs, is Anmol Jewellers. The household jeweller for many Indian celebrities, Anmol Jewellers has also been doing some exceptional meenakari work. When asked if meenakari has been reduced to just add little colour in gold jewellery, Ishu Datwani of Anmol Jeweller says, “Meenakari is one of most beautiful jewellery craft. Gemstones have their own charm and meenakari has its own allure. But Meenakari certainly adds to the beauty of the gemstones, especially kundan jewellery as kundan jewellery always looks nicer with enamel bordering. Also, if meenakari is not done with the proper technique, it can look cheap. There is a right way and right technique of doing meenakari, the result of which is fantastic.” Giving more details about meenakari, Datwani says, “Meenakari is an art of decorating gold with enamelling in colourful motifs. It is a very intricate form of jewellery craft and adds colour and vibrancy to the jewellery. It is used in combination with kundan to enhance the beauty of the jewellery. Bikaneri and Jaipuruncut jewellery is usually crafted with intricate and colourful meenakari on the back side of the jewellery which actually enhances the beauty of the jewellery and makes it complete. Meenakari is as popular as jadau or kundan, in fact it’s an integral part of antique, jadau and kundan jewellery.”%% Talking about Indian youth and their interest in meenakari, he says, “If meenakari is used to create fashionable jewellery which is subtle and fancy with a bit of bling, then it can certainly become more popular among the Indian youth.” Sharing an experience of creating meenakari jewellery, he says, “We made a lovely peacock armband for actress Shilpa Shetty on her wedding. The peacock motif was ornately enamelled in blue, green and red and embellished with uncut diamonds, rubies with a pearl tassle.”%% Vijay Sandeep of Golecha Gems says that meenakari is 350 years old art, which was introduced to India by Mughals. “With such rich history and a royal status, meenakari cannot be something trivial. Only lack of knowledge can make people think it as some cheap option. Meenakari is something very exquisite and rich. Many opt for meena for colour in their jewellery as they cannot wear certain precious stone that might not suit them astrologically. But this doesn’t mean that meenakari is replacement of precious stones.”%%

Sandeep Golecha also says that common man also may not know details about meenakari. “There is Banarasi meena (pink meena), French enamelling, Turkish enamelling and more as a part of the world meena bazaar. Commoners may not value it because of lack of knowledge and meena may sell cheap because of competitive prices. However, if one understands the importance of the art, they will not mind paying the price. Meenakari can get a grand royal look which no diamond alone can do. It’s always a delight to work with knowledgeable client, who understand the value of art and effort and not only goes by the rates and prices of metal.” When asked about the youth’s interest in meena jewellery, he says, “It’s now more occasion and place oriented dressing today so youth wants to experiments with various designs and jewellery. While for office wear and casual wear they still prefer light weight diamond jewellery, for traditional occasions, they have no qualms in trying meena, jadau and antique. So meena is getting fairly popular among youth too.”%% A huge name in retail and manufacturing, Bhuramal Rajmal Surana, also second the opinion that meenakari cannot be a replacement for coloured stones or just an element that comeplements to jadau. “Meenakari is exquisite, fine art that connoisseurs understand and appreciate. Jadau gets its real sheen only after correct enamelling. In fact plain meenakari work itself is very rich and looks historic and because of this property, it has become an intrinsic part of jadau and kundan jewellery.” He says that though meenakari is well-appreciated in other countries, given the fact that it’s handmade and rich, Indian youth is yet to understand the importance of it. %% Siddharth Totuka of P C Totuka Jeweller opines, “With French and Turkish enamelling, which are more vibrant, Indian meenakari faces a competition. However, generally, meenakari or enamelling is fast catching up. Meenakari has acquired a status of being an art. While earlier meenkari comprised only 5 per cent of total jewellery manufacturing and now it has gone up to 30 per cent. In India, people like little meenakari in their jewellery pieces to break the monotony of it. Indian youth also loves meenakri and there is an extensive demand for meenakri jadau or plain meenakari jewellery from them. The latest in the market is filigree with meenakari, which is much delicate and rare.”%% When contacted, Abhishek Raniwala of Raniwala Jewellers, also gave a rationale behind the rising popularity of meenakari. “Meenakari is a symbolic trademark. It not only makes for super glamourous and rich jewellery, but also adds to the beauty of kundan and jadu jewellery. But meenakari cannot be taken as a cheap option, on the contrary, it’s more expensive, given the fact that it is done on 22 k gold jewellery. Though meena with kundan and jadau is more popular but, but we have clients who demand plain meenakari jewellery.”%%

Talking about the rising popularity of the art, he says, “Meenakari now is categorised under super luxury items and the reason is it’s handmade. Handmade stuff are valued much in western nation and fetch good price. Meenakari cannot be replicated and hence is always unique. Meenakari has its own space and importance and hence cannot be compared with other ways of making jewellery. Today, kundan-meena or meena in jadau is almost a club. Meenakari brings life to antique jewellery or jadaus. In olden days, sword handles, sword cases and necklaces had fine meenakari work.”%% Raniwala also says that though acceptability towards meenakari is growing but popularity might not be the right word. “Limited people have exposure about meenakari and hence it cannot claim the status of being popular. However, this doesn’t make it cheap or less important,” he concludes. %% After acquiring the status of being an art form, meenakari is all set to rule the market with its grandeur and majesty. The rising popularity of meenakari is symbolic to the fact that people are now going back to era of rich and colourful. With many leading jewellers and designer taking keen interest in doing some fine meenakari work for their clients with a rich taste, meenakari is sure to reach new heights. %%