On a recent trip to Goa, Michelle Wilfred, 36, ran up a bill of ₹4,000 shopping for fashion jewellery at a boutique in Anjuna. The haul of long beaded earrings, hoops, rings and bracelets was worth the splurge, says the technical writer from Coimbatore. “The designs were unique, and with most pieces priced between ₹300 and ₹600, I couldn’t resist adding them to my shopping basket,” she laughs. She vowed to not shop for any more jewellery, but her resolve faded within a week, when she spotted a new collection launch on the Joker & Witch website. This time, she spent ₹2,500 on hair accessories and pearl-studded rings and hoops.
As someone who loves making a maximalist statement with shoulder-grazing danglers, bracelet stacks and rings, Wilfred justifies the purchases. “I buy versatile pieces that I can mix, match and wear for years, so I don’t see it as excessive,” she says. Wilfred is one among millions of Indians who have made fashion jewellery part of their everyday lives.
As the name suggests, fashion jewellery refers to a relatively affordable category of jewellery made from materials such as brass, steel, copper, clay, beads and semi-precious stones. Unlike fine jewellery crafted from precious metals like gold, silver and platinum and gemstones such as diamonds, rubies and emeralds, fashion jewellery does not typically hold long-term investment value. For a long time, for this very reason, the category was dismissively referred to as “imitation” or “junk jewellery”. Twenty years ago, that description may have held true. Not anymore.
Today, the country’s fashion jewellery space is teeming with both established and independent players creating statement pieces that could rival fine jewellery, for a fraction of the price. Manish Gulechha, CEO of Kushals Fashion Jewellery, headquartered in Bengaluru, has seen this transformation up close. Setting up the brand in 2006, Gulechha says the (fashion jewellery) industry started coming into its own around 2012-14. “One of the biggest shifts has been the focus on detailing and design. Earlier, imitation jewellery was largely just replicas of fine jewellery and the quality of manufacturing wasn’t great. Today, the products are far more refined and detailed,” he notes.
Another reason is its close integration with fashion in general. “Jewellery also started following fashion trends more closely. Fashion changes every season, so jewellery too began evolving with those trends. That’s one reason it began being referred to as ‘fashion jewellery’,” Gulechha explains.
Maya Varma, co-founder and chief brand and product officer of multi-accessories brands Joker & Witch and Teejh, credits social media for playing a role in the evolution of fashion jewellery. “What social media has really done is make experimentation more acceptable. Earlier, consumers would look at celebrities or brands and wonder, ‘Can I pull this off?’ or ‘How do I style this?’ Now they constantly see creators, influencers and everyday people experimenting with fashion and jewellery, and are far more open to trying new things,” she says.
Self-Expression
Delhi-based fashion communications specialist Aleem T. Siddiqui, 37, never steps out without jewellery. “Even if I’m just in a basic tee, I’ll throw on a faux diamond bracelet or some kind of pendant. For me, jewellery grounds my whole look. It adds intention to whatever I’m wearing, like putting the right punctuation in a sentence...” says Siddiqui.
Bengaluru-based artist Shara Gafoor’s eyes light up as she takes us through her getting-ready process—mainly the part where she takes time out to pick out fashion jewellery that matches her outfit for the day. “I’m extremely colour-coordinated. I usually begin with the dress and then choose jewellery to match—whether it’s stonework, enamel, or something else. Sometimes I’ll wear matching sets with earrings, chains and rings coordinated together. There are times, however, when the jewellery itself is so beautiful that I choose the outfit based on the earrings. I’ve always done that, right from college days,” says Gafoor, who is in her 50s.
Siddiqui and Gafoor validate Varma’s statement that customers are getting experimental with the jewellery they are wearing. “Fashion jewellery today has become one of the strongest forms of self-expression because it blends individuality with traditional art, culture and storytelling,” says Tarang Arora, CEO and creative director of heritage jewellery label Amrapali Jewels.
This shift towards style-led consumption is driving consumers towards versatile pieces that can be worn with both casual and occasion wear and day-to-evening dressing. In 2013, Arora helped launch Tribe Amrapali, an accessible label with a contemporary India-inspired aesthetic. Starting off as an e-store, the brand has today expanded to 38 stores across 20 Indian cities, according to its website.
As the more accessible label—the jewellery pieces range from ₹900 to ₹50,000—there’s more room to experiment with themes, materials and designs compared to fine jewellery. “We are constantly exploring unconventional ideas through a contemporary lens… ideas that balance emotional resonance and relevance,” says Arora.
For jewellery designer Bhavya Ramesh, creating edgy, outré pieces with silver is as much a form of self-expression as wearing them. Perhaps that is reflected in her eponymous label, launched in 2018, which has become synonymous with bold designs and unconventional themes.
“The ideas come from different things that inspire me. The Ancient Aliens collection, for instance, was inspired by a conspiracy theory I came across that asked: what if the gods we worship are actually supernatural beings who came to Earth? That idea really fascinated me, and that’s how the collection began.” Some of Ramesh’s popular designs include nail rings (ranging from ₹2,700-10,900), hair accessories including ornate headgear, maang tikkas and bun covers (priced between ₹6,000-75,000) and metal frame sunglasses (from ₹14,420-25,420).
While ideas for fashion jewellery collections can be imaginative, Ramesh admits that bringing them to life depends entirely on the quality of craftspersons or karigars one works with. “You can be a great designer, but if the person executing your idea doesn’t understand what’s in your head, it won’t work.” Ramesh has a team of 70 artisans working for her in Jaipur, but she credits her team of four master craftsmen as the “reliable hands” who convert her designs into coveted objects.
The quality of craftspersons matters just as much for a brand like Kushals that has a nationwide presence and drops new collections every month. “We have karigars who bring traditional craftsmanship and instinctive artistic understanding, even without formal education. The artisans’ inputs tend to be stronger for our ethnic collections,” says Gulechha.
The Price-Quality Tango
Ask Siddiqui how much he spends on jewellery and the response is immediate: “I’m happy to drop anywhere from ₹10,000- 40,000 on a piece that really speaks to me.” Wilfred, who likes a good bargain, often shops for pieces priced from ₹1,000-3,000. “What’s important is that it’s got to look polished with a good finish,” she says.
Brands are increasingly trying to strike that balance. “In fashion jewellery, levels of quality depend on the materials, techniques and craftsmanship involved,” explains Varma. A chain priced under ₹1,000 may be made from brass or copper, while one priced higher could be gold-plated, silver-plated or made using stainless steel.
“If a design is expected to have a longer lifespan, we’ll use better materials and invest more in the manufacturing process,” says Gulechha.
As fashion jewellery continues to produce everything from sculptural pieces to gold-plated wedding jewellery, will the line between fine and fashion jewellery continue to blur?
“Today people use different forms of jewellery depending on their lifestyle, mood and occasion. Fashion jewellery has become part of everyday life and experimentation. That said, fine jewellery continues to retain its aspirational and investment value. So the distinction won’t disappear entirely, but the boundaries between the two will continue to blur,” says Varma.
Mahalakshmi Prabhakaran is a Bengaluru-based journalist.