A jewellery tradition shaped by centuries of Indian craftsmanship, Punjabi culture and the hands of generations of karigars.
There is something unmistakably Punjabi about Amritsari Jadau.
It is colourful without being delicate. Detailed without being restrained. And made to be noticed.
But the story of Amritsari Jadau begins much further back than the streets of Amritsar.
Where Jadau began
Jadau is not a type of stone or a particular piece of jewellery. It is a traditional Indian jewellery making technique in which gemstones are set into metal, traditionally high karat gold, using a form of pressure setting rather than conventional prongs.
The technique is closely associated with the jewellery traditions that flourished under Mughal patronage and were later refined extensively in Rajasthan.
The word jadau is commonly connected to jadna, to embed or set something into something else.
Kundan is closely connected to this tradition. In kundan setting, highly refined gold is worked around a gemstone to hold it in place. Meenakari, or enamelling, often appears on the reverse of traditional pieces, making the jewellery beautiful from both sides.
Over generations, these techniques travelled, evolved and took on the character of the regions in which they were practised.
And in Punjab, they became something distinctly its own.
From royal courts to Punjab
As jewellery making traditions travelled across the Indian subcontinent, different centres developed their own interpretations of stone studded jewellery.
Rajasthan became particularly renowned for Kundan and Jadau, with Jaipur and Bikaner emerging as important centres of the craft.
Punjab developed its own visual language.
The jewellery became more open, colourful and expressive, with combinations of pearls and coloured stones, intricate metalwork and designs that suited the grandeur of Punjabi dressing.
This regional form came to be known as Amritsari Jadau.
Historical documentation of the Amritsar jewellery trade is closely tied to the city's old bazaars, particularly Guru Bazaar. Situated between the Golden Temple and Guru Ka Mahal, Guru Bazaar has long been one of Amritsar's principal jewellery markets and remains particularly associated with traditional jewellery, including Jadau.
The Amritsari interpretation
What makes Amritsari Jadau special is not simply the technique. It is the way that technique was interpreted.
Unlike the heavily associated Rajasthani Kundan Polki tradition, Amritsari Jadau is often recognised for its open-set construction, colourful stones, pearls and intricate, visible metalwork.
Jewellery houses and workshops in Amritsar have traditionally worked with combinations of coloured gemstones, pearls and detailed gold work to create pieces that feel rich, elaborate and distinctly Punjabi.
Contemporary accounts of the Amritsar tradition specifically describe it as an “open set” form of Jadau, with precious stones set into 22 karat gold.
The result is jewellery with a different kind of presence.It does not rely only on the brilliance of diamonds. It celebrates colour.
Ruby reds. Emerald greens. Pearly whites. Deep blues. Warm gold.
Often arranged in floral, geometric and symmetrical compositions, the pieces have the abundance and confidence that are so characteristic of Punjabi adornment
Amritsar and the craft
Amritsar has been a major commercial and cultural centre of Punjab for centuries.
Founded in the late 16th century, the city grew around the Harmandir Sahib and developed a network of specialised bazaars and trading communities.
Guru Bazaar became one of its historic commercial streets and, over time, a major centre for jewellery.
Jewellery was not simply sold here. It was made here.
For generations, workshops operated within the old city, with skilled craftsmen working behind the storefronts. A study of Guru Bazaar records that the upper floors of many buildings functioned as production and wholesale spaces, with jewellery making forming a significant part of the area's commercial life.
Even today, Amritsar's Guru Bazaar is recognised as a destination for traditional Jadau jewellery.
A craft passed from hand to hand
Like much of India's traditional jewellery, Amritsari Jadau has never been the work of a single craftsperson.
A piece passes through several skilled hands, from the person who creates the form to the one who prepares the setting, to the craftsman who sets the stones and finishes the piece.
That division of skill is part of what makes traditional Indian jewellery so remarkable.
The knowledge lives in the workshop.
It is learnt by watching, practising and repeating the work until the hands know what the eye is looking for.
Some Amritsari jewellery houses have been practising and manufacturing the tradition for generations. One documented Amritsar Jadau manufacturer, for example, traces its workshop back to the 1950s and describes its work specifically as the Amritsar variant of open-set Jadau.
This continuity matters.
Because a craft survives not simply when its designs are copied, but when the knowledge of how to make them survives.
The jewellery of Punjab
Amritsari Jadau also became deeply intertwined with Punjabi occasions.
Weddings. Festivals. Family celebrations. The occasions when dressing up was never meant to be understated.
Its bold colours and elaborate forms made it particularly suited to the Punjabi wardrobe jewellery that could hold its own against rich fabrics, embroidered dupattas and the grandeur of bridal dressing.
And yet, the appeal of Amritsari Jadau was never only about ceremony.
It became jewellery that could be inherited, remembered and associated with the women who wore it.
A necklace from a mother's trousseau.
A pair of earrings worn at a daughter's wedding.
A piece brought out year after year for Diwali, Gurpurab or a family celebration.
The jewellery became part of the memory of the occasion.
Amritsari Jadau today
The craft is changing, as every living craft does.
Traditional gold and precious gemstones continue to have their place, while contemporary jewellers and artisans are reinterpreting the visual language of Amritsari Jadau across different materials and price points.
In fact, the Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council has identified Amritsari Jadau as a potential Geographical Indication product for the Amritsar jewellery cluster a recognition of the craft's regional identity and its potential to be preserved and promoted.
What remains constant is the character of the jewellery:
colour, craftsmanship, detail and abundance.
And perhaps that is why Amritsari Jadau still feels so relevant.
It belongs to a history, but it was never meant to stay in a museum.
It was made to be worn.
A tradition worth wearing
At House of Devina, we are drawn to Amritsari Jadau for exactly this reason.
Not simply because it is old.
But because it has lived.
It has traveled through courts and bazaars, workshops and family celebrations. It has changed with the women who wore it, while retaining the details that make it unmistakably itself.
Our interpretation takes inspiration from this rich Punjabi jewellery tradition, its colour, symmetry, stonework and unmistakable sense of occasion, and brings it into a more contemporary wardrobe.
Because heritage does not have to be preserved behind glass.
Sometimes, the best way to keep it alive is to wear it.