Gemstones occupy a rare space in the history of jewellery where science, craftsmanship and emotional value often intersect. This balance is something that few understand as intuitively as Jaipur-based jewellery designer Sunita Shekhawat. While her eponymous label has become synonymous with modern meenakari over the past three decades—a craft that gets its due at the Museum of Meenakari Heritage—gemstones have always held her fascination.
“The idea is to communicate through colour,” Sunita says. She adds that meenakari became the brand’s signature because of the patriarchal gemstone industry that was hard to make inroads in at the time she was setting up her business. “The thing most people don’t know is that, in our family, we are all graduates in gemology, and so it’s natural for coloured gemstones to be a part of the brand’s evolution.”
Her son Digvijay Singh Shekhawat, and the label’s design director, chimes in: “Gemstones have been a part of the Indian jewellery vocabulary for ages. People have worn them for so many reasons, whether it’s astrology or ornamentation.” He reflects on Jaipur’s position as one of the leading centres of coloured gemstone cutting and craftsmanship in the world—beginning in the 18th century, when Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II began to encourage the establishment of a community of skilled jewellers, stone cutters and artisans from around the world to settle in Jaipur, giving it the moniker ‘the city of gems’.
The royal patronage ensured that the craft flourished, so much so that centuries later it still attracts global attention and has some of the world’s biggest names in jewellery (think Bvlgari and Boucheron) flocking to Jaipur for the artistry. “All these things are in our backyard, so it’s fairly easy for us to get the best material and use it in our jewellery. We’ve been experimenting, and as a brand, we also want to evolve, catering to people with diverse tastes and preferences, and take the craft global.”
“With high jewellery pieces,” Digvijay continues, “we’re making a lot of one-off emerald neck pieces. In the last couple of years or so, we’ve also started working with natural, unheated rubies, vintage diamonds, and newer, fun gemstones, which help us portray colours differently. You'll find kunzite in a lot of our French Enamel Collection. We had a piece which was inspired by the lotus leaf and lotus flower. So, obviously, we couldn’t find a better gemstone than a kunzite to portray that.”
While the mother-son duo firmly stands by their belief that one must “either be a jeweller or trust a jeweller,” they are happy to share the knowledge on how jewellery enthusiasts can set out building a great gemstone collection. The first thing to remember, they say, is that any iconic collection is not amassed overnight. It’s curated with patience, research and, most importantly, emotion. As the Shekhawats put it, “People who try to save a few rupees often end up paying more.”
Start with intent
Do you want to buy the stone to wear as part of your everyday jewellery? Or are you looking for an investment-grade asset? These are some of the questions that Sunita Shekhawat wants you to ask yourself before you approach your nearest jewellery store. “There are simulants in gemology. For example, a light blue, it can be aquamarine, which is expensive. It can be a blue topaz, which is not even 1/10th of the cost of aquamarine. The same goes for blue sapphire, tanzanite and blue topaz. So for someone whose priority is the colour, not the price, they can pick a gem based on appearance. But for someone who’s heavily into investment, of course, we should always start with the four main stones: ruby, emerald, sapphire and diamonds. These are the anchors of any good collection.”
Learn what makes your gemstones beautiful
Both Sunita and Digvijay place great importance on educating oneself about the science, or at least the basics, of the gems in a collection. Sunita emphasises clarity about hardness, wearability and structure. Knowing how your preferred gemstones perform on the Mohs Hardness Scale, a ranking to determine the stone’s scratch resistance, can make a world of difference when it comes to getting your jewellery designed. “For instance, emerald has limitations because its hardness is 7. Ruby’s hardness is 9 on the scale. You can’t cut an emerald to a custom shape but you can do that with rubies.” These distinctions matter, says Digvijay, as softer stones require more care and influence how they can be cut or set.
Build a balanced collection
Like all good things, your gemstone collection also needs balance. After you’ve acquired the four anchor gemstones, Digvijay suggests moving on to more “fun stones” like kunzite, tourmalines, citrine or amethyst. “Because they’re abundant, you can also experiment in terms of cuts, polish or facets in consultation with a skilled lapidary.” However, Sunita cautions that not all precious stones should be early purchases, instead suggesting restraint with high-stakes gems, such as the much rarer and more expensive Paraiba tourmalines. “I would not recommend purchasing it in the initial phases of building your collection. These acquisitions demand deeper research, higher risk tolerance and strong reason.”
Insist on provenance and sensible substitution
It goes without saying that gemstones are expensive. If you’re planning on splurging, then it’s best to do it with a trusted jeweller with experience. “If you’re looking for, say, a ruby, then you should always, always look for a certificate from a renowned lab,” says Digvijay. “Origin can also multiply value. If a ruby is from Mozambique and a similar quality ruby is from Burma, then that Burmese ruby will be two or three times more expensive than the Mozambique ruby because that origin is coveted. Documentation protects you when the price per carat becomes significant.” Equally, for style-first buyers, an experienced jeweller can offer honest substitutions that deliver identical colour impact at very different price points.
Breathe new life into old favourites
The best part about any jewellery collection is the story attached to the pieces that make them infinitely more valuable. Gemstone heirlooms, says Sunita, are particularly amenable to being redesigned. “A ring can be converted easily into a pendant. A pendant can easily be worn as a pocket pin,” says Sunita, “That’s the flexibility with gemstones. They can be combined with different metals or even enamel for a new look.”
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