Our workshop · Karol Bagh, New Delhi
A family workshop, built around the craft.
Patel Kundan Art is a family-run jewellery manufacturing workshop in Karol Bagh, Delhi. Kundan setting is our speciality, and we make custom gold and silver jewellery for individuals, retail jewellers and jewellery businesses.
What we make
Kundan is our speciality. It is not our only work.
We manufacture kundan and jadau jewellery and also take on other gold and silver jewellery. Work may begin with a drawing, a photograph, a sample, an existing piece or a conversation about the result you want.
The techniques and stages involved depend on the design, and we explain the approach before the job is confirmed.
How a kundan piece is made
The details behind a kundan piece.
Kundan jewellery brings several stages of craft together. Depending on the design, a piece may pass through drawing, a framework, engraving and enamel, the setting of the stones, finishing and stringing. Each stage shapes how the finished piece looks and holds together.
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01. Drawing
नक्शा Naksha
A design or reference guides the layout, the proportions and where each stone and decorative detail will sit.
- Craftsman
- The naqqash or chitera, the designer
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02. Frame
घाट Ghaat
The gold framework gives the piece its form, with a seat for every stone. Everything that follows is built on it.
- Craftsman
- The sonar, the goldsmith
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03. Engraving
खुदाई Khudai
Where the design carries enamel, the gold is engraved so that each colour has a hollow to sit in.
- Craftsman
- The engraver
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04. Enamel
मीना Meena
For designs with meenakari, the colour work is completed as the design requires, before the stones are set.
- Craftsman
- The meenakar
- Look for
- A smooth, finished back
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05. Lac bed
लाख Laakh
In traditional kundan work, the hollows of the frame are filled with lac, a natural resin that forms the bed for each stone.
- Craftsman
- The setter
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06. Setting
जड़ाई Jadai
Each stone is carefully set by hand. A thin layer of silver foil is placed behind the stone to enhance light reflection and depth. Fine gold foil is then worked carefully around the stone’s edges to hold it securely in place. This precise setting technique contributes to the distinctive brilliance and finish of traditional kundan jewellery.
- Craftsman
- The jadiya or kundansaz, the setter
- Look for
- Even, tight gold edges, and stones that do not move when pressed
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07. Finishing
छिलाई Chhilai
The piece is cleaned and finished according to the design, with attention to the edges, the setting and how it looks as a whole.
- Craftsman
- The finisher
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08. Stringing
पटवा Patwa
Where the design needs them, silk threads, pearls and beads are added, and the piece is assembled, ready to wear.
- Craftsman
- The patwa, the stringer
The words, explained
- Kundan
- Fine gold foil, worked around the edges of each stone to hold it in place, with no claws.
- Jadau
- The craft of setting stones into gold this way. The word comes from jad, to embed.
- Polki
- Flat, uncut diamonds, traditionally set in kundan.
- Kundan-meena
- Kundan setting on the front, enamel on the back.
Materials & accountability
Every job begins with clarity.
When a job involves gold you give us, it is weighed and written into our job register when it comes in. The weighing, the work and the handover are discussed before the job goes ahead. When the piece is finished, it is weighed against the same entry.
Many customers do not bring gold at all, and pay for the gold and the making together. Either way, the design, the weight and the work are agreed before we start.
We take this seriously because the material has value, and often carries personal or business meaning as well.
Our approach
Craft deserves clear communication.
Good work begins with listening carefully. We discuss the design and what you need, make clear what the job involves, and give an estimate and expected timeline before work begins.
If a design has a limitation, we explain it plainly rather than make a promise we cannot keep.
Meet us at the workshop.
We are at 2561/6, 1st Floor, Beadonpura, Karol Bagh Post Office Lane, Karol Bagh, New Delhi. Call or message before visiting so we can arrange a convenient time.