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Traditional Indian jewellery looks different across regions because each region developed its own forms, techniques, motifs and customs over centuries, shaped by local craft communities, rituals, dress and patronage. A Maharashtrian nath, a South Indian temple necklace and a Rajasthani meenakari piece each reflect the place and people that made them.
These differences are not fixed rules. Designs can vary within a single state by community, occasion, period and individual maker, and many forms have travelled and mixed over time. This guide looks at some well-documented regional traditions, explains what sets them apart, and shows how traditional gold-plated jewellery and gold-plated Indian jewellery today carry those forms forward.
Regional designs differ mainly because of local craft techniques, the materials and skills available, community and marriage customs, the clothing each region wears, and the courts, temples and trade routes that shaped local taste.
Craft techniques. Each region built expertise in particular methods, such as stone-setting, enamelling, filigree or repoussé. A technique practised for generations becomes part of a region's visual signature.
Customs and rituals. Many ornaments are tied to life events, especially marriage. The pieces a bride wears often follow her community's customs, so forms differ from one community to another.
Dress. Jewellery evolves alongside clothing. A piece designed to sit on a nauvari drape or a silk saree's border looks different from one meant for a lehenga or a ghagra.
Patronage. Royal courts and temples commissioned work over long periods, refining styles that later spread more widely.
Trade and exchange. Coastal trade, migration and colonial contact introduced new motifs and techniques, which local makers absorbed into their own work.
Because these influences overlap, the regional styles below are best read as broad traditions, not strict boundaries.
Maharashtrian jewellery is known for its pearl-studded nath, bead-based necklaces such as the thushi and tanmani, the pendant-strung Kolhapuri saaj and ear ornaments such as the bugadi. Many of these forms are closely linked to marriage and festive dress, especially the nauvari and Paithani saree.
Nath: The Maharashtrian nath is a nose ornament, usually a curved or paisley-like shape outlined in pearls and often set with a coloured stone at its centre. Styles vary between communities, and it is widely worn on the left nostril. A gold-plated nath or gold-plated silver nath is a popular way to wear this form today.
Kolhapuri saaj: According to India's Office of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), the saaj is a traditional Maharashtrian necklace whose classic designs feature 21 pendants with motifs such as peacocks, lotus flowers and sacred leaves. It is associated with married women and with the craft heritage of Kolhapur.
Thushi: A choker made of closely set gold beads, worn snug around the neck.
Tanmani: A necklace that combines strands of pearls or beads with a central pendant, often set with stones.
Bugadi: An ear ornament worn on the upper ear, ranging from simple studs to pearl-hung designs. A gold-plated bugadi or gold-plated silver bugadi brings this traditional accent to everyday and festive looks.
Necklace forms such as the bakuli haar, named after the bakuli flower, and the tandul mani haar, named for its rice-grain-shaped beads, show how strongly local plants and everyday life influenced Maharashtrian design. You can see these forms in MOHA's nath and bugadi collections.
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South Indian temple jewellery draws its motifs from temple art and deity adornment: goddess figures, peacocks, lotuses and temple-tower shapes, often set with red and green stones and finished with pearl or bead drops.
The name reflects its origin. Temple jewellery was originally made to adorn deities, and the style was later worn by brides and classical dancers. One of its best-known centres is Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu, whose temple jewellery is registered as a Geographical Indication with India's GI Registry, filed by the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts).
Typical features include:
Figurative motifs. Goddesses, particularly Lakshmi, along with peacocks, swans and lotus forms.
Strong colour. Red and green stones set closely against a gold surface.
Layered sets. Long necklaces, chokers, jhumka-style gold-plated earrings, hair ornaments and waist belts worn together, especially for weddings and dance.
Neighbouring regions developed their own forms. Kerala, for instance, is known for coin-style necklaces and green-stone necklaces worn at weddings. Much of the temple-style jewellery worn by dancers today is gold-plated rather than solid gold, which keeps large sets practical for performance.
Jewellery from Rajasthan and much of North India is known for its colour and setting techniques: stone-setting styles such as kundan, enamelling known as meenakari, and the gold-on-glass craft of thewa. Forms such as the borla or rakhdi worn on the forehead are also strongly associated with the region.
Meenakari is the art of decorating metal with coloured enamel. Rajasthan, particularly Jaipur, is closely associated with it, and Varanasi has its own tradition: Benaras meenakari is one of the GI-tagged jewellery crafts showcased by India's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).
Thewa, from Pratapgarh in Rajasthan, fuses intricately worked gold onto coloured glass. GJEPC describes it as a GI-tagged craft that originated over four centuries ago and is practised by a small number of artisan families.
Kundan is a stone-setting technique in which stones are held in place with refined gold foil, creating the bold, flat-set look seen in many bridal sets.
Forehead and head ornaments, such as the borla or rakhdi, and the maang tikka, are prominent in Rajasthani and wider North Indian bridal dress.
In many pieces, enamel is applied to the back while stones are set on the front, so a single necklace can show two different crafts depending on which side you look at.
Eastern India is especially known for fine filigree work, where thin strands of metal are twisted and shaped into lace-like patterns. Cuttack in Odisha is the best-known centre, and Bengal has its own distinctive bridal ornaments.
Cuttack filigree (tarakasi). Silver filigree jewellery from Cuttack is a GI-tagged craft, also featured by GJEPC among India's origin-linked jewellery traditions. The airy, open patterns are very different from the solid, stone-heavy look of temple or kundan work.
Bengali bridal forms. Bengali bridal dress includes its own ornaments, such as the conch-shell and red bangles worn by many married women, alongside fine gold necklaces and chokers.
The contrast with other regions is clear: where Rajasthani pieces often rely on colour and stones, and temple jewellery on figurative motifs, eastern filigree traditions often rely on intricate metalwork itself.
Goa's jewellery reflects several layers of history: older local traditions, followed by centuries of contact with Portugal that produced a distinct Indo-Portuguese style. That makes it a clear example of how trade and cultural exchange reshape regional design.
Goan gold jewellery has drawn serious museum attention. In 2014, Lisbon's Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga held an exhibition titled Splendours of the Orient: Gold Jewels from Old Goa, whose catalogue includes a study of how Goan jewels came to express an Indo-Portuguese identity.
The layers before that period matter too. MOHA's founder, Geetanjali Gondhale, began the brand in Goa, and its first collection was based on Goa's pre-Portuguese aesthetics. In an interview with GJEPC's Solitaire magazine, she described studying Goan design from roughly the 11th to the 17th century, with motifs such as parrots drawn from the region's natural life. You can see that work in MOHA's Goa collection.
Many ornaments exist across India but take very different shapes in each region. The nose ornament and the marriage necklace are two clear examples.
| Ornament | Maharashtra | Rajasthan and North India | South India |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nose ornament | Nath: a curved, pearl-outlined shape, often with a central stone | Large bridal hoop nath, often with a chain linked to the hair | Nose studs (mookuthi) and a pendant worn from the septum (bulaku) |
| Marriage necklace | Mangalsutra with black beads and twin vati (cup-shaped) pendants | Mangalsutra styles vary widely by community | Thali or mangalyam, whose pendant design often differs by community |
| Bridal necklace | Saaj, thushi and tanmani | Kundan and meenakari sets, rani haar | Temple-style necklaces and coin necklaces |
These are typical forms, not fixed rules. Families within the same region can follow different customs, and many brides today combine pieces from more than one tradition. A gold-plated nath or gold-plated silver nath in the Maharashtrian style, for example, looks quite different from a North Indian bridal nath, even though both are worn for weddings.
Motifs such as peacocks, lotuses and mangoes appear across many regions, and their meaning can change with community, period and context. Popular explanations of symbolism are not always documented, so it is best to treat them as tradition rather than fact.
A few points help when reading about regional jewellery:
The same motif can travel. A peacock appears in Kolhapuri saaj pendants, temple jewellery and Rajasthani enamel work, each with its own styling.
Names vary. One ornament can have several local names, and one name can describe different pieces in different places.
Origins are often debated. Exact dates and "first" makers are rarely well recorded, so be wary of precise origin stories.
Look for documented sources. Government craft records, GI registrations and museum collections are more reliable than marketing descriptions.
This care matters for buyers too. A piece described as "inspired by" a tradition is a contemporary interpretation, not a historical reproduction, and that is perfectly valid as long as it is described honestly.
Many regional forms that were historically made in solid gold are now also made in gold-plated silver or other metals. This keeps traditional gold-plated jewellery wearable and accessible while preserving the shapes and motifs of each region.
Silver itself has deep roots in Indian jewellery-making. Maharashtra, for instance, has its own GI-tagged silver tradition: the silver anklets and jewellery of Hupari near Kolhapur, which GJEPC featured alongside other GI-tagged crafts. Gold-plated silver jewellery builds on that heritage by combining a silver base with the warm gold finish that traditional designs are known for.
This approach has practical benefits:
Large traditional forms become easier to own. A full saaj, a layered haar or a temple-style set can be made at a fraction of the cost of solid gold.
The base metal keeps value. In 22K gold-plated silver jewellery, the sterling silver core remains even as the finish ages, and the piece can be re-plated.
Designs can be worn more often. Lighter, more affordable versions of bridal forms can be worn to festivals and family functions, not just once.
To understand what gold plating involves and how to judge quality, read our guide to what gold-plated jewellery is. For help matching regional pieces to occasions, see how to choose gold-plated jewellery for weddings, festivals and everyday wear.
MOHA's handcrafted gold-plated jewellery is made in 92.5 sterling silver, with many designs finished in 22K gold plating, and much of it draws directly on Maharashtrian forms:
The Kolhapur Saaj follows the traditional saaj necklace associated with Kolhapur.
The Bakuli Haar and Tandul Mani Haar reinterpret classic Maharashtrian necklace forms.
The Peacock Tanmani brings the peacock motif into a tanmani necklace.
The Gul nath is a gold-plated silver nath in the Maharashtrian style.
Beyond Maharashtra, MOHA's wider silver collections take inspiration from other places and periods. Founder Geetanjali Gondhale has described the Sanchi collection as inspired by the Buddhist stupa at Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh, and the Maheshwar collection includes earrings inspired by Shiva's trishul. Each product page states its own materials, so check individual listings for gold-plated options.
Buy gold-plated jewellery online: Explore MOHA's 22K gold-plated jewellery in 92.5 sterling silver, or browse the full Maharashtrian jewellery collection.
Each region developed its own techniques, motifs and ornament forms, shaped by local crafts, marriage customs, dress, patronage and trade. Designs can still vary within a region by community, occasion and maker.
Well-known Maharashtrian forms include the pearl-outlined nath, the Kolhapuri saaj, the thushi choker, the tanmani necklace, the bugadi ear ornament and the mangalsutra with twin vati pendants.
Temple jewellery is a South Indian style whose motifs come from temple art and deity adornment, such as goddess figures, peacocks and lotuses. Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu is a well-known centre, and its temple jewellery is a registered Geographical Indication.
Examples include the temple jewellery of Nagercoil, Cuttack silver filigree, thewa from Pratapgarh, Benaras meenakari and the silver jewellery of Hupari in Maharashtra.
Kundan is a stone-setting technique that uses refined gold foil to hold stones in place. Meenakari is enamelling, where coloured enamel decorates the metal surface. Many pieces combine both, with stones on the front and enamel on the back.
It can follow traditional forms and motifs closely, even though the material differs from historical solid-gold pieces. The most honest descriptions call such pieces traditional designs or interpretations, and state the materials clearly.
