What Kundan Jewellery Actually Is
Kundan is one of the most used and least understood words in Indian jewellery. It is sold as though it were a material, the way somebody says "a ruby necklace". It is not a material. It is a way of setting stones, and knowing that changes what you look for.
The word describes a technique
In traditional Kundan work, a stone is held in place by highly refined gold pushed in around it while cold, rather than by claws or prongs gripping from above. The metal is worked until it grips the stone from all sides and the surface finishes flush.
That is why traditional Kundan looks the way it does: stones sitting in smooth, raised, gold-toned frames with no visible claws, each stone outlined by a bright rim. The rim is the setting, not decoration.
What that means for how a piece looks
Once you know the technique, the look is predictable:
- Flat or shallow stones, because the setting works by surrounding rather than gripping from above.
- No prongs anywhere. If you can see claws over the stone, whatever else the piece is, it is not following Kundan construction.
- A continuous bright outline around every stone.
- Stones as the subject. The metalwork exists to hold them. Take the stones out of a Kundan piece and you have an empty frame, which is the opposite of cast temple work, where the gold work is the subject and stones are punctuation.
Kundan, Polki, Jadau, Meenakari
These four get used interchangeably in listings and they mean different things.
Kundan is the setting method described above.
Polki describes the stone: uncut, unfaceted natural diamond. Polki is often set using the Kundan technique, which is where "Polki Kundan" comes from - a Polki stone in a Kundan setting. Because Polki specifically means natural diamond, we describe our pieces as Polki-style where the shape follows that tradition, and we say plainly that these are imitation stones.
Jadau is the broader craft of embedding stones into gold this way, of which Kundan is part.
Meenakari is enamel work, usually on the reverse of a Kundan piece, so the back is as finished as the front. On traditional bridal work it is meant to be seen when the piece moves.
What changes when the jewellery is imitation
The shape, the proportions and the visual grammar are the same. What differs is what is underneath: our pieces are Zamak, a zinc alloy, gold-plated, with hand-set stones rather than natural ones. We say that on every product page rather than in a footnote.
What does not change is how you judge the work. On any Kundan-style piece, the tells are the same:
- Is the rim around each stone even all the way round? An uneven rim is a piece finished in a hurry.
- Do the stones sit level with each other?
- Look at the stones nearest the ends of a collar or the edge of an earring. Those are set last, and that is where care runs out first.
Kundan or temple?
They suit different things, and it is the most useful decision to make before buying. Temple vs Kundan is the full comparison; Kundan vs Polki covers the stone side.
Shop this look
- Chakra kundan jhumka earrings with pearl border - the setting at its most legible.
- Wide kundan chandbali earrings with pear-cut centre - a larger centre stone, so the rim is easy to inspect.
- Lotus kundan jhumka with pearl drops.
Full edits: kundan earrings, kundan jhumka earrings, kundan chandbali earrings.
The honest part
Everything here is gold-plated Zamak with hand-set kemp and kundan stones, cast and finished in our workshop in Kandivali East, Mumbai. It is imitation jewellery, not solid gold, and the product page says so rather than leaving it to be found out. Free shipping across India, GST in the price, and a manufacturing defect reported within 48 hours of delivery with a continuous unboxing video is repaired or replaced free.