Handmade is close to unregulated as a word in Indian jewellery. It gets applied to genuinely hand-worked pieces and to imported components assembled onto a hook by a person, which is technically hand assembly and not the same thing at all.
Neither is wrong to sell. Buying either knowingly is fine. Paying craft prices for assembly is not, and online you cannot pick the piece up, so the judgement has to be made from photographs and text.
Handcrafted, hand-assembled, mass-produced
Handcrafted means a person shaped the piece itself: setting stones, wrapping thread, cutting and stitching fabric, forming metal. There is skill embodied in the object.
Hand-assembled means factory-made components joined by hand. Perfectly legitimate, often attractive, but the labour is minutes rather than hours and the price should reflect that.
Mass-produced means cast, stamped or moulded at scale. Identical units, low cost, no variation.
The same design, made twice. The motif placement and mirror position differ slightly between the two. A machine cannot produce this; it can only avoid it.
The clearest tell across all three is variation. Handcrafted pieces differ slightly from one another, and honest sellers say so in the listing. A brand that promises every unit will be identical is describing a machine process, whatever word it uses.
Eight things to check in a listing
1. Does it name the technique? Real craft has a name: kundan setting, meenakari, filigree, abhla mirror work, thread wrapping, bandhani or lehariya fabric. Listings that only say handcrafted, with no technique named anywhere, usually have no technique to name.
2. Does it state the materials fully? Base metal, plating, stone type and thread or fabric should all appear. Brass, alloy, sterling silver and gold-plated brass are very different propositions for durability and for skin.
3. Is the weight given?
A stud, a ghungroo drop and a full mirror-work tassel piece — all three together come to 18.6g. Fabric construction is why a statement earring can still be light enough to wear all evening.
Weight matters enormously for earrings and almost nobody thinks about it before buying. Anything over about fifteen grams per earring becomes uncomfortable across an evening, and heavy pieces stretch piercings over years. If a listing does not give a weight, ask for one.
4. Are dimensions given in centimetres? Product photography lies about scale constantly. Without a measurement you cannot tell a delicate stud from a three-inch statement piece.
5. What is the ear wire made of? The part touching skin all day matters more than the part on display. Surgical steel, sterling silver and hypoallergenic hooks are worth paying for if you react to metals; unnamed alloy hooks are the usual cause of irritation.
6. Are there detail photographs? Front-only, heavily styled shots hide construction. You want the reverse, the findings, the join, the clasp. Sellers confident in the making show the back — as in the image at the top of this page, where hand stitching on one piece sits beside a smooth moulded back on the other.
7. Does it acknowledge variation? A line stating that each piece differs slightly is a genuine positive signal. It is a promise a mass producer cannot make.
8. Is there care guidance? Brands that understand their own materials tell you how to look after them. Silence usually means the piece was bought in rather than made.
Materials, honestly
Raw brass dulls and warms with age; gold-plated brass stays bright until the plating wears; sterling silver tarnishes but polishes back forever; fabric stays light and takes colour metal cannot.
Brass. The workhorse of Indian jewellery: warm-toned, easy to work, affordable. It tarnishes with air and sweat, which is normal and reversible, and it turns some skin green temporarily and harmlessly. A lacquer coat slows tarnish; it also wears off.
Gold-plated brass. Looks like gold at a fraction of the cost. Life depends entirely on plating thickness, measured in microns and almost never disclosed. Assume a year or two of regular wear.
Sterling silver (925). Durable, hypoallergenic for most people, tarnishes but polishes back indefinitely. Should be hallmarked.
Alloy. Effectively means unspecified mixed metal, sometimes containing nickel, the commonest contact allergen in jewellery. If you have reacted to earrings before, avoid unnamed alloy against skin.
Fabric. Light, which is its main advantage, and it allows colour and pattern impossible in metal. Quality depends on the textile and the finishing: edges should be sealed cleanly, layers should not separate, and the fabric should be a real weave or print rather than a photograph of one. Our Kundan Fabric Earrings and Kamal Drop Earrings both work this way.
Kundan and polki. Traditional kundan is a setting technique, not a stone: refined gold foil pressed around a stone to hold it. Most contemporary kundan uses glass or crystal in a gold-tone setting, which is entirely normal at accessible prices, but the word describes the setting and not the value of what sits in it.
What a fair price looks like
Craft jewellery in India roughly bands out as follows. Simple fabric or thread earrings with basic findings sit around four to eight hundred rupees. Detailed handwork, mirror setting, layered fabric or quality plating runs eight hundred to two thousand. Sterling silver, elaborate kundan or meenakari, or genuinely labour-intensive pieces begin above two thousand and climb from there.
Two red flags. Elaborate handwork priced under three hundred rupees is not handwork; the labour alone exceeds that. And perpetual seventy-per-cent-off pricing means the original figure was fictional, which tells you something about everything else in the listing.
Buying for skin sensitivity
Nickel is the usual culprit. Sterling silver, surgical steel and titanium are the safest choices; unnamed alloy is the riskiest. Fabric earrings are a good option for sensitive ears because the only metal is the hook, which can be chosen independently. If a favourite pair irritates you, replacement hypoallergenic hooks cost very little and any jeweller will fit them.
Making it last
- Last on, first off. Perfume, hairspray, moisturiser and sweat all attack plating and tarnish brass.
- Store dry and separate. Individual pouches stop pieces scratching each other; a silica sachet in the box slows tarnish considerably.
- Never wear jewellery swimming or bathing. Chlorine strips plating quickly.
- Clean metal with a dry soft cloth. Water and polish liquids damage fabric, thread and mirror settings.
- Keep fabric and thread pieces away from damp entirely, particularly through the monsoon.
More on this in our guide to caring for ethnic wear.
How we approach it
Our earrings are made in Ahmedabad in small batches, and we name the technique on every piece: hand-set mirror work, ghungroo from the same craft tradition as classical dance bells, kundan settings, and lehariya fabric on the Leher Earrings. Pieces vary slightly between units, and we would rather say that plainly than pretend otherwise.
For how these pieces work in an outfit, see why handmade accessories elevate ethnic outfits and five earrings every Indian woman should own.
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell if jewellery is really handmade?
Look for a named technique, acknowledged variation between pieces, detail photographs of the reverse, and full material disclosure. Perfect uniformity and vague craft language point to machine production.
Is brass jewellery safe to wear?
For most people yes. It tarnishes and may leave a temporary green mark on skin, both harmless. Those with nickel sensitivity should choose sterling silver or surgical steel findings.
Why does handmade jewellery cost more?
Because a person spends hours on each piece rather than a machine spending seconds, and small-batch production carries none of the scale savings of mass manufacturing.
Are fabric earrings durable?
Yes, with reasonable care. They are considerably lighter than metal, which makes them comfortable for long wear, but they must be kept dry and stored flat.
What weight is comfortable for earrings?
Under about ten grams per earring for all-day wear, up to fifteen for an evening. Beyond that, comfort drops sharply and long-term wear can stretch piercings.
Related reading
- What is mirror work? Kutch abhla bharat embroidery, explained
- Why handmade accessories elevate every ethnic outfit
- Kundan earrings: the craft, the meaning and how to wear them
- How to build a capsule ethnic wardrobe
Browse the earrings collection and bangles and bracelets.