Attended an Indian wedding and was completely stunned by the bride’s jewellery.

I used to be interested in gemstones as a child, and know enough about fake gemstones to know that the diamond-looking stones on both the dress and in the hanging jewellery couldn’t have been plain glass, mirror-backed glass or quartz, because they had too high a refractive index (and possibly too much dispersion). They are far too large to be diamonds.

Cubic zirconia? The entire dress, which included jewellery down to the ground, was said to have only cost about $1000 (though that may have been an underestimate). In addition to the diamond-looking stones and coloured stones, there were very many pearl-looking objects that looked to me far more real than the usual fakes made from plastic with a shiny coating.

Apart from size, all the gems looked genuine. So what would they have been made from?

Also, in a costume like this, would the metal have been real gold (eg. on the bangles) or silver?

mollwollfumble said:

Also, in a costume like this, would the metal have been real gold (eg. on the bangles) or silver?

From memory it will either be low quality gold/silver or something plated….

All I know jewel wise is that India has a long history with jewels and their ingenuity with doing a lot with a little is impressive……

Riff-in-Thyme said:

All I know jewel wise is that India has a long history with jewels and their ingenuity with doing a lot with a little is impressive……

The price of golf fluctuates in line with the Indian marriage season, or so I have read. Many Indians use gold as a store of wealth instead of a bank account.

no way was it under $1000 unless she has a friend in the business and got it at wholesale rate.
that embroidered lapel thing would be a few hundred on its own

mollwollfumble said:

Attended an Indian wedding and was completely stunned by the bride’s jewellery.

I used to be interested in gemstones as a child, and know enough about fake gemstones to know that the diamond-looking stones on both the dress and in the hanging jewellery couldn’t have been plain glass, mirror-backed glass or quartz, because they had too high a refractive index (and possibly too much dispersion). They are far too large to be diamonds.

Cubic zirconia? The entire dress, which included jewellery down to the ground, was said to have only cost about $1000 (though that may have been an underestimate). In addition to the diamond-looking stones and coloured stones, there were very many pearl-looking objects that looked to me far more real than the usual fakes made from plastic with a shiny coating.

Apart from size, all the gems looked genuine. So what would they have been made from?

Also, in a costume like this, would the metal have been real gold (eg. on the bangles) or silver?

Reminds me of a Pearly Queen.

I like how she matched her frock to the coca cola sign ;)

How close did you get to the garment & jewelry?

Was the garment done with perhaps metallic thread ? Bugle Beads?
…possibly interspersed with CZs in the major parts of the design?
Even “real pearls” are not technically real any more..
they even found a way of creating them in fresh water rather than the sea..
the trick is to implant a large bead, rather than a tiny grain of sand,
then allow to mollusk to finish the job with only 2-3 layers of nacre
in a fraction of the time it takes mollusks in the wild to create a pearl.

My guess (from the picture alone) that the only “REAL” Jewelry is the
collar and bangles (probably ankle bracelets as well) are a low grade
silver, and/or possibly it’s The FAMILY Jewelry…

As stated, some cultures hoard their wealth as jewelry instead of
letting it sit in banks, and taken out and worn on Special Occasions.

In conclusion… I’d venture to say that the true cost of the costume
was the meticulous needle work and shiny beads that went into it.

mollwollfumble said:

Attended an Indian wedding and was completely stunned by the bride’s jewellery.

!!

I used to be interested in gemstones as a child, and know enough about fake gemstones to know that the diamond-looking stones on both the dress and in the hanging jewellery couldn’t have been plain glass, mirror-backed glass or quartz, because they had too high a refractive index (and possibly too much dispersion). They are far too large to be diamonds.

Cubic zirconia? The entire dress, which included jewellery down to the ground, was said to have only cost about $1000 (though that may have been an underestimate). In addition to the diamond-looking stones and coloured stones, there were very many pearl-looking objects that looked to me far more real than the usual fakes made from plastic with a shiny coating.

Apart from size, all the gems looked genuine. So what would they have been made from?

Also, in a costume like this, would the metal have been real gold (eg. on the bangles) or silver?

What should be realised is that in all instances. much of the real cost of jewellery is in the manufacture and the luxury tax.

ie: 18ct gold is valued at less than real gold and when one wants to sell a gold manufactured jewellery item, other than to a fabulously rich and stupid collector.. One will get only the melted down value.

Also, the cost of a cubic zirconium is a mere fraction of that of a diamond and takes an expert to spot the difference.

The concept of displaying wealth may be one thing but it is in reality, giving wealth to jewellery manufacturers, stone cutters and dress makers.

Indian jewellery is as rubbishy as it gets in general. Better jewellery is available as well but again it actually depends upon how much wealth the family has available to put on display.

Natural pearls are naturally lumpy and odd shaped, not to mention very rare and expensive. Same size and shape pearls are all either aspects of the glass bead game or indeed are cultured pearls. Freshwater pearls were always a natural product of mussels(not oysters) and the cultured freshwater pearl is only different from the Mikimoto type cultured pearl by the method of implanting and the nature of the nacre.

Much of the glitter on Indian garments is small pieces of mirror stitched into the fabric.

> How close did you get to the garment & jewelry? Was the garment done with perhaps metallic thread ? Bugle Beads? …possibly interspersed with CZs in the major parts of the design?

Only about 1 meter. Not close enough to be sure of more than the shape of most of the gems and the high refractive index. The neck, forehead and ear jewellery had coloured stones surrounded by clear ones. Not one of the gems on the dress was coloured, but were definitely large oval shape surrounded by rings of small round shape gems, not bugle beads or metallic thread. The large pearls on the dress were irregular in shape and tear-drop shaped.