A Sirkar & Co. Jewellers, 171/1A Rash Behari Avenue, KOLKATA (2026)

15/08/2026

ON INDEPENDENCE DAY

It's India's Independence Day today ; the 80th, in fact — being celebrated with requisite pride, pomp and glory.
However we perceive it, so much of India is its past. For all the forward-looking aspects of India's science, technology, commerce and arts, it's history that provides the unshakeable foundation upon which India is envisioned as a supreme power of the future.
Time, then, to go back in time to one of our country's greatest and most radiant figures of history, Emperor Ashoka.
We've enclosed a translation of the Inscriptions of Asoka (269-232 B.C.), from Rock Edict 6, by the eminent historian and epigraphist, D. C. Sircar. It's not greatly revelatory but certainly asserts the welfare of the people — "to make them happy in this world" — to be the highest priority of any virtuous leader. And it also squarely admits that this altruistic motive of government cannot be accomplished "without the utmost exertion."

ASHOKA THE GREAT — ON THE WELFARE OF THE PEOPLE
"Thus saith king Priyadarsi [Asoka], Beloved of the Gods. Formerly, in the ages gone by, there was no transaction of state business and no reporting of incidents at all hours. So I have made the following arrangement, viz. that the reporters may appear before me for reporting the affairs of the people at any time and place, whether I am engaged in eating or in the harem or in the bed-chamber or on a promenade or in the carriage or on the march. And I am now attending to people's affairs at all places. And, when I issue an order orally in connection with any donation or proclamation or when an emergent work presses itself upon the Mahamatras and in case there is in that connection a controversy among the Ministers of the Council or an argumentation in the Council in favour of a particular view, the fact must be reported to me immediately at any place and at any time. Thus have I ordered.

"I am never complacent in regard to my exertions or the dispatch of people's business by me. I consider it my only duty to promote the welfare of all men. But exertion and prompt dispatch of business lie at the root of that. There is verily no duty which is more important to me than promoting the welfare of all men. And whatever effort I make is made in order that I may discharge the debt which I owe to all living beings, that I may make them happy in this world, and that they may attain heaven in the next world.

"Therefore this record relating to Dharma has been caused to be written by me on stone for the following purpose, viz. that it may last for a long time and that my sons, grandsons and great-grandsons may conform to it for the welfare of all men. This, however, is difficult to accomplish without the utmost exertion."

It's a legacy left for future generations, these writings on rocks and pillars that Ashoka had inscribed. It's a declaration of a Dharma at the core of which lies human welfare, and fittingly so.
What the philosophy of action can do, the philosophy of thought must devise. What the philosophy of thought must devise, the philosophy of feeling must induce, and what the philosophy of feeling must induce, the philosophy of the soul must determine.

On the 80th Independence Day of India, we wish for all our souls to be compassionate and for we all to be strong, resilient and determined in the disbursement of our duties towards our country, including whosoever wherever in the world feels Indian from within.
Greetings to you all on this, Our Radiant Day of Freedom.

(Note: Asoka's inscriptions are the oldest surviving Indian written documents of historical importance. They consist of a series of edicts engraved on rocks and pillars at widely scattered points all over India)

(In the picture : The Ashoka pillar at Sarnath, located in the garden near the Wat Thai Temple, in the vicinity of Varanasi)

13/08/2026

Mariposario —— IDOA* 512231-001

What’s to differentiate one naksha ornament from another?
In a post-truth world, only those exercising due discretion will find any difference between authentic craft and what’s churned out in numbers by workshops laid out and equipped for scale. Still, that’s not to denigrate the jewellery-by-numbers brigade because if people are buying, they must be doing something right.
In our case, it’s just the reverse. Everything’s handmade the traditional way, with one artisan completing almost all the work from start to finish in a single workshop. It’s a slow and considered method of manufacture (so slow that we’re always delayed with our orders) and one that we abide by because it calls for the artisan to be a true virtuoso in his field of work.
It’s the only way we know to make your jewels. And it’s the only way Bengali master-karigars will ever be able to secure a future for their art.

Today’s naksha choker reveals a butterfly park, the ‘mariposa’ locatable within the ample floriation in various forms. There are flowers, naturally, but these aren’t of any particular species because then it would be our park and not yours.
Use your imagination. Perhaps it’s a summer garden in Spain where the flower beds and borders and climbers aren’t neatly arranged, but somehow everything comes together with remarkable pulchritude and the elegance of a royal grove.
There are butterflies aplenty, and they’re free to roam the flora as they please.
If not lepidopterists, we never get to know butterflies intimately, nor are curious about their longevity. And unless they’re trapped in electric light within the bounds of human habitation, we never see them stilled. All we care about is them flitting about merrily among the flowers and brush and animating that part of our garden where otherwise a certain picture-postcard beauty would make the whole place look plastic.

Realised in a single sheet of guinea gold, the Mariposario choker speaks the language of freedom through its pierced-naksha butterfly park laid out in the manner of a continuous and asymmetrical frieze. The corded border all around the central panel is chased as well, and this small detail tells you the expertise of the artisan in integrating beading to infill without resorting to solder. Of course, there’s the trademark ball edging, top and bottom, and the triangulated wire-ball lower hem along which is fixed the polished jhilimili fringe that makes the jewel go all a -shimmer, adding playfulness to its natural eudemonia.
Designed as an expression of freedom without condition — remember, butterflies are always free — the Mariposario choker articulates in vermilion-tinted guinea-gold a butterfly park as a metaphor for your sovereign soul which floats with abandon over all things sweet and beautiful, and at all times.

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"This exclusive jewellery design is the intellectual property of M/s A. Sirkar & Co. (Jewellers) Private Limited, applied for protection under the Designs Act, 2000, and the Company, as proprietor, holds exclusive rights to use, reproduce, manufacture, sell, display, and commercially deal in the design, and to authorise others to do the same. Unauthorised reproduction, imitation, manufacture, sale, display or commercial dealing in this design, or any deceptively similar variant thereof, violates the Company's IP rights, and the Company reserves the right to initiate immediate civil and/or criminal proceedings, including injunctive relief, damages, accounts of profits, and delivery-up, against any third party, without further notice."
(*IDOA: Indian Designs Office Application)

13/08/2026

You Didn’t Know This (You Did, and This is Only a Reiteration, But a Timely One at That) : A Brief Point-by-Point Look at Gold’s Place in Indian Culture through Its Various Texts and Treatises.

It’s virtually impossible (and a fool’s task, if you ask us) to track and record the number of times and in what context gold has been mentioned in the various texts and treatises that underpin Indian culture. Still, here’s a sketch of some of the obvious and not-so obvious ones :

• THE MAHABHARATA
• The Mahabharata, one of India's epic tales, describes 'pipilika gold' (also known as ants' gold) during King Yudhishthira's Rajasuya Yagna (coronation ceremony). This unique form of gold, fine and powdery, earned its name due to the method of extraction, involving the sifting of auriferous soil from anthills and termite mounds.

• ARTHASHASTRA
• Kautilya, the ancient strategist, in his Arthashastra, regarded mining as a crucial source of the kingdom’s treasure.
He makes elaborate reference to the goldsmith in his treatise and states that manufacture of gold ornaments was under the supervision of a superintendent of gold (suvarnadhyaksha) and the royal goldsmith (sauvarnika) would operate a shop in the market to make articles for the citizens.
Additionally, he mentioned a naturally occurring, gold-infused liquid which he called ‘rasaviddha’ found in rock fissures.

• ABHIJNANA SHAKUNTALAM
• Playwright Kalidasa, around the 4th century CE, in his ‘Abhijnana Shakuntalam’ (the first Sanskrit drama ever to be translated into a European language) also spoke of this 'kanaka-rasa' or dissolved gold.

• GANDAVYUHA SUTRA
• In the Gandavyuha Sutra, under the name 'hatakaprabhasa', this fluid gold is recorded and typically emerges in modern historical interpretations of ancient Indian science and technology as a term intended to highlight how deeply physical transformation metaphors (like turning base metals into pure gold) were culturally intertwined with the profound spiritual awakenings and purification journeys chronicled in Buddhist Mahayana texts.

• NITISHATAKA
• The poet-philosopher Bhartrihari pens a witty couplet in his Sanskrit treatise Nitishataka that all good qualities of being beautiful/handsome, a connoisseur, a good orator, a master of scriptures, and being descended from a noble family are attributed to a person who possesses gold.

• ANGUTTARA NIKAYA
• The Buddhist treatise Anguttara Nikaya, written in the Pali language, mentions in detail the practice of extracting gold dust and particles from alluvial gold deposits.

• THE RIG-VEDA, IN PARTICULAR.
• The Rig-Veda, one of the oldest known texts, includes some of the earliest mentions of gold mining. It speaks of placer gold, mined from riverbeds, notably the Sindhu, Sarasvati, Jambu, and Ganga rivers.
The Sindhu, in particular, known as 'Hiranyayi' or the 'giver of gold' in the Nadistuti Sukta, was a major source due to its gold-laden path, hence also called 'Hiranyavartanih'. Gold obtained from the river beds of the Ganges was called Gangeya, and that from the river Jambu was Jambunada.

• THE VEDAS, IN GENERAL
• The Vedas, while primarily religious texts, also delve into secular themes, including art, craft, music, and dance. Archaeological evidence like rock carvings, metal statues, and temple sculptures dating back to the 3rd century BCE display intricate gold jewellery adorned by both genders.
This aligns with Vedic literature, where gold ornaments like necklaces and headgear are frequently mentioned. The term 'hiranya-mani' in the Rig-Veda denotes gem-encrusted gold jewellery, and similar references to gold adornments are found in the Atharva-Veda, highlighting ear ornaments, golden amulets, nishka coin necklaces, and head ornaments.

IN CONCLUSION
These aren’t even close to a comprehensive listing, but that shouldn’t matter much considering we don’t really need a bullet-point laden enumeration of gold’s mention from ancient times in India’s cultural and theological writings for us know how sacred and auspicious and economically sound the presence of gold in its physical form is to the average Indian heart and mind.
We are no different from the Indians of olden times. Gold was, is, and will always be an intrinsic part of our culture.

(Credits : Enroute Indian History ; Vedic Heritage ; Exotic India Art ;
S S Mallikarjuna Prasanna and Dr. Shivaiah M's article published in the International Journal of Novel Research and Development (IJNRD) Volume 6, May, 2021 ; Artazzle)

(Painting : Tree of Life III, acrylic on canvas, by Kalyan Joshi)

11/08/2026

Bidri and Gold by Brinda Sirkar

Fine gold Bidri enshrined in pure guinea gold. A transformation through self-expression that preserves history and creates a beauteous new future of gold.

THE HISTORY
Bidri-work from Karnataka — for which the Padma Shri was awarded to the artist/artisan who makes exclusively for us — is a six-hundred-year-old art form that uses silver wire for its superb inlay in black metal alloy. Bidri-ware traditionally, and generally, comprises artefacts and articles of use. We’ve changed that to include delightfully scaled tiles used in handcrafted guinea gold jewellery of which they form an intrinsic part.

ON FORM
The uniqueness of these ornaments comes from the central Bidri piece in each which is inlaid not with silver- but 24K gold-wire — a monumental departure from the long-prevalent practice of Bidri-work but also a return to the time of its origin when royal patronage of this rare damascene handicraft required gold to be used in its making. The framing of the Bidri in Bengal’s own style of jewel-craft is essential to the former’s taking centre-stage in this line of jewellery that innovates with a much-respected traditional art-form of our country in a still-traditional way, though with a spirit entirely carefree and contemporary.

THE 'BIDRI AND GOLD' OF THE PICTURE
When a Bidri and Gold set is commissioned from distant USA and the mandate is a simple design with no pyrotechnics of karigari evident, we have to rein in the urge to decorate the vernacular way and resort instead to the breadth of Bengali jewel-craft that includes within it a rare type of workmanship called, rather generically, ‘jewellery-kaaj’, which is nothing but a classic amalgam of cut-work (using a jeweller’s hacksaw) and polish-paat.
Here, in this half-set, the Bidri, with its stunningly contrasting gold Mughal jaali embedded in black alloy captivates the eye and sets the tone for the jewel.
The framing is distinctly Art Deo, but not the heavy kind which has a tendency to veer towards the clunky. Two polished half-spheres, split-bamboo channels along the four sides, plain wire-edged bosses at the corners, a hammered twisted-wire trim, and the t**a finials are the only elements with which this powerhouse of a jewel has been created. And that’s the pendant we’re talking about.
The loop through which the bunch of Shantiniketani glass beads passes is hidden behind the half-sphere atop the pendant.
For the earrings, the bamboo frame brackets merely the bottom and and a bit of the sides, the bosses have become triple-t**a features, and the half-sphere is seen only beneath the frame. This, to reduce the volume of the pashas and ensure they’re easy to wear because they’re signifiantly lighter.
A remarkable Bidri and Gold set, monastic by nature and reserved in its Art Deco habiliment but powerful nevertheless, created for a first-time customer in America to her exacting specifications sent us online.

GENERAL SUMMATION and STATEMENT OF UNIQUENESS
All in all, a mesmerising Bidri and Gold jewel that fuses two stellar craft traditions into one ornament and raises both to legend. This isn’t an ornament of grand scale or leap-to-the-eye avoirdupois, yet it can't be denied its place in the pantheon of iconic Indian handmade gold jewellery. Its refinement of design and workmanship and its ability to seamlessly bring together two varied disciplines of craft so that each serves to glorify the other makes it quite sui generis. Well, it is one-of-a-kind actually : remember, the designs in this collection are never repeated, which makes each jewel truly unique.

BRINDA SPEAKS.
“Any precious metal fine jewellery the design, workmanship and originality of which is ‘great’ must certainly qualify as art. Bidri and Gold has an advantage there by way of the Bidri pieces themselves that are quite, quite extraordinary. Then comes the framing device which is my responsibilty and which is what determines the ‘look’ of the jewel in its entirety and establishes the narrative with the Bidri as the protagonist.
“The story must always be told in gold, in a fashion that’s universal, timeless, unforgettable and unique. And it must answer to you, forever.
“That responsibility I take upon myself with great pleasure, thankfulness, and unfathomable joy.”

11/08/2026

Jewellery Quiz :

Today’s tells of an aureate India in ancient, medieval, and of more recent times, and asks you to judge whether what’s being told about Her gold is True or False :

A) The Sindhu River was an important source of gold (both its banks were said to yield the yellow metal) in ancient India. In the Nadistuti Sukta of the Rig Veda, the Sindhu River is also referred to as Hiranyayi, i.e., giver of gold.

B) Among hordes of invaders drawn to India for its riches in gems and gold treasures, Mahmud of Ghazni needs special mention. He raided India 17 times, looting as well, on one of these heinous heists, the famous Golden Peacock throne.

C) As late as the 16th century, the system of minting coins in gold (Mohur), silver (Rupiya) and copper (Dam) was started by Sher Shah Suri, and this was continued by the Mughals. The silver coin was named Rupiya after the Sanskrit word ‘Raupya’ for silver, and this became the commonly used currency. Much later the Rupiya coin became the precursor of the modern Indian currency, the Rupee.

D) Among the litany of British depredations upon India, this one’s gold standard : nearly 1,000 tonnes of gold was produced and sent to England by the British engineering firm John Taylor and Sons from Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) in Karnataka prior to India's independence, so much so that hardly any gold was left in the mines when KGF was nationalized in 1956.

10/08/2026

Monday Musings

A POEM ASKS QUESTIONS WE ALL MUST ASK OURSELVES.

Where Darkness spreads
Its tentacles wide
Does light still
Dare to glow?

Where Gods are slaves
To whims of Man
Can Conscience
Fight for the Right?

Where Evil blooms
And Flowers wither
Can Venus
Sing of Love?

Where Pen has lost
Its battle with Sword
Can Sages
Cure Savages?

Where Destiny runs
Wherever it fancies
Can You and I
Still Shape it?

(Poem : 'Reflections of a Weakling', from the poetry book 'Nirvana' [1977, Bombay] by Pandit Vijay Raghav Rao [1925-2011], a noted Indian composer and master of the bamboo flute. He also wrote fiction and poetry)

(Photograph : Harley Weir. From 'Walls' (2026), a new book of her photographs, taken between 2013 – 2019, created in collaboration with 'We Are Not Numbers', a non-profit dedicated to resisting dehumanisation. Weir’s sensitive images present the details and signs of violence and its incursions into the landscape)

08/08/2026

"This exclusive jewellery design is the intellectual property of M/s A. Sirkar & Co. (Jewellers) Private Limited, applied for protection under the Designs Act, 2000, and the Company, as proprietor, holds exclusive rights to use, reproduce, manufacture, sell, display, and commercially deal in the design, and to authorise others to do the same. Unauthorised reproduction, imitation, manufacture, sale, display or commercial dealing in this design, or any deceptively similar variant thereof, violates the Company's IP rights, and the Company reserves the right to initiate immediate civil and/or criminal proceedings, including injunctive relief, damages, accounts of profits, and delivery-up, against any third party, without further notice."

Tibet Rose Torc / Hansuli
IDOA* Num. 508800-001

We aren’t going to bore you with the history of the torc, ancient as it is, nor speak at length about its design details because there aren’t that many to mention.
What we will do is request you to instead feel the incongruity of this hansuli and its kanbala pendant (that’s an identical if larger version of the Tibet Rose Kanbala from day before yesterday) to the extent that each might seen part of another jewel altogether.

A hand-hammered torc set with a trio of cabochons — a coral in the centre and two firozas flanking it — each in a lotus case, recalls primal jewel-craft. The millegrain top and bottom frame the hansuli, while a beading runs along the lower edge, setting the tone for the triangulated katai-and-filigree scallop.
It’s from this last feature that a polished half-jhumka dangles. It’s detachable though, and can be done away with when you want to wear only the hansuli like a true torc, or if you’d like to display the torc and pendant together but require space between them for greater effect. By now, of course, you know that the pendant’s detachable as well and that, really, the design’s not mismatched but deliberately differentiated between the primal rustic and the pulchritudinous, solid gold and open-work, dull-polished and ‘haatey-chhela’, and gem-studded and pierced-naksha — a series of contradictions that cohere to the idea of aesthetic design realised through the imaginative use of materials and workmanship.

While the pendant follows in exactitude the earrings shown two days ago on this page, the torc is in a world of its own, using the coral and the turquoise cabochons to powerful effect in distinguishing the jewel and imparting to it the apotropaic character so much a part of Tibetan adornment traditions.
The medicinal virtues of turquoise we’ve already mentioned in the kanbala post. The coral, placed in the centre of the hansuli, represents the warmth of the sun and is considered lucky by Tibetans. It’s also said to bring vim and vitality to women.
Notice, if you will, the endpieces of the torc. They’re elephants representing sacredness, and royalty as well.

This is a goyna impossible to place in the context of any one history or known tradition even though Tibet plays a major role in its articulation: the naksha roses, the hand-hammered torc, the gems, and even the ‘chu-srin’ and elephants — they all add up to a magical, mystical experience of a land as a jewel that seems autoschediastical, yet ethereal and curative too.The fact that it’s beauteous and unique as well reflects simply the attributes of its only true custodian: You.
In rich natural-yellow guinea-gold, the Tibet Rose Torc/Hansuli is a handcrafted jewel of rare magic, to remember and be remembered by.

(*IDOA: Indian Designs Office Application)

07/08/2026

On National Handloom Day, Planing Pleats for My Mother — A Reminiscence.

I remember from when I was eight/nine years old my mother telling me to flatten and plane the pleats of her saree on her way out from home. These were usually late-afternoon or evening visits to the few friends she had or to any one of her numerous relatives the nature of whose company, for her, was the equivalent of childhood friendships.
What struck me then was why the fabric of my mother’s sarees — the ones the pleats of which she had me flatten — was so stiff, forever billowing out like misshapen paper lanterns, and why she didn’t wear the easier ones that were more satiny, draped better, and required no disciplining.
While I secretly delighted myself in gathering together the folds of the ‘kunchi’ of her saree — it made me feel useful and important — every time she departed home on such casual outings, I did wonder about the material, and one day asked her pointedly about it.
“Ma, why do you wear this kind of papery saree?”
“You’ll know for yourself very soon. Besides, silk’s too heavy for this weather, and those synthetic voiles aren’t my cup of tea. There’s nothing quite as comfortable, airy and elegant as a ‘tant-er’ saree.”

This was early-’80s Calcutta, and what my mother was telling me was that the colourful nainsook-like sarees she wore were handloom cottons, mostly Bengal’s own (she was partial towards her striped bi-coloured Dhanekhalis), but also from South India, and that they were the most comfortable, pleasing and graceful among all her drapes.
Considering how lithe she’s always been, and the slim sleeveless blouses she wore then with her handloom cotton sarees, and her trademark red bindi as big as a one-rupee coin, it’s easy to see how she managed to look gorgeous, eyesome, and Junoesque all at the same time — she still does, at seventy-nine! — while wearing simple ‘tant’, that too with virtually no make-up.

I’ve inherited some of those handloom cottons, and my Ma’s acquired a lot more over the years. Just yesterday she was wearing a light slate-blue Tangail that had a large mustard and mauve 'kalka' on its 'aanchal', with a 'churi'-border to match.
Today, she’s chosen an ivory-and-grey Begampuri. No doubt, when it comes to her starched saree’s ballooning pleats, I’ll promptly be asked to flatten and plane them.
I will, with pleasure.

(Photograph of a 'child drafted to smooth starched pleats' taken from Mukulika Banerjee and Daniel Miller's book, The Sari)

05/08/2026

"This exclusive jewellery design is the intellectual property of M/s A. Sirkar & Co. (Jewellers) Private Limited, applied for protection under the Designs Act, 2000, and the Company, as proprietor, holds exclusive rights to use, reproduce, manufacture, sell, display, and commercially deal in the design, and to authorise others to do the same. Unauthorised reproduction, imitation, manufacture, sale, display or commercial dealing in this design, or any deceptively similar variant thereof, violates the Company's IP rights, and the Company reserves the right to initiate immediate civil and/or criminal proceedings, including injunctive relief, damages, accounts of profits, and delivery-up, against any third party, without further notice."

Tibet Rose Kanbala
IDOA* Num. 508800-001

Considering Tibetans believe that if the ears are not pierced one would be born a donkey or some such animal in the next life, these earrings are apt for posting first, though they are, as you must have gathered, part of a demi-parure the main jewel of which is a torque.
However esoteric they may seem, these earrings, by form and temperament both, are essentially kanbalas. And it’s all very well they are because, as you’ll see later in the week, they ought to be perficient with the necklace they pair just as they’re powerful ear ornaments worn independently with any outfit: Indian, western, or happily bohemian.

The two Tibetan sea dragons, ‘chu-srin’, are nothing but stylized makaras in the jewel, both clamping themselves to the hanger from which the kanbala is suspended.
The crescentic shape of the cradle changes here, its upper edge defined by the inversed arch of a typical ga’u window.
Inside the cradle are the foliate swirls in the midst of which three distinct roses — from which the jewel gets its name — hold sway, supported ably by delicate buds.
The notched border is further strengthened by polished beading, and below that, spare ball-clusters with a central, larger ball-karai drop complete the jewel and impart to it the vital energy that only a touch of kineticism can bring about in a fine jewel.

The turquoise is important. As important as the roses which, as you well know, in Buddhism, are considered symbols of beauty and purity.
The gem, of course, has been revered by Tibetans for centuries and remains their most favoured stone. Believe it or not, turquoise used to be valued only second to gold in Tibet. It’s held to be medicinal, purifying the blood and protecting the liver while also strengthening the bones. And as for its apotropaic qualities, it gets rid of demons, bad dreams, and those with an evil eye (very useful, that!).
For us, it’s as much the sheer beauty of the gem and its rich contrast with guinea-gold that makes it an ever-endearing inclusion in select jewellery.
Here, the trapezoid, beaded pasha with a large cabochon firoza set into it establishes the sacred tone of the jewel, the talismanic power which it feels imbued with.

Finally, the half-jhumka in the middle of the ‘chu-srin’ : it’s a polished affair with a single-ball fringe that calibrates the void between the hanger and the cradle. You could make it smaller, depending on how much space you want to show within the kanbala.

Handmade with utmost care, and with skills that bear testimony to the supremacy of Bengali jewel-craft, the Tibet Rose Kanbala may or may not protect you from the vicissitudes of time, but it will sate your soul and make you eternal.

(*IDOA: Indian Designs Office Application)

05/08/2026

You Didn’t Know This (Of Course, You Did, but Being so Rare an Instance, It May Have Slipped Your Mind) : Turns Out Prince Albert was also a Fab “Just-Because” Jewellery Designer!

LOVING HUSBANDS WITH NOT-SO-LOVELY TASTE
Many of us may have loving husbands who’ve surprised us at some point of time or the other with well-intentioned jewellery gifts that we’ve either had to (later) exhange for something more pleasant or secret away to a locker in a bank never to bring out for any ocasion. While they’ve meant well, their choices have, for the better part, been anything between bad and bizarre.

THE ALBERT OF, AND FOR, VICTORIA.
Victoria was lucky in love. Dear Albert was not only handsome and dashing and an excellent political tactician and planner, he was also a enlightened patron of history and the arts, and quite a whiz when it came to jewellery design. Just as he could lucidly see the big picture of his country being reshaped by its politics —his liberal outlook was manifested in the royal position shifting to a more progressive policy in economics, finances, education, the welfare state, and even slavery — he could, on a whim, pick up pen and paper and sketch out an ornament and have it commissioned by the best of jewellers for his beloved wife who, as it happens, was the Queen of the United Kingdom.
Today, we’ll look at Prince Albert, not as a statesman or Queen Consort but as a passionate jewellery designer.

PRINCE ALBERT, THE JEWELLERY DESIGNER.
Prince Albert was a brilliant man of many talents and interests.
In addition to his keen interest in the monarchy, education, and social reform, the Prince Consort spent much of his personal time pursuing the arts. He studied architecture, art, fresco, photography, and jewellery. He was a talented jewellery designer and was fortunate enough to have some of the most celebrated design firms at his beck and call.

ALBERT’S “JUST-BECAUSE” JEWELLERY GIFTS FOR HIS WIFE, AND CHARM-BRACELETS FOR HIS NEWBORNS.
In addition to charm bracelets designed to commemorate the births of their children, Prince Albert also commissioned several tiaras with matching necklaces, brooches, and earrings — parures, in fact —as “just-because” gifts for his bride.
Most of his jewelled gifts he reserved for the sole purpose of surprising his wife, Queen Victoria. A pure romantic at heart, he truly was the man of her dreams. In a life filled with manipulation, treachery, and mistrust, Victoria’s short time with Albert renewed within her the belief that the world is just as much a beautiful, romantic, and wonderful place — not least beause of the wondrous jewels he kept designing and making for her and gifting her throughout their married life.

POSTSCRIPT
Many may claim Don Juan to fly much ahead of the pack when it comes to true romance, but anyone who can romance his wife the way Albert did would probably always come away the winner in the romantic-love stakes.

(Note : The Jewel Room of the Kensington Palace in London displays jewels and gems commissioned for Queen Victoria by her beloved husband, Prince Albert)

(Credits : Sotheby's, Artemisia's Royal Jewels, The Collector, The Antique Ring Boutique, The Jewellery Editor, Historic Royal Palaces)

A Sirkar & Co. Jewellers

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