The Complete Guide to Kundan Jewellery

Kundan is one of the most misunderstood words in Indian jewellery. It gets used as though it were a material — "is this real Kundan?" — when it actually describes a method. This guide explains what that method is, how to tell Kundan from Polki and Jadau, what separates good work from poor work, and how to look after a piece so it lasts.

We make Kundan jewellery in our own workshop in Santacruz West, Mumbai, so everything below is written from the bench rather than from a dictionary.

What is Kundan?

Kundan is a stone-setting technique, not a stone. The word refers to the highly refined metal foil used to hold a stone in place. Rather than gripping the stone with claws or prongs the way a Western ring does, the setter builds a collar of foil around and behind the stone, working it down until the stone is locked in and the surface sits flush.

That foil behind the stone is the whole point. Light entering the stone hits the reflective backing and bounces straight back out, which is what gives Kundan its distinctive flat-topped, mirror-bright glow — quite different from the fiery, faceted sparkle of a cut diamond. A Kundan piece reads as a field of light rather than a set of points of light.

The technique dates back to the Mughal courts and is most associated with Rajasthan, particularly Jaipur, which remains the centre of the craft.

Kundan vs Polki vs Jadau — the difference in one paragraph each

Jadau is the umbrella craft: the practice of embedding stones into a metal base using foil rather than prongs. Both Kundan and Polki work sit under it.

Polki refers to the stone — uncut, unfaceted natural diamond slices, left in something close to their raw form. Polki is genuinely expensive, because the raw material is real diamond.

Kundan refers to the setting — the foil technique itself. The stones set with it may be glass, quartz, or any coloured stone. So a piece can be Kundan-set without containing a single precious stone.

This is why "Kundan" spans such an enormous price range. A Kundan necklace can be a museum piece or an affordable fashion piece, and both are correctly named. Sirini works in the Kundan style with glass and coloured stones over a gold-plated brass or copper base — the look of the tradition, at fashion-jewellery cost. We are explicit about that on every product page.

How a Kundan piece is actually made

The sequence, briefly:

1. The base is formed in brass or copper, following a pattern that fixes the scale and the stone layout.
2. Cavities are prepared for each stone.
3. Foil is laid in behind each cavity — the reflective layer.
4. The stone is seated, and foil is worked up around its edge by hand until it grips. This is the slow part, and the part that decides whether the piece is good.
5. Meenakari enamel is applied to the reverse on pieces that carry it, then fired.
6. The piece is plated — at Sirini, 18–22K gold over the brass base.
7. Assembly, stringing, and a hand quality check before it ships.

There is a longer, step-by-step version with more detail on our how a Sirini piece is made page.

How to judge a Kundan piece

Five things worth looking at, whoever you are buying from:

• Are the stones flush? A well-set stone sits level with its surround. A stone sitting proud, or sunk below the collar, means rushed setting.
• Is the foil edge even? Look at the metal ring immediately around each stone. It should be a consistent width. Wobbly, uneven collars are the clearest tell of poor work.
• Turn it over. The reverse of a good piece is finished, not raw — ideally with Meenakari work, but at minimum clean and smooth. The back is where corners get cut.
• Check the weight and the drape. A necklace should sit against the body rather than standing off it. Panels should articulate.
• Test the closures. Clasps and hooks are load-bearing and are the most common failure point on cheap pieces.

Caring for Kundan jewellery

Kundan has one specific vulnerability that ordinary jewellery does not: water can get behind the foil. If it does, the foil dulls or lifts, and the stone loses its glow permanently. This is true of all Kundan work, expensive or not.

So the rules are stricter than for a plain chain:

• Never submerge it. No washing, no swimming, no wearing it in the shower.
• Wipe with a dry, soft cloth only. No jewellery dips, no ultrasonic cleaners, no liquid polish.
• Put it on last, take it off first — after perfume, hairspray and makeup, before removing your outfit.
• Store each piece separately in a soft pouch, somewhere dry. Stones chip against each other in a shared box.

On a gold-plated piece the plating is a surface layer, so with regular wear expect it to hold for roughly 1–3 years, and considerably longer if worn only occasionally. Sirini covers plating and polish under a 1-year warranty. There is more detail in our jewellery care guide.

Common questions

Is Kundan jewellery real gold?

It depends entirely on the maker. Kundan describes the setting, not the metal. Sirini's Kundan pieces are 18–22K gold plating over a brass or copper base — fashion and imitation jewellery, not solid gold.

Are the stones in Kundan jewellery real?

In our pieces, no — they are glass and coloured stones, not precious gems. Polki jewellery uses real uncut diamonds and is priced accordingly.

Can Kundan jewellery be worn daily?

It is not designed for it. Kundan is occasion jewellery: the foil setting dislikes water and friction. For everyday wear, our daily-wear range is the better fit.

Why does Kundan jewellery vary so much in price?

Because the word describes a technique that can be applied to anything from glass on brass to real diamond on solid gold. Always ask what the base metal is and what the stones are — a straight answer to both is the mark of an honest seller.

Browse our Kundan collection, or read next: Meenakari, Kundan and Polki explained · Gold-plated vs solid gold.