The Art of Meenakari: Inside Jaipur's Enamelling Tradition

Turn a Kundan necklace over and, on the finest pieces, you will find a second piece of art entirely: a burst of jewel-toned enamel in florals, peacocks or paisleys, made as carefully as the front. That is Meenakari, and it is arguably the more painstaking of the two crafts most associated with Rajasthani jewellery.

What is Meenakari, exactly?

Meenakari is the art of enamelling metal: fusing powdered coloured glass onto a gold or gold-plated surface using heat, so that it melts, bonds to the metal and hardens into a smooth, permanent layer of colour. The word comes from meena, a reference to the blue enamel most associated with the craft’s Persian origins, brought to Rajasthan under the Mughals and refined in Jaipur into the elaborate, multi-colour tradition it is known for today.

How do artisans get so many colours onto one small piece?

Each colour is applied and fired separately, in a specific order. Because different enamel colours melt at different temperatures, the artisan works from the highest-melting-point colour down to the lowest, refiring the piece in a kiln after every single colour. A piece with five or six colours may go through the kiln five or six separate times, with the design built up in layers rather than painted all at once.

Before any colour goes on, the design itself is hand-engraved into the metal: tiny grooves called ghat that both form the outline of the peacock, flower or paisley motif and give the powdered enamel somewhere to sit during firing. This engraving is its own specialised skill, usually done by a different artisan than the one who applies the colour.

Why is Meenakari usually hidden on the back of Kundan jewellery?

Historically this was a matter of pride as much as design: a way for a piece to be beautiful from every angle, including the side only the wearer would ever see. It is a quiet signature of quality. A piece with real Meenakari on the reverse has had noticeably more work put into it than one that is plain on the back, even if the front looks identical.

Some of our pieces bring the enamel to the front instead, worn as the main event rather than a hidden detail, which is a good option if you want the colour and character of Meenakari to actually show.

How many artisans does one Meenakari piece pass through?

At minimum three: one to engrave the base design, one to apply and fire each layer of enamel, and one to set any Kundan stones once the enamel work is complete and cooled. On more elaborate pieces, colour work and stone-setting can each involve more than one specialist. It is a genuinely collaborative craft, closer to a small production line of individually skilled hands than a single artisan’s work start to finish.

How should you care for Meenakari enamel?

Keep it dry, keep it out of direct sun and heat, and never use an ultrasonic cleaner or a chemical dip. Moisture and heat are the two things that can lift or dull fired enamel over time. For the full set of do’s and don’ts, see our jewellery care guide.

See it for yourself

Photographs flatten Meenakari more than almost any other craft, so the depth and shine of properly fired enamel really only shows in person or on close video. Browse our Meenakari collection to see the colour work up close, or read our full Kundan, Polki and Meenakari comparison if you are still deciding which craft is right for you.