The world’s finest gems were brought here to be cut with precision, cleaned, and set in intricate designs.

Jai Singh II was an ardent lover of the arts; he commissioned the country’s most skilled artisans to produce jewelry for his court, emerald-studded swords for himself, and even adornments for his royal fleet of elephants.

While Jaipur has enjoyed its Renaissance of the arts for over 200 years, the once beloved city has now had to reckon with more global forces: mass production, mechanization, and fluctuating metal prices.

Despite these obstacles, a few jewelry makers in the Pink City still prefer to craft their designs by hand. The artisans, no longer just locals, come from east India, particularly West Bengal. Bengalis, known for their fine craftsmanship, especially when it comes to filing, polishing, and working with small, difficult-to-handle pieces, have flocked to Jaipur. The smaller boutiques have about 50 in-house artisans; others can be as large as 200.

Though the royals would have draped themselves in diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, today’s jewelry designers are much more experimental with their designs and stones.

These include semiprecious stones such as amethyst, turquoise, and onyx.

Amethyst, which is actually a variety of quartz, comes in a beautiful purple hue. Turquoise, as we all know, is a bright blue. Lastly, onyx can vary from black to an earthy, deep red. Either way, these stones, unlike natural stones, are rarely treated because their colors are so vibrant. Rather, they're just cleanend, cut, and polished before being arranged in either a necklace, earring, or ring.

While the stones are being