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 Gold is associated in India with Lakshmi, the Goddess of prosperity. And precious stones are believed to possess the power to modify the influence of planets. Indian Jewellery has a variety with few parallels in the world. Apart from being a means of ornamentation, it has a great cultural and religious significance with certain ornaments worn on specific occasions. Aesthetically it stands apart from western jewellery, in that each item is painstakingly handcrafted.
 The importance of jewellery in India, where even today the burden of debt accompanying the enormous outlay at Hindu marriages is relegated to a nebulous future. Cultural & Religious overtones apart, the jewellery of India has an incredible repertoire of designs & techniques. Interestingly, traditions of almost unbroken continuity - ancient sculptures, frescoes & paintings such as those at Sanchi, Amravati, Orissa, and Ajanta demonstrate the similarity in styles of the ancient jewellery to what is still worn.
 The trend among Indian village communities is to wear extremely chunky jewellery. How this came about reveals a great deal about the Indian village life. As rural communities earned cash, it became difficult for them to deposit their wealth in a suitably safe place, banks being unknown at that time. Silver jewellery was a good bet. It could be worn on the person and because no village woman was ever expected to be alone or far from home, jewellery was safer from thieves than cash would be.
It conferred status upon the wearer, or more to the point, her husband. In times of financial crisis, it could always be sold for cash. Thus chunky silver jewellery was dictated first by economic considerations and then by tradition. And the norm still continues
where jewels are concerned.
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