Collector's edition: Amrapali's new collection 'Chandrika'

A peacock with beautifully dangling rows of drops—my favourite piece of jewellery isn't gold, pearls or even a diamond; it's silver earrings I nicked from my mum years ago. Bought from Amrapali more than 20 years ago, they've incited compliments every time I've worn them. The era of fast fashion may be upon us and with the launch of Tribe by Amrapali—it sure has become easier and quicker to acquire contemporary, experimental and constantly updated designs from the brand, but intrinsically Amrapali, they continue to be pieces generations will covet.

And if designer and CEO Akanksha Arora's insights into Chandrika—their first iconic collection for Tribe—are anything to go by, my itchy internet shopping addicted fingers are likely to be tested daily.

Museum-worthy

The inspiration for these base-metal ornaments comes in fact from an actual museum and its inhabitants, says Arora. "We are opening a silver museum at our head office in Jaipur and we wanted to retail a collection that was inspired by the pieces from our archives," she tells us. Which means vintage pieces gathered from diverse Indian tribes serve as muse for the series that includes everything from septum rings to necklaces, rings to anklets, armbands to even a clutch bag, featuring mythical creature and Indian charm motifs.

Creative composition

Paying homage to the home state of the brand, the collection features pastel shades, including the Jaipur pink, Jodhpur blue along with Sanganeri paper. "The original miniature paintings were done on Sanganeri paper so we used Sanganeri paper to keep the range as authentic as possible," says Arora.

A fine line

Known for their silver tribal jewellery, the base metal series was introduced to create affordable luxury—in an era of fast fashion, where quickly revolving trends (remember normcore?) and an easy come, easy go attitude reign supreme, "it becomes essential to offer up beautiful, collectible jewellery at affordable prices since fine jewellery is an investment"—and that's exactly what they've achieved with Chandrika. 

The Chandrika Collection, priced between Rs 500 - 40,000, is available to buy on their website and at all Amrapali stores and stockists.