Gold Ambada Pin with Bell Edge and Floral Medallion

The outer edge of this arch is a row of small fluted bells — rounded domes, each ribbed down its length, set side by side along the whole curve. Where the spiked arch in this range gives a crown outline and the scaled one gives overlapping shadows, this gives a soft scalloped edge, and it is by some distance the gentlest of the four. On the head it reads as a neat border around the bun rather than as a statement behind it.

The medallion at the top is small by the standards of this category: a compact flower of red, green and white stones with a granulated gold surround, placed slightly off-centre rather than at one end. That placement is the detail worth noticing. The other arches here anchor their decoration at the upper tip, which pulls the eye to one side; here the medallion sits near the crown of the curve, so the piece stays balanced and the arch reads as symmetrical.

Two colourways: Red, the version shown, with red and green in the medallion against white, and Diamond White, clear throughout and the quietest piece in this group. A single white pearl in a fluted gold cap hangs from each tip of the arch.

An ambada pin is worn around the bun rather than through it. The decorated arch lies against the outside of the coil, following its curve, and a single straight prong behind the arch slides into the hair and anchors it. That is a different fitting from a two-prong juda fork and a different effect: a fork shows a motif sitting on top of the bun, while an arch frames the bun and outlines it. It is the standard Maharashtrian way of finishing a low bun, worn with a nauvari saree, and it survives because nothing else makes a plain coil of hair look finished so quickly.

Make the bun first and secure it with pins or a band. Hold the arch against the lower edge of the coil so the two curves match, then push the straight prong in under the bun and up into the hair behind it. The arch should rest against the hair rather than standing away from it. If it tips forward, the bun is too small for the arch — a slightly larger, looser coil holds one better than a tight small one.

This is the one to buy if you want an ambada pin you will actually use more than twice a year. It is festive enough for a wedding and restrained enough for a puja, a family lunch or an ordinary day in a cotton saree, which is not true of the spiked or the lion-face arches. If you own only one gold arch, this is the sensible choice; if you own several, this is the one that gets worn.

About 3 inches across. Wear it on a low bun with the hair drawn back smooth. It layers happily with a gajra, the bells sitting against the flowers without either fighting the other.

Base metal is copper with a gold-tone finish. Hairspray is what shortens the life of a plated hair ornament faster than anything else: it settles as a slightly acidic film, and a pin sits directly in the spray. Spray first, let it dry completely, then put the pin in, and wipe it with a dry cloth before it goes back in its pouch.

About the Gold-Tone Finish

This is brass with a gold-tone plating rather than solid gold, which keeps the price where it is and the weight low enough to wear comfortably. Plating is a surface rather than a bulk property, so how long it lasts depends almost entirely on what it meets — perfume, hairspray and sweat all shorten it, while a dry cloth after wearing and a closed pouch between wearings extend it considerably.

Care

Put this on after perfume, hairspray and hand cream, and take it off before washing, swimming or sleeping. Wipe with a dry soft cloth and use a dry soft brush around the stone settings and between any pearls, where a cloth cannot reach. Store it in a zip-lock pouch — which is what the supplier themselves advise, and the single most effective thing for a plated piece, because it keeps humid air off the metal. Never use silver polish, dip cleaners or an ultrasonic cleaner.