Kundan Jhumka Earrings with Domed Bell and Pearl Fringe

A pair of jhumkas in gold-tone brass, set kundan-style with flat-bedded stones. The bell is the deepest part of it. They measure about 2.5 inches.

What you are looking at

A jhumka is a bell, and the bell is the point of it. The dome is struck or cast hollow so the piece stays light, and the flare at the bottom is what lets it swing clear of the jaw instead of sitting flat against it.

The bell is unusually deep for this price, and depth is what a jhumka is judged on — a shallow dome reads as a cap, while a deep one reads as a bell.

A fringe of small pearls finishes the lower edge. Pearls do something no faceted stone can — they give back a soft diffused light, which calms a design that would otherwise be all glitter.

The stud at the ear is a stylised flower, four petals around a centre. Indian ornament almost never draws a flower botanically; it reduces it to a unit that can be repeated at any scale.

Stones cover the whole surface of the bell rather than sitting in a band. Setting all over is considerably more work and it is the first thing to be dropped when a design is cheapened, so it is worth noticing here.

What it is made of

What you are holding is plated brass. That is what makes a kundan earring of this scale affordable, and it is also why it has real heft instead of feeling like foil.

The stones are kundan-style: flat-topped, bedded in a rim of metal rather than gripped in claws. In true kundan, pure gold foil is burnished cold around the stone until friction alone holds it, with no heat and no solder. Costume work copies the look in plated brass, and the broad flat rim is the tell.

Which colours are stocked

One colourway is stocked, in White — the shade the design was drawn for and the one in the photographs.

Wearing them

They want the hair off the neck. Put them with a saree or a plain silk kurta, keep the neck bare or close to it, and let the earrings be the ornament.

Honest notes

Costume jewellery earns its place by letting you wear a shape you would never commission in gold. Nothing here pretends to be precious; the pleasure is in the design, and the design is genuinely old.

Keeping them looking right

Treat the finish as the wearing part. Keep it away from water, perfume and hair spray, put the earrings on after you have finished dressing, and wipe them with a dry cotton cloth before they go away. Stored dry in a zip pouch with the air pressed out, the finish lasts for years; left in a humid bathroom it will not last a season.

Ordering and payment

Instead of an add-to-cart checkout you will find an enquiry button, and that is deliberate. These arrive in small quantities per colour, and the colour you want has to be confirmed before we charge for it. Send the enquiry with the shade you are after and we will reply with stock, price and timing. Payment is prepaid in every case. We do not offer cash on delivery.