Ruby and Green Stone Fan Bugadi Earrings with Pearl Border

This is the widest of the fan-shaped bugadi, and the one with the most colour in it. A deep red round stone sits at the apex, directly under the hook. Below it the face spreads out in a broad triangle filled with small white AD stones, and the entire outline — both sloping sides and the lower edge — is set with round stones alternating green and red. The result is a piece that reads as three colours at once rather than one with an accent.

Red, green and white against gold is one of the oldest colour schemes in Indian jewellery, borrowed from the ruby, emerald and pearl combinations of temple and Mughal-era work. It survives because it is genuinely hard to improve on: the red and green are opposite enough to hold each other up, the white keeps them from clashing, and gold reconciles all three. You see the same three colours on a Maharashtrian nath, on kundan chokers and on south Indian temple jewellery, which is why a piece using them tends to sit well next to whatever else you already own.

Around the lower rim runs a fringe of round white pearls with small textured gold beads between them, following the full width of the fan. The piece measures about 1.1 inches from the top of the hook to the lowest pearl, making it a little larger than the plain pink-and-white fan — noticeably present on the ear without becoming a statement earring.

The fitting is a long gold-tone shepherd hook for a helix piercing. It threads through from behind, and the weight of the stone-set face tips the fan forward so it lies against the curve of the ear rather than standing away from it. That forward lie is what makes a bugadi photograph well from the front instead of disappearing edge-on.

Because the colours are specific, this pair rewards a little planning. It is at its best against a green, red or maroon outfit, where one of the border colours is echoed in the fabric and the whole thing looks intentional. It also works beautifully against plain gold or cream, where the colour has nothing to compete with. What it does not want is a busy printed outfit in a fourth and fifth colour; the fan already has enough going on.

Wear them as a pair with the hair pulled back, and keep anything in the lobe simple — a plain gold stud or a small pearl. If you are wearing a nath on the same day, this pair matches it closely, since nath are usually set in the same red-green-white-on-gold scheme.

Base metal is brass with a gold-tone plating. The stones are cubic zirconia; the pearls are shell-style faux pearls.

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.