In My Jewellery Box: Akanksha Arora, CEO of Tribe Amrapali

Akanksha Arora is the CEO of Tribe Amrapali, the costume-jewellery division of Indian jewellery brand Amrapali, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. She joined the family-run business in 2008 when she married Tarang Arora, the son of one of the founders.

Having studied art at the university of Rajasthan, Arora earned a diploma in jewellery manufacturing, design, diamond grading and gemmology, and now heads up Amrapali’s design team, helping them to meld the traditions of Indian jewellery with contemporary designs that appeal to the house’s global customers.

Tribe Amrapali designs range from oversized, ornate crystal creations, whose colours mimic the precious gemstones used in the house’s fine jewellery collections, to more pared-back, modern styles using semi-precious gems and enamel.

Here Arora shares the most precious pieces from her personal collection.

Gold and enamel necklace

This belonged to my grandmother, who gave it to my mum. It’s about 80 years old. It’s inspired by Navaratna, meaning nine gemstones. The nine gems correspond to the planets, and wearing them is believed to bring astrological balance.

The discs on this necklace don’t have gemstones, but coloured enamel designed to look like Navaratna. Enamel was very fashionable at the time it was made. We don’t know much about the necklace, and sadly my grandmother is no longer around to tell us, but my grandfather probably bought it for her as a gift on one of his travels.

My grandmother used to wear it a lot and while I don’t remember my mum wearing it around me, I used to play with it in her jewellery box. I have a son but if I ever had a daughter I would love to pass this necklace on one day.

Gold lion bracelets

These 22ct gold bracelets were given to me by my mother-in-law on my wedding day. They were made around 1920 or 1930 and probably come from Madhya Pradesh in India. They are a very traditional Indian design; the lion’s head symbolises power and wealth so they probably belonged to somebody from a good family. It’s quite rare to find a pair that are both intact.

In Indian tradition a married woman should never have bare wrists. We don’t follow that tradition all the time but certainly for a few days after the wedding the families like you to be a traditional bride with a bindi and wrists full of bracelets. Other traditions dictate that married women should also wear anklets and a toe ring on their second toe.

I wear these bangles quite often at Indian weddings when I’m wearing a sari. They look chunky but they’re quite lightweight as the links are all hollow, so they’re easy to wear.

Colombian emerald ring

My husband Tarang bought this emerald and had planned to make something for me with it. It’s about nine or 10 carats, a lovely Colombian stone. Just after we got married we went to Spain and visited a family friend, another jeweller, at his workshop in Marbella. Tarang showed him the stone and straightaway he sketched out a design on his notepad.

He said the design was inspired by the Indian god Shiva, with the zigzag pattern of diamonds representing the energies swirling around. I instantly liked the design so my husband gave him the stone for him to make into the ring.

This is one of my favourite pieces, I wear it a lot. I like rubies but emeralds are my favourite stone; I love their vibrant colour. Amrapali is quite well known for its emeralds, and this is one of my most precious pieces.

Zambian emerald earrings

Tarang gives me jewellery for every birthday and anniversary; I’m very lucky! He gave me these earrings five years ago, for our five-year wedding anniversary. They are made of two Zambian emeralds that together weigh around 42 carats, so they are very big.

Tarang designed these earrings and had them made for me in yellow gold. It’s a very simple design because he wanted to highlight the beauty of the stones. Usually our jewellery has filigree or enamel on the back, but here the back is left open to let the light pass through and showcase the transparency and quality of the emeralds.

I like them because the design is so pure. Indian jewellery is usually very complicated, with enamel or dangling bits, and I have lots of pieces like that as well, but these are one of my favourites because they are so versatile. They work with any outfit - whether a black dress or a sari - and I wear them to a lot of weddings, parties and events, often with my emerald ring as well. I get compliments every time I wear them, they are beautiful.

Heart portrait pendant

The portrait in this pendant is of my grandmother and grandfather. They had travelled to Kashmir on holiday and, as there were no cameras back then, had an artist on the side of the road paint their portrait. Later my grandmother had the painting recreated in hand-painted enamel, which she mounted into this heart-shaped pendant, surrounded by diamonds.

She would wear it all the time - she never took it off. It’s the first thing I think about when I remember her. My grandfather passed away a long time before her, so I think she wore it as a memory of him.

When my grandmother passed away she divided up her jewels between her grandchildren and this came to me. I then gave it to my mother because she was also very attached to it. So technically it’s mine, but my mum keeps it very close to her heart, and she now wears it all the time. It’s her most prized possession.

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