Introduction
Jewellery making is an ageless craft, as both men and women have adorned themselves with jewellery from time immemorial. Over the years the jewellery of Tamilnadu has progressed from its tribal heritage to greater sophistication and elegance. The history of today's traditional stone set (kundan) jewellery can be tracked back to the 10th century A.D. At that time, gold jewellery was in existence with the images of GOD engraved on it.
The Chettinad Royalty adorned themselves from head to toe with jewellery, the designs for which were based on the sculptures of the temples built by the Cholas. They also gifted jewellery to the temples. South India was very prosperous in those days and people indulged themselves in the luxury of wearing ornaments made in real gold encrusted with diamonds, rubies , emeralds and pearls. The Silappadikaram, an ancient Tamil text, vividly portrays this affluence. What adds sumptuousness to human beings does the same for Gods. Idols and religious symbols were decorated with ornaments and gems and it was customary for the founder of a Hindu temple to give ornaments of the Deity. Richly endowed temples still have enormous quantities of jewels with which the idol is decorated on special occasions. Over a period of time, this jewellery came to be known as Thiru Abaranam (Thiru means God and Abaranam means adornment) or "temple jewellery".
The Chettiars, a business community, patronised this crafts for trading purposes. As a result, temple jewellery wa no longer confined to the temple but also came to be used as bridal jewellery by many communities in South India. The temple dancers, the devadasis, who were considered to be the brides of the deity also wore this jewellery when they danced in the temple. This form of art has been popularised as Bharatanayam, and dancers weare this jewellery even today. Bharatnatyam jewellery patterns can be seen on sculptures in temples of Madurai Meenakshi, Kanchi Kamakshi and Srivilliputtur Aandaal. In the Brihadeeshwarar temple in Thanjavur, there are 108 karanas or postures where the sculptures portray women wearing these ornaments. But it is generally believed that these jewels are patterned after the Thanjavur style of art.
Tje jewellers who made gemstone jewellery (kundan vellai) were originally spread all over Tamilnadu. Nowadays, these mastercraftsmen who work in gold and rubies are concentrated in a village called Vadassery in Kanyakumari District. In the earlier days, the Tamil people who knew the value and delicacy of these jewels always came to Vadassery to buy jewellery. The jewellerys of Vadassery also went outside their homes to other states to sell their jewellery there. Their reputation extended all over Tamilnadu and beyond it and started a pearl trade centre called the Muthu Chavadi where they could conduct their business transactions with the temple jewellerys.
The rich business community of Chettinad also patronised the craft. During the sacred month of Karthigai (November - December) and when the family had their first issue (irrespective of the gender) the people of Chettinad used to adorn their children with stone set jewellery and take them on horseback to worship Lord Shiva.
With the decline in the status of the Chettinad people after Indian Independence, they were unable to continue to buy these jewels on such a large scale. Their interest got diverted by faceted diamonds set in gold and at one point in time they stopped buying ruby encrusted jewels in bulk. It was then that artificial diamonds came into existence. The craftsmen who originally used to work with genuine rubies started working with artificial stones which lured the market. Nowadays silver is used as the main element while gold is used superficially to add colour and lustre.
