Meenakari and Nakshi Work: The Craft Techniques Behind Heritage Gold

Look closely at a piece of heritage gold jewellery and you will see the work of skilled hands: engraved motifs, coloured enamel, delicate wirework. These techniques turn gold into art. This guide explains the main craft techniques behind heritage gold and why they affect the price of a piece.

Nakshi

Nakshi work is the art of engraving and embossing designs into gold. Craftsmen use fine tools to carve, chase and raise patterns on the metal's surface, often by hand.

Common nakshi motifs include deities such as Lakshmi and Ganesha, peacocks, lotuses, flowers, vines and temple architecture. Nakshi is central to South Indian temple jewellery, and it is seen in harams, vaddanams, kasulaperu coins and bangles. Read Temple Jewellery: South Indian Tradition, Hyderabad Craft.

A closely related technique, repoussé, involves hammering gold from the reverse to create raised, three-dimensional designs.

Meenakari

Meenakari is the art of decorating metal with coloured enamel. The craftsman engraves a design into the gold, fills the hollows with powdered glass in chosen colours, then fires the piece so the enamel melts and fuses to the metal.

The result is vivid colour, often reds, greens, blues and whites, in floral and bird patterns. Meenakari is closely associated with Rajasthan, but it is used across India, including in Hyderabadi jewellery.

In polki and jadau jewellery, meenakari often decorates the reverse of the piece, so the back is as beautiful as the front. Read Polki vs Kundan vs Jadau.

Filigree and granulation

Filigree uses fine threads of gold or silver, twisted and soldered into delicate, lace-like patterns. It creates light, airy jewellery with intricate detail. Telangana has its own famous filigree tradition in Karimnagar, known especially for silver filigree work.

Granulation involves attaching tiny beads or granules of gold to a surface to create texture and pattern. It is often combined with filigree and nakshi in traditional designs.

Why handwork changes price

Handcrafted techniques take time, skill and experience:

• Time: a detailed nakshi or meenakari piece can take many hours or days of skilled work.
• Skill: these crafts take years to master, and fewer artisans practise them today.
• Complexity: pieces combining several techniques, such as jadau, meenakari and nakshi, take the longest.
• Uniqueness: handmade pieces often have individual character that machine-made pieces lack.

This is reflected in making charges, which are higher for handcrafted pieces than for simple or machine-made designs. When comparing prices, compare craftsmanship as well as weight. Read Making Charges Explained and Weight-Based vs Design-Based Pricing.

At Tibarumal & Sons Jewellers, Shaikpet, you can see nakshi, meenakari and other traditional handwork up close, and we are happy to explain how each piece was made.

Visit Tibarumal & Sons Jewellers, Shaikpet

Tibarumal & Sons Jewellers
Shop No. 102, 8-1-299/121, RP Business Park, Al Hamra Colony, Shaikpet, Hyderabad 500008

Hours: Monday to Saturday, 11am to 8:30pm
Phone: +91 88855 00805
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