TARANG and MANAS

The 354-year old mosque Jama Masjid, located in Delhi, India, was ordered for construction by the same emperor who commissioned the making of the Taj Mahal, and the temple is touted as one of Asia’s largest mosques. India is also home to featured jewelry design team Tarang Gupta and Manas Arora.

I am most familiar with India’s gloriously colorful, gold and enamel meenakari jewelry.

By `familiar’ I mean that I know what this style of jewelry looks like but for years I never knew the actual name for it until I started this blog.

While I can not say the exact date I first saw this exquisite jewelry, I no doubt believe it occurred during my childhood while flipping through the pages of National Geographic.

For years I was unaware that the stunning, elaborate gold and crystal Kundan jewelry was also a traditional Indian jewelry style. I was most surprised to learn that sterling silver jewelry is very popular in many states of India including Kashmir, West Bengal and Kanpur.

Intricately carved forms, granulation, and embossed textures are just a few of the superlative details you will find in the powerful designs of Tarang and Manas.


In 2003, after completing a course in jewelry design and manufacturing, the two joined forces to create beautiful designer jewelry influenced by majestic Indian architecture, and the ethereal floral structures of nature.

“We are recognized for our fine, handcrafted sterling silver and gemstone jewelry,” says Gupta, “Our designs emphasize traditional Indian styles, including floral motifs. We melt silver alloy and draw the metal into sheets. We engrave, chisel, and hammer the sheet into a beautiful piece.”

The gorgeously cultivated iconography of elephants, peacocks, and dragons is spectacular and regal evoking ancient cities and maharajahs. The sterling silver cuff bracelets, called Dragon Majesty, that depict three-dimensional semblances of dragons are standouts. The painstaking detail and sense of weightiness is breathtaking.

The delicacy of pieces such as their sterling silver Light Drums Drop Earrings, and the engraved imagery of a singing bluebird featured on the aptly titled Bluebird Pendant Necklace again reflect the designers’ unquestionable skill at varied and complex jewelry making techniques, as well as their ability to create specific tones and moods through a piece of metal.

“We have developed a large collection and we are extremely happy to share our art with the rest of the world as part of the Novica family.

We hope customers feel the same joy wearing our jewelry that we feel creating it.”
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Photo 1 (top right): Sterling Silver Dancing Moon Dangle Earrings
Photo 2 (center): Sterling Silver Dragon Majesty Cuff Bracelet
Photo 3 (bottom left): Sterling Silver Bluebird Pendant Necklace