What The Royals gets right about Jaipur’s legacy

In Netflix’s The Royals, it’s not simply the palaces and politics doing the speaking — it’s also the jewelry. While the present performs quick and unfastened with plot, its styling leans into Jaipur’s royal previous, utilizing jewelry to quietly trace at energy, legacy, and shifting identities. What makes the jewelry in The Royals stand out is how little it tries to face out. It isn’t flashy. It is worn with intent, rooted in place and character. Jewellery turns into much less about opulence and extra about context — who belongs, who’s pretending, and who’s discovering their place.

From heirloom-inspired aad necklaces to glossy brooches worn with bandhgalas, every bit was fastidiously plotted out upfront, but left room to evolve on set.

“For a show like this, jewellery is very, very important,” says Aastha Sharma, the costume designer for the present. “We make sure we put our boards together, character-wise, and decide who wears what kind of jewellery, whether it’s archival, more current, or something in between.”

Bhumi Pednekar in ‘The Royals’
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Special Arrangement

Aastha and her workforce began by constructing visible boards for every character, sketching out their jewelry journey throughout the present. Once that they had a way of how a lot they would wish, they started sourcing from a few of Jaipur’s greatest: Amrapali Jewels, The Gem Palace (based in 1852 by the Kasliwal household, started as court docket jewellers to Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the founding father of Jaipur), and Rambhajo (a reputation synonymous with kundan, meena, jadau, polki and wonderful diamonds), fashioned the core. “Between the three big jewellers, we knew we would find what we needed,” she says.

But it was not simply heritage homes. The workforce additionally introduced in youthful, extra modern manufacturers like Valliyan to steadiness issues out. “We wanted to bring in a mix — something that felt lived-in and rooted, but also fresh,” provides Aastha, including, “We worked with Valliyan to design Zeenat Aman’s stick, since she’s holding it in almost every scene.”

A nonetheless from the present
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Special Arrangement

Historical context

In Jaipur, jewelry is rarely simply about sparkle. It is reminiscence, energy, continuity, and in some ways, resistance. While the world has typically seen jewelry as a girl’s area, in Jaipur, it has been a software of each female company and patriarchal management. For Rajput ladies, jewelry functioned as a visible archive of caste, class, and marital standing. Pieces just like the borla (the Rajasthani equal of the maang tikka), rakhdi, and hansli (a torque-like necklace) have been coded with which means.

But, it needs to be famous that as in a lot of pre-colonial India it was males who initially held the highlight when it got here to jewelry in Jaipur. Sarpechs (turban ornaments), necklaces, rings, ear studs, and armlets have been all generally worn by royal males. They have been markers of rank, honour, and divine favour.

Navratna jewelry, which included 9 auspicious gems tied to celestial forces, was typically worn by male royals and courtiers to sign cosmic alignment and safety. Jewellery additionally featured closely in Rajput miniature portraits, the place kings are proven laden with elaborate gem-studded regalia, typically outshining their feminine counterparts in ornamentation. So sure, in 18th- and early Nineteenth-century Jaipur, the male physique was a canvas for displaying wealth and energy. This visible grammar of masculinity was a part of the broader South Asian custom the place ornamentation was related to status — not femininity alone.

Zeenat Aman in ‘The Royals’
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Special Arrangement

Sparkle and shine

At the center of this visible storytelling is Jaipur-based Amrapali Jewels, whose items have been central to a number of defining moments within the sequence. “We’ve always seen ourselves as custodians of Indian craftsmanship,” says Tarang Arora, artistic director and CEO of Amrapali Jewels. “The Royals gave us an opportunity to explore that within a new narrative frame.” Interestingly, not one of the jewelry was made specifically for the sequence. “We didn’t create any custom pieces,” says Tarang. “But we did lend jewellery we wouldn’t usually part with, especially some of the finer pieces. The fact that it was shot in Jaipur, and that Aastha [Sharma] and Pacho [the current Maharaja of Jaipur] are both close friends, made this collaboration feel personal.”

The styling all through the present depends on conventional craftsmanship — polki settings, meenakari work, and stone inlay — utilized to characters in ways in which subtly map their positions and transitions. Ishaan Khatter’s coronation look options layered emerald and polki necklaces, classic brooches, and a feathered headpiece, all echoing the grandeur of early Twentieth-century royal portraiture. Bhumi Pednekar wears a restored classic choker with Basra pearls and uncut diamonds — quiet however layered, very like her character’s journey from outsider to insider. Zeenat Aman’s look is steeped in legacy: a traditional borla and a necklace of emeralds and rose-cut diamonds — items that really feel inherited, not acquired. Sakshi Tanwar’s ensemble leans closely on Rajput aesthetics — aad choker, nath, hatphool, and full regalia — conveying authority, custom, and ceremonial weight. And, Vihaan Samat’s panchlada necklace, worn throughout formal scenes, displays a extra gender-fluid studying of heritage, whereas Kavya Trehan’s daring aad necklace fuses a bridal silhouette with modern edge.

Sakshi Tanwar in ‘The Royals’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

In actual life, members of India’s erstwhile royal households nonetheless put on jewelry, although in additional intimate, private methods, says Tarang. “It depends on the outfit and the occasion,” he says, including, “But yes, royals absolutely still wear jewellery, especially pieces that carry emotional weight.”

These should not flamboyant equipment for show. They are heirlooms — grandfather’s coronation buttons, a grandmother’s ring, ceremonial brooches — every with a narrative tied to non-public historical past. “That kind of significance lives on,” Tarang notes. “It’s deeply connected to memory and family lineage.”

He additionally factors to a notable shift: males are embracing jewelry once more. “It was always maharajas’ jewels,” he says. “Historically, it was the men in the spotlight — wearing layers of necklaces, facing the court, leading processions. If you look closely today, especially in tribal communities, men still get their ears pierced and still wear jewellery as part of everyday culture. Notably, men from the Banjara, Bhil, and Sahariya tribes in and around Jaipur still wear jewellery. “That tradition never went away entirely,” Arora provides. “Now it’s just on the rise again. You see it in The Royals — men wearing elaborate pieces, not just on their wedding day, but for other occasions too. And they’re enjoying it.”