Last month, on our 25th wedding anniversary, my husband, Vikram, gifted me a stunning emerald ring, symbolising our enduring love. This surprise was just as significant as the special day 25 years ago when he proposed to me with a gorgeous three-carat diamond ring in my wine glass. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Natural gemstones are unparalleled in beauty, and when I attended the launch of the magnificent Nanagram Fine Jewels flagship store on Jaipur’s MI Road recently, I was awestruck by their extraordinary collection of natural diamonds, rare emeralds, and coloured gemstones.
“Natural diamonds are one of the oldest pieces of history you can touch and feel, older than even dinosaurs. Each natural diamond is unique, like a fingerprint, and setting them in jewellery makes them bespoke for every consumer. They become symbols of legacy passed down to generations as heirloom pieces, celebrating love and sealing cherished moments forever,” said Richa Singh, Managing Director of the Natural Diamond Council, India and Middle East, at the event.
Nanagram Fine Jewels is a third-generation family business founded by Shree Nanagram Jain more than 75 years ago in Jaipur’s historic Gopal Ji Ka Rasta. I have always been interested in legacy jewellery brands, and the story of how a 14-year-old Nanagram Jain founded the business and then ventured to Russia to trade in rough emeralds and diamonds and expanded the business from Jaipur to Delhi, Rangoon (current Yangon in Myanmar) and Dubai, is fascinating.
The star of the Nanagram Fine Jewels is the world’s most exquisitely faceted emerald, sourced decades ago from the famed Ural mines in Russia. In a symbolic gesture, Subhash Jain, the patriarch of Nanagram Fine Jewels, has dedicated this rare gemstone, with all its octahedral faces intact, to Maharaja Jai Singh II, the visionary founder of Jaipur.
“Emeralds are truly a diamond’s best companions. For generations, our family has travelled the world in search of rare and exquisite stones, with the Ural mines being one of our most cherished sources. Many of the gemstones in our collection are now nearly impossible to find, making them relics of a bygone era,” said Bharat Jain, Director of Nanagram Fine Jewels.
While adding the Ural emerald to my collection may still be a far-fetched dream, I have my eyes on an emerald brooch that can also be worn as a pendant, my favourite piece at the store. And this time, I won’t wait for Vikram to do the honours; I plan to buy it as a gift to myself for weathering the vagaries of life.
