Global Style Jewelry by Anne Potter

Author:Anne Potter [Potter, Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group

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Udaipur

Inlaid Pearl Earrings

As the sun rises over Lake Pichola, local women in bright saris walk down the ghat to wash. Squatting down where the water meets the steps, they wash their hair, squeeze it dry, and braid it for another day of selling tamarinds and chilis in the market. The water gently laps, and the morning light bathes the city with a dazzling, hazy glow.

I watch the scene unfold every morning from my little whitewashed room. The 500-rupee room is quaint and unassuming, but like everything else her in Udaipur, it’s beautiful. A haveli window frames my view, and I want to stay and enjoy the peace, but there’s too much to see here. Udaipur is ridiculously picturesque. Sweeping hillside vistas and hanging gardens, with lush patios to take it all in. This lake town is often compared to Venice for how the scenic city and waterways marry into such a romantic union. It’s almost too pretty here.

In keeping with Udaipur’s splendor, artisans here produce some of the most splendid handiwork in all of India. It is over-the-top design-wise, from its embroidery traditions to its highly detailed mosaic work. I’ve fallen the hardest for the inlaid bone furniture made here. It’s opulent and graphic and dizzyingly ornate. Several artisans work on one piece for three months (thus the big prices they fetch in the West). Using bones from fallen camels, artisans cut thousands of diamonds, paisleys, flowers, circles, and flourishes, then set each tiny shape in its hand-carved wooden home on the piece. The work is laborious. But the effect is . . . gorgeous. Well, it’s almost too beautiful.

These earrings are a pared-down version of the richly embellished bone inlay work from Udaipur. I scoured sources for the right elements to make this design perfect. Black epoxy clay makes an easy surface to “inlay” and gives a basic background to allow the elements to pop. Pearl replaces bone, and the glowing pearls work well off the matte black and then play well with the gold tone of the findings. If the graphic black-and-white palette isn’t your favorite, the sky’s the limit for other colors and beads to use. Look for other shaped beads with a smaller scale. For an easier version of these earrings, choose ready-made bezel pendants, and skip the wire frame step entirely.

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