Assamese jewellery

Traditional Assamese jewellery drew its inspiration from its surroundings, nature, things used in day to day life and is the master crafts of Assam. Originally studded with rubies, moonstone emeralds and garnets, they were colloquially referred to as  “Dalimiya Pathur”-(The stone colour was compared to pomegranate seeds.)

Traditional Assamese jewellery is completely hand made and can be made by only specialized hands. Jewellery is mostly influenced by nature, musical instruments or other things of day to day life.Assam jewellery has traditional designs, which are skillfully designed by jewellers of the Assam which make it unique and available only in Assam.The main frame of Assamese Jewellery is made of silver and then it is covered with very thin gold covering.This particular kind of jewellery are very affordable and easy to maintain.Gold has always constituted the most-used metal for jewellery in Assam, while the use of silver and other metals too have been there for centuries.

This art is mostly prevalent in three particular places in Assam 1.Nagaon 2.Jorhat 3.Barpeta.Jewellery from Upper Assam are predominately stone studded whereas people of Lower Assam wore jewellery that had intricate gold design with one or no stones.

Assamese jewellery are named after the design it has taken from like Jon Biri (Half Moon/crescent shaped pendant ), Lokaparo (two pigeons placed back to back), Jethi Poti (lizard’s tail and has a row of small medallions in the shape of a V and a central pendant), Dhol Biri(shaped in the form of a drum) etc.