The Glitter of GOLD on Shimmering GLASS: That's THEWA JEWELLERY for you...

Hello Revathi,

Please write to me at giftingmatters@gmail.com so that I can send you the details.

Cheers,
Sonalika

Thewa Jewellery : The Mysterious Art

Hi Everyone,
Here's some interesting info about Thewa...

Although it is known that the art of making Thewa Jewellery originated some 400 years back, how it started or who invented it, is a mystery. It is said that it was started by one family in Marwar(Rajasthan) but where they learnt it from, no one knows.

This skill was considered a family secret and was handed over from one generation to another in the same family. Even today, it is known only to a few artisan families in India who are so possessive about their talent that they pass it on only to the male members of the family. It is interesting to note that the daughters of the family are not taught this art for fear of the secret being passed on to her in-laws !!

Pretty amusing, isn't it? I'll be posting more on Thewa soon. Till then, enjoy the pictures and appreciate the fine beauty of the mysterious Thewa.

For any kind of query, you can mail me at giftingmatters@gmail.com.

Cheers,
Sonalika

Hi Friends,

Today, I would like to share with you all, an experience I had when I was just starting out in the jewellery business. I’m sure many of you who are in a small business like mine would be able to relate to it.
In a small business, with no experience to back it up, little hurdles seem gigantic and we often worry about problems that really do not exist. But now I have learnt that instead of getting bogged down by petty problems, we should try to find a solution to them. There’s a solution to every problem….all we have to do is, find it!

A few months back, when I was quite new to this jewellery business, one of my friends called up and told me that there was a big store in our area, selling Thewa Jewellery at very low rates.

I was quite surprised …..I had not seen Thewa Jewellery in any jewellery shop in Bangalore till then, let alone at low rates. I knew that my rates were lower than the regular market rates, and when I came to know about a store selling Thewa at a price less than even my cost price, I became a bit worried...very worried, to be honest.

I thought that it was the end of my venture. In my worry, I was unable to decide what to do to save my little business. I kept on brooding about it and finally decided to call my supplier.

I called her up and to my utter surprise, she was not perturbed at all. She told me that in all likelihood, the jewellery in the store would be fake and advised me to go and have a look at it.
But I insisted; even if it was an imitation, how was I supposed to know the difference. Very calmly and confidently, she just said, “Have a look, you’ll know.”

The next day, I went to that store. With a pounding heart, (after all, my little business depended on this) I entered the shop, asked for Thewa Jewellery and was led to a display counter. The seconds spent in reaching that display felt like hours to me. Finally, I reached the counter and gazed down at the glass rack.

There, beneath the fluorescent display lights, lay the colorful jewellery with shining filigree work, similar looking patterns, very much like Thewa…Was it genuine? I leaned closer…I looked harder….and I knew. It surely resembled Thewa…. but no, it was not Thewa. Yes, one look and I knew it !

Still, I had to be sure.

I asked the salesgirl to take out a piece so that I could have a closer look. I stared at the piece of jewellery in my hand…nowhere was it close to the real thing…..the Radiance, the Glitter , the Handcrafted Perfection, the Charm of an era bygone…. everything was missing. What I held in my hand looked like a feeble attempt to replicate a historic craft.

No, it was not Thewa at all. A sense of relief enveloped me.

Trying to maintain my calm, I asked the salesgirl where it was from.
She didn’t know….maybe Rajasthan.

Was it not from Bombay? (Bombay or Mumbai is the biggest hub for imitation jewellery, and some very beautiful ones too)
She enquired from her senior.

“You’re right, ma’am. It’s from Mumbai”, I was informed by a beaming sales person.

“Yes, I know I’m right,” I said smiling broadly, and walked out of the store.


Friends, I looked at the jewellery in the store and came to know instantly that it was not genuine. But then, I was looking at the genuine pieces everyday and hence was able to make out the difference. But most people cannot ( Infact, one of my customers almost cancelled her order due to this confusion, but when she was shown both the pieces, she could immediately make out the difference ).

I’ll be discussing this topic in this thread and if you would like to know how to recognize a genuine Thewa piece, you can find some pretty good pointers here, based on my own observations and (a little bit of) experience.
I’ll discuss these points one by one in my future mails which I’ll be posting shortly.

In the meantime, if you would like to provide any feedback to me (which I’d greatly appreciate) or if you have any queries you want answered, you can post your views here or write to me at
giftingmatters@gmail.com

Warm Regards,
Sonalika

Thewa Pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/gp/11694259@N08/wy226p

Hi Everyone,

As I wrote in my last post, I’ll be discussing how to differentiate between a genuine and an imitation Thewa in this thread.

The first thing to check in a Thewa set is the coloured background. In the original Thewa jewellery, a coloured glass is used as the base for the filigree work. The glass is heat processed so that it becomes glittery and shiny. This glittering effect can be easily seen in a genuine Thewa piece (except in jet black which has an opaque finish) when light falls on it.

But in an imitation piece, the base is made of plastic or acrylic. Some pieces are made of dull plastic with no glitter at all and some have a very artificial shine and almost look like coloured aluminium foil.

Although this difference can be easily seen once you know what to look for, it is best seen in a white Thewa piece.

While in an original piece, one can see multicoloured glitter in the white glass , the white acrylic background of an imitation Thewa has no glitter at all.

This glittering effect of glass can be seen in the jewellery pictures I've attached here. Hope this gives you some idea.


I'll be posting more pictures to explain the fine aspects of Thewa jewellery. In the meantime, if you have any comments, you can either post them here or write to me at giftingmatters@gmail.com

More on Recognizing Genuine Thewa Jewellery soon.

Cheers,
Sonalika

Thewa Pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/gp/11694259@N08/wy226p

Hi Everyone,

Hope you found the info in my previous post useful.
Getting on with the same topic.... the second feature to look for in a Thewa set is the filigree work done in the front.

In genuine Thewa, this pattern is made on a 23kt. gold sheet and then fused onto the coloured glass.

In case of imitation Thewa jewellery, the material used for the filigree work is either acrylic or some other inexpensive metal, but never gold.

At first glance, you might not realise this, but on a closer look you can definitely make out the difference. Or else, you can enquire about the material from the sales person. An imitation Thewa is never made in Gold.

Next time, I'll discuss about the third and the most prominent feature of Thewa. This is the feature which gives an identity to Thewa and because of this, Thewa is considered unique & exquisite !

Will write about it soon.....till then, please feel free to post your comments here. If you have any question regarding this, you can post it and I'll be happy to answer your query.

You can also write to me at giftingmatters@gmail.com.

Warm Regards,
Sonalika

Thewa Pictures can be seen at:
http://www.flickr.com/gp/11694259@N08/wy226p