Both temple jewellery and Kundan jewellery are cornerstones of traditional Indian design, and they’re often shown side by side in the same “ethnic jewellery” search results – but they’re genuinely different crafts, with different origins, techniques, and the occasions they suit best.
How Temple Jewellery Is Made
Temple jewellery is built around sculptural, high-relief metalwork – deity figures, coin motifs, and floral or peacock patterns raised directly out of the gold-toned base metal. The detail comes from the metal itself: how it’s shaped, textured, and finished, usually in a warm antique-gold tone. It originated in South India, crafted first for temple deities before moving into personal and bridal wear.
How Kundan Jewellery Is Made
Kundan is a stone-setting technique, not a metalworking one – flat-cut glass or stones are set into gold foil, traditionally backed with coloured enamel (meenakari) on the reverse. Where temple jewellery’s detail comes from raised metal, Kundan’s comes from the stones and their setting – the surface tends to be flatter, with the sparkle and colour of the stones doing the visual work rather than sculptural relief.
The Practical Differences
- Visual weight: Temple jewellery reads as sculptural and dimensional; Kundan reads as flat, layered, and stone-focused.
- Colour: Temple pieces are almost always a single warm-gold tone; Kundan often incorporates the coloured enamel backing and varied stone colours, giving it a more layered palette.
- Origin and association: Temple jewellery is rooted in South Indian tradition; Kundan has stronger roots in Mughal-era North Indian courtly jewellery, particularly Rajasthan.
- Occasion fit: Both suit weddings and festive wear, but temple jewellery leans more naturally toward South Indian silk sarees and traditional ceremonies, while Kundan often pairs with lehengas and more elaborately embroidered bridal wear.
Which One Should You Choose?
If you’re drawn to bold, sculptural pieces with real motif storytelling – Lakshmi figures, coin details, temple-inspired craftsmanship – temple jewellery is the more natural fit, and it’s what Thea’s Collection focuses on. If you’re after layered sparkle, colour, and a flatter, more intricate stone-set look, Kundan is worth exploring elsewhere. Neither is “more traditional” than the other – they’re simply different regional crafts with different visual languages.
Explore our South Indian Temple Jewellery collection, or read more on what temple jewellery is and what the Lakshmi motif means.
