How Jaipur’s Crown Jewel Keeps Its Sparkle Alive

Jaipur’s Gem Palace is a masterclass on how to keep the magic, legacy and independence alive for 170-plus years and counting.

The brainchild of the Kasliwal family — originally a jeweler to the local royal family — the Gem Palace stands on Mirza Ismail Road occupying the same Haveli, or small palace, since 1852.

“My family was originally from Agra, we were court jeweler to the royal family and then were brought to Jaipur alongside other artists, sculptors, goldsmiths and jewelers after the [latter] city was founded in 1727,” explains Samir Andrea Kasliwal, an eighth-generation member of the founding Kasliwal family and current designer and partner at the Gem Palace.

One of the capitals of northwest India’s Rajasthan region, dubbed the Pink City for its washed blush, powdery pink, cream and terracotta palaces and labyrinth-like palazzos, Jaipur equals royalty, its flavor still very much alive behind the gates of its forts, which proudly wear their history.

That’s the case with the Gem Palace, too, whose global fame continues to be entwined with the city’s evolution. In recent years Jaipur’s glitzy allure has only grown stronger, as His Highness Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh, the current, 26-year-old, titular ruler of Jaipur, known as Pacho by family and friends, has effortlessly ferried the city into the 21st-century digital era.

“India and particularly the Rajasthan region and Jaipur have gone through a major shift in appeal since the ‘50s and ‘60s when my father and uncles were in business. It’s become very international,” Kasliwal says.

“Jackie Kennedy, actors and actresses, notables and heads of state were coming to Jaipur invited by the Royal Family and some of them became ‘friends of the Gem Palace’,” he says with an accent unmistakably from Bologna, Italy where his mother — married to his father Sanjay Kasliwal — comes from.

“It was really word of mouth and suddenly we were the jeweler to royalty and the stars,” he offers with humble pride.

Even before approaching the glass cabinets and displays filled with princess-worthy jewels inside, paying a visit to the Gem Palace is an experience in itself and a history lesson.

The Haveli housing the Gem Palace towers above the bustling road, its architecture and décor unchanged since the 19th century, with the three peach-pink domes instantly recognizable to visitors, yellow columnated entrance and signature arches — are all expressions of India’s and Rajasthan’s best arts and crafts heritage.

Decor inside boasts also a captivating patina, in the original wooden cabinets, light switches and the block-printed wall upholstery decked in botanical and nature-inspired motifs, sometime depicting fantasy flowers.

“My father imparted me this lesson: ‘if it works, don’t fix it’ to avoid ruining the charm of this place.…For example, block printing was done with natural pigments, and we never had to restore it once,” Kasliwal says.

Kasliwal has plenty of memories from his childhood and teenage years, having frequented the family shop even before joining the business.

Many are tied to celebrity visits at the Gem Palace.

“‘James Bond is in our living room’,” he recalls his father telling him on the phone once. He thought it was a prank until he discovered it wasn’t and Pierce Brosnan was sipping chai with his father.

There are numerous other pinch-me moments that Kasliwal never gets tired of sharing. For example, spending an afternoon with British actresses Judi Dench and Maggie Smith as they were filming the hit movie “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” or speaking Italian with Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and taking pictures with her on the shop floor.

Living up to such legacy is both tantalizing and fearsome, but Kasliwal is an exacting businessman whose acumen seems ingrained in his DNA.

“We have always had clients from across the globe, but a lot of our business hinges on Indian social events,” he says. “Local families are used to stacking up a dowry in preparation of a wedding, imminent or otherwise. We are really family jewelers, with new generations from the same families coming back to us,” he says.

It’s not uncommon that clients return after years or decades, like a young couple that purchased their engagement ring from Kasliwal’s father and are now loyal to the Gem Palace, relying on Samir’s expertise.

Jewelry in the Royal and Kundan Meena collections are crafted from 22-karat gold etched and engraved with intricate botanical and geometric motifs and then enameled according to the Meena technique, also known as Meenakari, by the Gem Palace’s artisans working and safeguarding the artisanal craft and passing it down among generations in the ateliers on the second floor.

“It’s our forte since my ancestors started this business and the artisans are part of the family,” he offers.

“What’s unique and especially refined in Indian jewelry is that every piece has various versions, each with a specific purpose,” Kasliwal explains. “Everything revolves around weddings, which in India are viewed as the peak of one’s life journey.”

As the Gem Palace continues to court an international audience, this collection includes simpler designs aimed at Western clients, Kasliwal explains.

In the 25-year-old Indorussian collection, silver and yellow gold are combined and embellished with natural pearls, emeralds and rose-cut diamonds, including some rare Golconda ones mined until the 19th century in India where the famous Koh-i-noor stone was uncovered. Pieces from this collection have been exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2001 and also gained a solo display at London’s Somerset House in 2006, titled “The Treasures of the Gem Palace.”

With the most recent Contemporary collection of carryovers, the Gem Palace is tapping into everyday jewelry — or sort of, as these pieces crafted in 18- or 22-karat gold are enriched by semiprecious and precious colored stones, such as ethically sourced pigeon blood rubies, Royal Blue sapphires, Colombian and Zambian emeralds.

Although no experience can match the Jaipur location — currently under renovation to include a museum set to display historical pieces part of the family collection and organize exhibitions — the Kasliwal family has branched out in India and internationally with outposts in Dehli, Bombay, Agra, Istanbul and the U.S., including a private suite inside New York’s Carlyle Hotel — all inspired by the original, 173-year-old store.