What is Kundan?

Kundan is a stone-setting technique — not a stone. It uses 24kt gold foil (kundan means 'refined gold') pushed around a gemstone to hold it in place, without prongs or a bezel. The foil is worked cold, using pressure alone, and the finished setting has a distinctive scalloped edge where the gold has been shaped by hand. Developed in the royal courts of Rajasthan, Kundan is the most common setting technique in Jadau jewellery and is signature to the Meenakari + Kundan reverse-work style.