Paris gara saris, ruby rings and diamond watches: Inside heirlooms worn by Mumbai’s best-dressed crowd

“Post-partition, my grandparents moved to Shimla, and they had to leave everything behind in Lahore. This necklace is one of the first pieces my grandma could afford to buy for my mum’s wedding. To me, it’s a memory that she’s passed on,” Tanya Vohra Ahuja tells Vogue India. As she talks, her fingers rest on a floral Polki pendant, set in a 22k gold foil base. Heirloom pieces often carry stories with them, and as they are passed down across generations, they keep those stories alive. And with each story, they keep a whole culture alive.

As a prelude to the Vogue Wedding Atelier presented by HSBC, Rochelle Pinto, Head of Editorial Content at Vogue India, hosted an Editor’s High Tea at the Modernist, in the Four Seasons Hotel in Mumbai. Surrounded by a vibrant mix of creative leaders and fashion aficionados, conversation gently flowed towards heirlooms.

Heirlooms are a living record of regional heritage. Whether the intricate, floral Parsi gara embroidery, which bloomed across Maia Sethna’s sari, or the striking Rajasthani meenakari work on Anuja Joshi’s wedding necklace, the passing of heirlooms ensures cultural continuity. These antiquities can become a timeline of lived experiences, like for Mitali Sagar Patel, whose emerald necklace was a culmination of her father’s and grandfather’s efforts. They collected Colombian-mined emeralds over decades, till they had the perfect ones to craft the necklace from.

Heirlooms entrust their wearers with a legacy. In carrying them, we hold our ancestral history and show off our family traditions. Ahead, the best-dressed people in Mumbai tell Vogue India about their treasured heirlooms.

All photos: Vijit Gupta

Assisted by: Shivam Gupta

Natasha Luthra