Ever since the maharaja Jai Singh II welcomed jewelers to Jaipur, around 1730, this royal city has been renowned as India’s gem-cutting capital. But while thousands of precious stones still pass through its seven gates every year, there’s more to the Pink City than Johari Bazaar, a central strip of bustling stalls and stucco-walled stores where gems are cut, polished and traded. A new crop of trendy fashion and home-decor boutiques is drawing shoppers from around the globe — including me, a native of India — to the northwestern state of Rajasthan. Rubies and chalcedony are just the beginning; here are the best shops for those, along with where to find a few of my favorite other things.
Clothing
For block-printed tunics, skirts and stoles in mix-and-match paisley and floral patterns and in electric hues, like fuchsia, turquoise and canary yellow, head to Cottons. The popularity of this cult-favorite textile boutique is on the rise: branches are popping up across the subcontinent. The casual shop also carries beaded picture frames, recycled paper journals with elephant and camel motifs on the covers and other Rajasthani souvenirs. 4 Achrol Estate, Jacob Rd., in the Civil Lines district; 011-91-141-222-3870.Long before Stella McCartney made it hip to design green, Anokhi was producing eco-chic garb on a sixty-acre farm on the outskirts of the city. Luckily, conscientious fashionistas don’t have to trek through the desert for their guilt-free style fix. The Anokhi store in Jaipur, with a rainbow-colored sandstone floor and sleek shelves, stocks the brand’s handwoven, vegetable-dyed scarves, caftans and quilted bedspreads. C-11 KK Square, Prithviraj Rd., in the C-Scheme district; 011-91-141-400-7247.
The pocket-sized Mojari shoe store peddles a wide variety of intricately beaded, well-made (read: no blisters) slippers in metallic hues, such as pewter and bronze. Pick up a pair of Kolhapuri sandals, with a single toe strap and a braided cross strap, and give your Jack Rogerses a well-deserved break. D-67 Shiv Heera Path, Chomu House, C-Scheme; 011-91-141-237-7037.
French chic meets Indian vibrancy at the haute-couture Hot Pink. Co-owner and jewelry designer Marie Hélène de Taillac, who splits her time between France and Jaipur, stocks threads by some of the most sought-after designers you’ve never heard of — Rajesh Pratap Singh, Manish Arora and Abraham & Thakore — alongside silk cushion covers and handwoven shawls from Kashmir for her A-list clientele. Miniature paintings of the gods line the whitewashed walls of the boutique, which is in the beloved Narain Niwas Palace (now a Heritage Hotel), directly south of the old city. Hotel Narain Niwas Palace, Kanota Bagh, Narain Singh Rd.; 011-91-141-510-8932.
Home Furnishings
Pair Lilly Pulitzer’s sprightliness with Vera Bradley’s sensibility and you have Soma Shop. This homey retail space (it’s in a bungalow) sells printed cushion covers, tablecloths, overnight bags and curtains. Soma’s inventory — which includes its well-known bedding collections, in nature-inspired patterns — seems to belong in a New England cottage rather than in the capital of Rajasthan. 5 Jacob Rd., Civil Lines; 011-91-141-222-2778.Even though Jaipur is splashed from top to bottom in pink (according to one story, the local painter had only the dusty shade in stock when it was time to redo the city walls), making pottery in cobalt blue is a tradition here. The craft, imported from Persia by maharajas past, was near extinction when Leela Bordia rescued it, in the late 1970s. At Bordia’s 11,000-square-foot store, Neerja International, the friendly staff leave would-be buyers alone to browse through the expansive collection of elephant-motif vases, trivets and tiles. Expect a range of more eclectic items, too, like hand-painted doorknobs, bookmarks and eggcups. S-19 Bhawani Singh Rd., C-Scheme; 011-91-141-982-905-2646.
The antiques emporium Manglam Arts is a trove of fine art, paintings of Indian deities, carpets and sheesham (Indian rosewood) and solid-acacia furniture. On my last visit, a selection of dhurries and Turkish kilims, in fabrics including cotton jute and wool, ran from one end of the megastore to the other. Manglam’s owners occasionally hit the design-show circuit, and their wares recently captured much attention in Germany. Durgapura Station Rd., off Tonk Rd.; 011-91-141-255-3614.
Jewelry
As you drive along one of the city’s central thoroughfares, Mirza Ismail Road (or M.I. Road, as the locals say), an ornate façade of turrets and balconies in cream and terra-cotta appears. This is the real Gem Palace, indisputably Jaipur’s most popular jewelry store, which has attracted celebrities from Jackie O. to Mick Jagger. At this top institution — run by the Kasliwal family, who served as Jaipur’s court jewelers for seven generations — visitors, typically with jaws dropped, gaze at such royal artifacts as a twenty-two-karat-gold parakeet-shaped drinking vessel from the 18th century and contemporary pieces, like a diamond choker set with more than 600 sparkling stones. In the past few years, the Kasliwals have also teamed up with New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art to create special collector’s items, among them Egyptian-inspired, lotus-shaped lapis-and-turquoise drop earrings. 348 Mirza Ismail Rd.; 011-91-141-237-4175.Originating in Brazil, Myanmar and other faraway places, many of the raw gems that arrive in Jaipur are destined to travel yet again, to shops in Paris and New York. Chief among the suppliers is Amrapali, established in 1978, whose pieces have often found their way to Paris department stores Le Bon Marché and Galeries Lafayette. In addition, Amrapali has made a name for itself by scouring tribal regions, from Orissa in the east to Tamil Nadu in the south, to gather a diverse collection, including nose rings and armlets, that speaks of the richness of India. Panch Batti, Mirza Ismail Rd.; 011-91-141-237-7940.
Fourth-generation entrepreneurs Romi Tholia and his younger brother, Lala, attend to customers themselves at their intimate ground-floor store, Tholia’s Kuber, on M.I. Road (the family lives a few flights above). Though this fifteen-year-old shop has a well-edited selection of uniquely set kundan — precious stones placed in gold and backed with enamel -- the real draw is the array of semiprecious baubles (think chalcedony, carnelian, smoky quartz, tourmaline), which can be strung on the spot. Tholia Bldg., Mirza Ismail Rd.; 011-91-141-237-7416.
Once mined in the neighboring cities of Udaipur and Ajmer, emeralds are no longer found in India. That is why fifty-seven-year-old Yogendra Durlabhji, a partner in the Emerald House, who has supplied Cartier, Tiffany, Van Cleef & Arpels and other big-name jewelers, traverses the planet, from Colombia and Brazil to Russia and Afghanistan, in search of the deep green stones. The fruits of his labor, loose gems that cost anywhere from $50 to $30,000 a carat, can be ogled only by appointment at his spacious no-frills showroom. Ask to see the Old Mine oval emerald, a rock that weighs nearly twenty-five carats. D-31 Subhash Marg, C-Scheme; 011-91-141-237-6044.
