Shikhar Jewellers did not start with a business plan. It started with a workbench, a small set of hand tools and a handful of families who trusted us with their wedding gold. What follows is the honest version of how the studio took shape.
The first bench
The studio opened as a single-room workshop where goldsmiths sat close enough to pass a file across the bench. Repair work paid the rent in those early years, and it taught us how pieces actually wear: which clasps fail, where filigree thins out, how a resized band sits after a decade. That knowledge still shapes how we build new commissions today.
Bridal commissions
As word travelled through Indian and South African families, requests shifted from repairs to full bridal sets. We started sketching alongside clients, agreeing on karats and stone selection before any metal was cut, and documenting each order with a written quote and timeline. That habit of writing things down came directly from a few early misunderstandings we did not want to repeat.
Keeping the motifs
Temple jewellery and South Asian motifs carry meaning, and we decided early not to flatten them into generic ornament. Our goldsmiths study the original proportions before adapting a design for a lighter everyday piece. The result is a catalogue where a heavy ceremonial necklace and a slim modern ring can sit side by side without either feeling like a compromise.
In-house finishing
Sending work out was never comfortable. Bringing stone setting, polishing and resizing fully in-house meant slower turnaround at first, but it also meant we could stand behind every surface and every claw. When a client returns years later for a resize, the same hands that made the piece can open it up and adjust it properly.
Where we are now
Today the atelier handles bespoke engagement rings, wedding sets, temple pieces and repairs for two communities that often sit at the same bench. Consultations are unhurried, karats and sizing are discussed openly, and each finished piece leaves with a care guide. Growth, for us, has meant fewer rushed decisions rather than more of them.
Shikhar Jewellers began as a family workshop, and it still runs like one. The point was never to move the most pieces. It was to make jewellery that people keep, wear for decades, and hand down. That idea shapes every decision we make at the bench.
Our goldsmiths sit in the same room where the work is finished. Stone setting, polishing and resizing stay in-house, so a piece is never passed between strangers. If something needs adjusting, the person who made it is the one who fixes it.
Karats, stone choices, sizing and the working budget are talked through before a single gram of metal is cut. Every order leaves with a written quote, a timeline and a care guide, so what was agreed is on paper and not just in memory.
Temple motifs, bridal patterns and traditional South Asian forms carry meaning, and we handle them that way. At the same time, plenty of clients want something quiet enough for a Tuesday at work. Both belong here, and neither is treated as a lesser request.
We serve Indian and South African families across generations, and most of our work comes from people who were sent by someone else. That is the effect we care about: a piece that fits the occasion, a process that felt unhurried, and a studio you would recommend to your own family.
Shikhar Jewellers is a family-run atelier. The values behind every commission are simple to name and harder to keep: honest craft, clear paperwork, and respect for the traditions our clients bring through the door.
Stone setting, polishing and resizing happen at our bench, not somewhere down a supply chain. That means a ring can be adjusted without being sent away for weeks, and a loose claw can be tightened by the same hands that set it.
Temple jewellery, bridal sets and South Asian motifs sit beside quieter everyday designs. We treat the older patterns with care rather than simplifying them, and we keep the newer pieces light enough to actually wear on a Tuesday.
Each order comes with a quote, a timeline and a care guide. Karats, stone choices, sizing and budget are settled in conversation before any metal is cut, so nobody is guessing later about what was agreed.
Our clients are Indian and South African families, couples planning engagements, and people bringing in a piece that belonged to a parent or grandparent. Some arrive with a clear sketch. Others arrive with a photograph, a rough idea, or a chain that has been sitting in a drawer for years. We take the time to talk it through instead of pushing a decision on the spot, because a commission that is rushed rarely feels right once it is worn.