Kundan vs Polki: What's the Difference?

Two Kinds of Sparkle

Kundan and Polki are the two names you'll hear most often in a Jaipur jewellery workshop, and shoppers frequently ask us which one is "better." The honest answer is that they're close cousins with one key difference in the stone itself. Here's how to tell them apart, and how to decide which belongs in your wardrobe.

Polki refers to uncut, natural diamonds in their raw form—stones that are polished but never faceted, so they keep an organic, slightly irregular sparkle instead of the uniform brilliance of a cut diamond. Polki is the older of the two traditions, prized in royal Rajasthani jewellery for centuries.

Kundan describes the setting technique itself, not the stone. Gemstones—or in many contemporary pieces, coloured glass and semi-precious stones—are set into gold using finely worked foil, pressed by hand around each stone. So while Polki almost always uses the Kundan setting method, Kundan jewellery doesn't necessarily use Polki diamonds; it can be set with rubies, emeralds, or other gemstones instead.

In short: Polki is the stone, Kundan is the setting. A "Polki necklace" is really a Kundan-set piece made specifically with uncut diamonds.

• Choose Polki if you want the softer, old-world sparkle associated with heirloom and bridal jewellery—think Rajasthani royal weddings.
• Choose Kundan set with colour (rubies, emeralds, moissanite) if you want a bolder, more festive statement piece for a celebration or a saree.
• Choose a piece that blends both if you want the timeless Kundan-Polki look worn for generations—many of our necklace sets bring the two together.

Every piece in our Kundan Collection is handcrafted by Jaipur artisans using this traditional foil-setting technique, and our Polki & Moissanite Collection brings that same old-world sparkle to modern necklace sets, chokers and earrings.

Old craft, worn new.