ROYAL JEWELLERY THEN AND NOW: WHAT THE ROYALS GETS RIGHT ABOUT JAIPUR'S LEGACY

In Netflix's The Royals, jewellery is more than styling, it reflects lineage, tradition, and a shift in how men and women wear heritage today

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In Netflix's The Royals, it is not just the palaces and politics doing the talking — it is also the jewellery.

While the show plays fast and loose with plot, its styling leans into Jaipur's royal past, using jewellery to quietly hint at power, legacy, and shifting identities. What makes the jewellery in The Royals stand out is how little it tries to stand out. It is not flashy. It is worn with intent, rooted in place and character. Jewellery becomes less about opulence and more about context — who belongs, who is pretending, and who is finding their place.

From heirloom-inspired aad necklaces to sleek brooches worn with bandhgalas, every piece was carefully plotted out in advance, yet left room to evolve on set.

"For a show like this, jewellery is very, very important," says Aastha Sharma, the costume designer for the show. "We make sure we put our boards together, character-wise, and decide who wears what kind of jewellery, whether it's archival, more current, or something in between."

Aastha and her team started by building visual boards for each character, sketching out their jewellery journey across the show. Once they had a sense of how much they would need, they began sourcing from some of Jaipur's best: Amrapali Jewels, The Gem Palace (founded in 1852 by the Kasliwal family, began as court jewellers to Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the founder of Jaipur), and Rambhajo (a name synonymous with kundan, meena, jadau, polki and fine diamonds), formed the core. “Between the three big jewellers, we knew we would find what we needed," she says.

But it was not just heritage houses. The team also brought in younger, more contemporary brands like Valliyan to balance things out.

"We wanted to bring in a mix — something that felt lived-in and rooted, but also fresh," adds Aastha, adding, "We worked with Valliyan to design Zeenat Aman's stick, since she's holding it in almost every scene."