Decoration on Indian blades

Jens Nordlunde · 1st February 2005, 02:23 PM

Hi Battara,

Like I write in the text to the picture, the ‘stones’ are not gems, they are glass/crystal. That is the reason why I show this picture. Had the ‘stones’ been put in recently after the old method described, and had the lead been covered with gold foil – I think it would fool a lot of people.
The hilt shown is not a fake, it is genuine, but sometimes people want more glamour than they can afford, and then methods like the one described is taken in use, or maybe the owner had some misfortune and had the real gems replaced with glass – we will never know.
To swap the gems for glass and metal foil, and to swap gold for lead with gold foil, would have saved the poor buyer a lot of money, but the show effect would have been almost as high as if it had been real gems and real gold.
The kundan technique is supposed to be almost two thousand years old, and was refine during the Mogul reign. When using the Kundan method to set gems, gold are beaten to a very thin foil, when the foil is thin enough it can form a molecular bond when pressure is applied with a tool. The foil is worked around the stone and the stone adhered in its mount.
It is true like you say, that the kundan technique usually applies to gold setting, and maybe it is called something else when lead is used, I don’t know, but I rather think that the name is used when it comes to the way the gem/glass I fastened, than to which metal is used.
I knew what I was buying, but had the hilt been ‘shined up’ a bit, it might have fooled some of you.

1st February 2005, 02:23 PM	#14
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	Hi Battara, Like I write in the text to the picture, the ‘stones’ are not gems, they are glass/crystal. That is the reason why I show this picture. Had the ‘stones’ been put in recently after the old method described, and had the lead been covered with gold foil – I think it would fool a lot of people. The hilt shown is not a fake, it is genuine, but sometimes people want more glamour than they can afford, and then methods like the one described is taken in use, or maybe the owner had some misfortune and had the real gems replaced with glass – we will never know. To swap the gems for glass and metal foil, and to swap gold for lead with gold foil, would have saved the poor buyer a lot of money, but the show effect would have been almost as high as if it had been real gems and real gold. The kundan technique is supposed to be almost two thousand years old, and was refine during the Mogul reign. When using the Kundan method to set gems, gold are beaten to a very thin foil, when the foil is thin enough it can form a molecular bond when pressure is applied with a tool. The foil is worked around the stone and the stone adhered in its mount. It is true like you say, that the kundan technique usually applies to gold setting, and maybe it is called something else when lead is used, I don’t know, but I rather think that the name is used when it comes to the way the gem/glass I fastened, than to which metal is used. I knew what I was buying, but had the hilt been ‘shined up’ a bit, it might have fooled some of you.