Custom Jewelry, Mini Size

Tarang Arora, president of Amrapali Jewels, described how he pored over a set of charcoal and colored pencil sketches of an anklet and a headpiece for an 11-year-old girl. He said it was late, well past store hours, and his many workers, including 12 designers, had left the 3,500-square-foot showroom for the day.

The clients, a prominent family in Jaipur, wanted a matha patti (an Indian-style headpiece), a paayal (a thin anklet with bells) and a necklace, all to fit the theme of a wedding they were about to attend. “The family told me which designer would make the bride’s clothes,” he said, “and we started working on the jewelry designs that would match the sensibility of the clothing designer.”

The pieces were fashioned from 22-karat gold set with diamonds, rubies and emeralds, all high-quality stones cut in a rose style with a flat bottom. That way, he said, they would possess all the sparkle possible without any extra weight, making them comfortable for the child to wear.

The task, as it turned out, took more than three months to complete. “The process of finalizing the design itself took about a month and a half,” Mr. Arora said.

Then some of his more than 1,200 artisans cut the rubies into Amrapali’s customary lotus shape and enameled their backs. (The use of enamel and stonework in Indian jewelry is inspired by the Mughals, whose chief motifs included flowers and birds.)

Bespoke jewelry is a growing part of the $257 billion global jewelry market, whose main buyers are in China and India. And sales of custom-made pieces for children, especially in India, where elaborate jewelry has long been prized, are becoming a significant part of that sector.

Mr. Arora said that the number of parents and grandparents placing orders with him has increased in the past few years, with some spending as much as $55,000 at a time.

India is a polytheistic society, so many parents want charms like those of baby Krishna and other religious symbols like the Om crafted in various metals and precious stones, mostly 24-karat gold, the unequivocal symbol of prosperity in India. Anklets, gold and silver spoons, and amulets with precious stones also are popular.

Some of these custom pieces are presented during the Godh Bharai ceremony, a traditional baby shower; the term also is used for the area between the mother’s arms where the child plays.

London’s Saville Row, jewelers face some unusual factors when creating jewelry for children, such as setting stones with precision so they don’t fall out easily or become choking hazards.

“There were some challenges when we finished the bridal jewelry, and these included the fall of the piece on the neck because the child was growing,” Mr. Arora said. “It wasn’t something which created a lot of stress for the client or us, but we still wanted to rectify it before the final delivery.”

The number of jewelry companies with children’s collections is small but growing — for example, Dinh Van, the French company whose motto is “the free spirit of French jewelry,” has a bespoke children’s jewelry division within the company.

The New York-based jeweler Aaron Basha said the idea of adorning children isn’t quite as popular in the United States as it is in in the Middle East or Asia, adding, “Little girls with pierced ears isn’t quite a thing in the United States.”

Yet recently, he said, a mother from Qatar spent $80,000 in his shop on charm bracelets and safety pins set with diamonds for her newborn.

 Since Mr. Basha opened his jewelry house in 1950, he has become particularly well known for his charms in the shape of baby shoes. Typically made of 18-karat gold, the charms are not bespoke pieces but can be engraved for an easy personalization. “Some clients want a birth date on the back of the shoe, yet others the baby’s name; jewelry is very emotional and has strong family ties,” he said.

He also has an option for mothers to order matching charms for themselves and their children. “You know how much mothers love to match their kids,” he said with a laugh.

Gold has increased in value in recent months, prompting many jewelers to increase their prices as a result. But the market for children’s pieces does not seem to be affected, some say, as they are considered sentimental pieces rather than investments.

“We all have a different perception of money,” the California jeweler Michael Merritt said. “For some people, a $10,000 diamond engagement ring is a beautiful thing, so folks spending $3,000 to $5,000 for a 3-year-old doesn’t seem too crazy.”

Mr. Merritt, who has a showroom in Pasadena, Calif., said there has been a definite increase in the number of people ordering children’s jewelry in the past six to eight years. He added that he had never made a conscious effort to market himself as a designer of bespoke children’s jewelry; it just happened.

He said he sells a lot of children’s earrings, which he crafts to client specifications, as well as diamond and pavé diamond bracelets and cord bracelets that start at $2,500.

Oddly, he said, birthstones for children are not as popular as pieces in white and yellow gold.

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