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India seen from Holland. Or, better, by three Dutch women: Bernadette van Gelder with her daughters Fleur and Noelle. In 1980 Bernadette founded Van Gelder Indian Jewelery, a company specializing in special pieces that come from the great Asian country. A story born a decade earlier, when the entrepreneur received a set of antique jewels, a gift from her brother, a dealer of refined oriental art. Fascinated by the jewel, Bernadette has deepened her knowledge with the complex Indian culture linked to jewelry and gemology thanks to many trips. Necklaces, earrings and rings, together with stones, also have a symbolic role as well as an ornament. In the culture linked to Hinduism, for example, astrology revolves around nine planets, which correspond to as many Hindu deities, represented by precious stones: ruby, pearl, coral, emerald, topaz, diamond, sapphire and cat’s eye.
Van Gelder Indian Jewelery is now run by daughters Noëlle Viguurs-Van Gelder and Fleur Damman-Van Gelder. All the stones of jewels offered for sale are first tested by the Nederlands Gemmological Institute, which verifies their quality. In fact, these are rare and expensive pieces: it is no coincidence that the company was one of the exhibitors at Tefaf Maastricht, the finest art and antiques fair. But the Maison, for a couple of years, has also started producing contemporary jewelry based on historical Indian models.
