In India, a Father's Legacy Becomes a Jewelry Museum

JAIPUR, India - In 2009, the brothers Suresh and Arun Dhaddha decided that it was finally time to go through the belongings of their father, Gyan Chand Dhaddha, who had died five years before at the age of 64.They knew that the jeweler and gemologist, who had been well known in the thriving gem trade here, had amassed a collection of artifacts and stored it all rather haphazardly in the family home "We took out one suitcase, started digging, and saw some of the textiles in plastic bags," Arun Dhaddha recalled An adjacent salon, opened the next spring, now houses a show and salesroom for their year-old range of contemporary jewels, with motifs borrowed from Mr.

Dhaddha's antiquities A grouping of 175 silver and gold hookah mouthpieces takes pride of place beside a reflecting pool because it includes two pieces that Mr Dhaddha received from his grandfather when he was 16 years old, igniting his passion for collecting - "Even though he never smoked," Arun Dhaddha said.

Mr Dhaddha's personal mementos also are displayed: eyeglasses, a gold Omega wristwatch, a business card made of hand-painted ivory and a four-leaf agate that he used to carry for luck and had made into a pendant Amid the finery, both antique and modern, the Dhaddha family now holds events, like the recent party for the Dutch author Bernadette Van Gelder's new book, "Traditional Indian Jewelry: The Golden Smile of India" "My father's name, Gyan, means 'knowledge' in Hindi," Arun Dhaddha said. Source