Multipurpose jewelry

Gems that protect and heal set in designs that look aesthetically appealing

Preeti Agrawal’s jewelry studio in Sundhara, Kathmandu, is unlike any other studio in town. It’s much more than just a space where Agrawal designs and crafts beautiful pieces. Located in one of the many small gallis that pepper the area, the space reflects Agrawal’s passion for crystals and her connection with the spiritual world. For her customers, it’s a calm and soothing place to find the perfect stone that resonates with them. Each piece of jewelry has its own meaning, memory, and purpose.

Agrawal is an artist, designer of crystal jewelries that heal, a gemologist, crystal consultant, angel card reader, and a counselor. But her passion lies in crystals and their healing properties. To acquaint people with this side of crystals, she handcrafts jewelries that can be worn on a daily basis without it clashing horribly with your attire, as many gems worn for spiritual reasons often tend to do. The pieces she crafts are unique, one of a kind, and a spectacular combination of spiritual and fashionable aesthetics. Agrawal primarily works with crystals and rough stones to make her ornaments because, according to her, these stones have the power to heal the physical, mental and energy state of a human body.

It all started when Agrawal graduated from the Gemological Institute of America in Mumbai in the year 2009. Her love for gemology and design led her to intern at some precious institutions in Mumbai itself. She also did some freelance work by creating diamond jewelry according to customers’ orders. One of her greatest achievement at that time was walking the ramp for the Indian International Jewelry Show, one of the most prestigious shows in India.

Although life was going on absolutely fine and Agrawal was in a good place career wise, she felt that a glitzy and glamorous city such as Mumbai was not meant for her. She yearned to be back in her own county amidst the mountains and be closer to nature. Her friends were wary of her decision to pack up and leave. Some even advised against it because they believed her potential would be better tapped in Mumbai than in Kathmandu.

But there was no stopping her. She had made up her mind to head back home and that’s what she was going to do.

A new beginning

Coming to Kathmandu was easy but establishing herself was a different ball game altogether. She never thought it wouldn’t be challenging but the initial struggle sometimes made her wonder if she had taken the right decision.

It took her about a year to find the right craftsmen who could help her with the elaborate process of making jewelries. When she finally started crafting jewelries out of rough stones and crystals, she met an ‘Energy Healer’ who changed her life. He explained to her the true meaning of human aura and how crystals could be used as healing tools besides being used only as accessories to glam up one’s outfit. This science of healing through energy fascinated Agrawal and she wanted to learn more about it.

“I always thought that these theories of healing through stones are just marketing gimmicks. It was only when the crystals started working on me that I realized their true value,” she says. Crystals also helped her take a spiritual path and she decided to enroll in Pranic Healing classes. Pranic Healing is a kind of energy healing method where people work with the body’s energy to heal various diseases.

In 2013, she also joined a counseling psychology class. This eventually helped her understand her customers and their choices better. “Whoever comes into my studio, I want to help that person in every way I can,” says Agrawal adding that she also started her journey of Angel tarot card reading because of that very reason and also because she was curious about it too.

The worth of crystals

“Crystals are just like medicines. They need to be in contact with your body for a certain period of time for them to work,” she says adding that crystals also need to be cleansed, energized, and blessed for them to be effective. But someone who comes to her only for fashionable gems can just wear it with that very purpose in mind but it will work anyway with their energy body.

According to her, crystals are similar to batteries. They have their own energy and vibrations that affect a human body. She also feels that crystals work on an intuitive level so the person wearing it has to connect with the crystal.

She confesses that most of her customers come to buy fashionable and attractive jewelry. But when they eventually discover the healing properties of the stones then these jewelries become even more exciting and valuable for them. Being a Pranic Healing instructor, Agrawal also helps her customers understand human auras and chakras and then choose a crystal that will work for them. She claims to have healed many diseases and anomalies through crystals. “Just wearing an energized crystal can work wonders for people but you have to try it yourself to see and believe it,” she says.

A lot of her stones come from India and the Himalayan regions of Nepal. She believes that crystals have helped her find a purpose in life. And not just that, through crystals, she has been able to help people by giving them something unique that has healing properties. It’s not just about business and fashion, and Agrawal finds a lot of joy and comfort in that fact.

According to her, crystals and stones have been used since ancient times in various religions. So she believes that these stones don’t work on a psychological level but rather they work with the energy of the human body, and can do much more than just make your stand out with your choice of fashion accessories.

A sneak peek of some jewelry pieces at Agrawal’s studio

Angels in flight

Agrawal says that pearls are very calming and soothing stones. It thus brings in a lot of calming and soothing energy in people who wear them. This necklace is apparently great for people with short temper as it helps to control one’s emotions. One can simply wear it as a fashion accessory as well as the cool blue goes with all kinds of attires.

Citrine earrings

Citrine is a very good stone for bringing confidence in the wearer. It also helps your solar plexus chakra, which means it releases your pent up emotions and can bring a lot of prosperity and abundance in your life. The earring is also embedded with pearls that help in calming a human body. However, it can also simply be used as a fashion accessory.

Aquamarine pendant

The stone used in this pendant is Aquamarine and this stone is abundantly found in the Himalayan region of Nepal. It is great for balancing the throat chakra of a human body. It also gives an angelic protection so it is great for people who have problems expressing their thoughts and views. According to Agrawal, the stone brings in wisdom from the angelic realm and helps one speak accurately. The inspiration for the design came from Agrawal’s trek to the Everest Base Camp.

Quartz cluster pendant

This is a very powerful pendant and one can program it for anything. Agrawal says this stone can brighten our aura, protect it and remove negativity from it as well. This stone can be programmed for manifestation of any kind of wishes. According to Agrawal, the pendant is inspired by the intricate carving of ancient Nepali windows.

Chakra earrings

This earning has seven stones that represent the seven chakras of the human body. The stone on top of the earring is Amethyst followed by Aquamarine, Pink Tourmaline, Peridot, Yellow Topaz, Carnelian and Ruby. These stones help in balancing all your chakras.

The ring that the model is wearing is Pink Tourmaline that helps in harmonizing the heart chakra and brings love in a person’s life. The ring is inspired by riverbed rocks.

Model: Chahana Shah