Nita Ambani knows how to make a traditional saree moment impossible to miss, but at the Ambani family’s Ganpati celebrations at Antilia this year, it was her jewellery that completely took over the look. Draped in a vivid silk saree by Swadesh, the businesswoman and philanthropist made headlines in a spectacular necklace that stretched almost from one shoulder to the other. And while it looked like one extravagant piece, there was a much bigger story hidden in it.
What does Nita Ambani’s necklace feature?
The necklace, called Amrapali Bharatam, by Amrapali Jewels is less a conventional piece of jewellery and more a wearable collection of India's jewellery traditions. Instead of being created as one uniform design, it brings together antique and vintage Indian ornaments from different regions and eras, giving them an entirely new setting.
At the top sits a traditional Kerala necklace, which forms the foundation of the elaborate composition. Surrounding it are an eclectic mix of old South Indian jewellery, including naths, jhoomars, earrings, billas and chandbalis.
The individual ornaments were originally separate pieces, with their own designs, histories and identities. For Amrapali Bharatam, they have been brought together into a single dramatic arrangement.
Pearls and colourful gemstones fill the spaces between the vintage elements, creating a layered effect that makes the necklace look almost like a single elaborate jewellery piece.
Amrapali Bharatam | Image Courtesy: Instagram (hautelifestyleofficial)
Three years went into finding the pieces
Something this intricate was never going to come together overnight. According to reports, sourcing the antique and vintage jewellery used in Amrapali Bharatam took three years and brought together pieces from different parts of the country. Each individual component had to be found and brought into the larger composition before the final necklace could take shape.
Tarang Arora, CEO and Creative Director of Amrapali Jewels, has explained that creating a piece of this nature is not as simple as first sketching a finished necklace and then producing it. The jewellery has to be physically arranged, moved around and balanced until the different elements work together. Even the pearl strings at the back were developed through this hands-on process rather than being completely predetermined on paper.
After years of collecting the jewellery elements, the final composition required another enormous amount of craftsmanship. Fourteen master karigars worked for months to assemble the piece, carefully bringing together ornaments that were never originally intended to sit alongside one another.
Sonam Kapoor wore it before
Before Nita Ambani stepped out in Amrapali Bharatam, the statement necklace had already made an appearance on Sonam Kapoor.
The actress, who was pregnant at the time, wore the piece in November 2025, styling it with an ivory-and-gold Anarkali. Her outfit featured a voluminous silhouette, an intricately embellished yoke, wide palazzos and a sheer dupatta finished with gold detailing.
Sonam allowed the necklace to remain the centrepiece of the ensemble by adding stament jhumkas, gold bangles and a few rings, along with a small potli.
While Sonam's styling gave the antique jewellery a more ivory-and-gold backdrop, Nita's vivid Swadesh silk saree created an entirely different setting for the same statement piece.
