Gemstone string jewellery involves threading together gemstones of various shapes, sizes, and colours to craft stunning necklaces, bracelets, and anklets. The artists realize their visions with hues ranging from the blue of lapis lazuli to the teal of turquoise, the green of emeralds to the red depths of rubies. They can also use moonstone, opal, sapphire, tourmaline, among others. These strings are created in a single colour or in combinations of multi-coloured stones.

The art of gemstone string jewellery was developed by the Patwa community of Rajasthan, traditionally known for their weaving expertise. Their community's name is word derived from pat meaning silk. Engaged in threading beads and stones, they believed themselves to be the descendants of Lord Vishnu. Legend has it that they had divine blessings to create silk thread jewellery to earn a livelihood. The craftsmanship found patronage in the Mughal courts as well as under Rajput royalty and aristocracy.

Gemstone stringing is essentially about a careful selection of gemstones, which can either match perfectly in size, clarity, shape, and colour, or each stone can be different from the other in type and size. They undergo a thorough cleaning and polishing process. Rough stones like emeralds and rubies are refined by tumbling them in a rotating barrel with abrasives and water. Holes are made using a rotating diamond-tipped rod or tube. Once shaped and prepared, gemstones are expertly strung together by the Patwas with metal wire, silk, or cotton thread using unique knotting and wrapping techniques. They are arranged in various patterns, ranging from multiple strands to geometric designs to those tightened with sarafas (adjustable thread strings), finished with a metallic clasp or fishhook.

Set inside a 100-year-old haveli, Khazana Mahal, a museum in Jaipur houses “precious” (khazana) pieces. Amongst its prized 2000-odd pieces are those that include gemstones jewellery and strings besides folkloric history and other arts of Rajasthan.

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