Tarang Arora's Wrist Tells His Stories
The designer tells the stories he carries in his prized wrist stack
My love for bracelets began when I was 16 or 17. Each piece that I wear has a story behind it. It’s often a conversation starter but I usually keep my explanations brief, saying I wear them simply because I like them.
I often test the pieces I design for Tribe Amrapali by wearing them myself. I picked up some nice stones, beads, various kinds of agate, amethyst and jasper—and just put it on to see how it looks together, like the one at the bottom.
The one that’s second from bottom is from the foothills of the Himalayas, and has a mythological animal called makara. It is
over a hundred and fifty years old. If you look closely, you’ll notice that one side is completely worn out. So, the person who wore this before I did, probably did so their whole life. It was given to me by my dad and uncle. I’ve had it on my wrist for about twenty-four years now. I’m convinced that my wrist hasn’t grown since I first put it on because of how heavy it is. Over the years I’ve had three of these but they’re extremely difficult to find. One is at the Amrapali museum, another one is with me and the third I gave to a friend.
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Go further up, and you’ll see the Amrapali logo—a lotus—on the bracelet (third from bottom). It also has a tiger’s eye, which is a very important stone for me since I’m a wildlife enthusiast. The next one upwards features beads from Bali, a place I’ve always loved. It reminds me of something spiritual. It has one bead in the centre and several wooden ones on either side.
MY KADA IS THE ONE YOU SEE FOURTH FROM THE TOP. I AM a fifth generation Punjabi in Rajasthan. Even though my family doesn’t have any direct connection with Punjab today, I wear it because I don't want to lose my identity and my roots. This has probably been there the longest.
I used to be obsessed with skulls back in the day. So, the first one, at the top, is something my wife had made for me before we got married and I’ve had this since. She’s also a jewellery designer, so she created this for me. It’s extremely flexible, all handmade with chain.
The one that’s third from top was gifted to me by my uncle on my 21st birthday, and I’ve worn it every day since then. So, if you look closely, you’ll notice that it’s all worn out. It’s from a designer called Jean-François from Bali. It’s made of elephant hair. The snake is 18-karat gold with such beautiful eyes! I love this piece so much that I often feel like I’m ruining it by wearing it every day.
Following that, second from top, is this piece, also made from the hair of the African elephant’s tail. According to a belief, elephant hair absorbs all the ills of the body when you wear it and that’s why such bracelets breaks off eventually. I got hold of this about 20 years ago.
As told to Komal Shetty
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