ANEKA, a fine jewellery house founded in India, draws on the country’s rich cultural heritage to create stunning jewels that are contemporary in design but evoke centuries-old, cherished values.
Originally launched as Her Story in 2019 by visionary entrepreneur Ankit Mehta, the brand recently underwent a transformation. In May 2024, it was relaunched as ANEKA, a luxury jewellery house founded on a spirit of openness, inclusivity and global resonance.
Today, the brand has boutiques in Mumbai and Paris and retail presence in USA, UK as well as the Middle East. As a luxury jewellery brand, ANEKA has successfully reimagined modern jewellery design while staying true to its roots.
At its core, this fine jewellery brand is about the personal stories it tells through its designs and craftsmanship. Each piece throbs with emotion. The brand’s collections avoid “fleeting trends.” Instead they are shaped by symbolic and cultural metaphors. Layered with meaning, ANEKA’s pieces are simply timeless.
For instance, the Sero collection, draws its design inspiration from traditional Indian Chikankari embroidery. Finely set, high clarity diamonds that allow light to pass through are paired with lustrous Japanese Akoya pearls in a play of shimmer and lustre, reminiscent of the finely-detailed eyelets of Chikankari work.
But it is the symbolism that makes Sero much more than a collection inspired by tradition. Light acts as an essential element of design, bringing the pieces to life with every movement. The themes of empathy and connection are expressed in the meticulously crafted links that connect the pearls to the diamonds.
Similarly, ANEKA’s Poetry in Motion collection, which is inspired by the musical anklets used in traditional Indian dance, captures the graceful movement of dancers in its designs. Encapsulating the vibrancy of life – never still and full of beauty and passion – the pieces embody joy with their multicoloured enamel, soft bell-like sounds and gentle movements.
ANEKA is dedicated to quality. It takes almost nine months, from initial vision to final production, for a collection to come to life. In addition, the brand only uses ethically sourced gem and jewellery materials in its pieces, including diamonds, coloured gemstones as well as recycled 18K gold. This insistence on responsible sourcing, once again, underscores the brand’s core ethos: each piece is infused by both meaning and material value.
Today, under the leadership of CEO Ankit Mehta, ANEKA is redefining luxury as a dialogue between personal meaning, cultural heritage and meticulous craftsmanship.
An Interview with Ankit Mehta, CEO of ANEKA
I recently sat down with Ankit Mehta, CEO of ANEKA to learn more about this fine jewellery brand.
What was the vision behind founding ANEKA (formerly Her Story), and what prompted the rebranding to ANEKA?
We’ve always believed that jewelry can be a powerful marker of identity. Taking that forward, we began with an idea that was deeply personal: to create jewelry that held meaning for the wearer, beyond just material value or aesthetics.
We also recognize and honor the interconnectedness of our world, so while ANEKA is rooted in India, we’re inspired by diverse cultural symbols from across the world. Because while heritage and culture may differ, the stories and symbols they carry are universal.
ANEKA is an evolution of Her Story. While Her Story focused on celebrating the stories of inspiring women, ANEKA takes this a step forward and encompasses individual stories in larger value systems that connect all of us.
At its core, it is about celebrating multitudes – embracing the many perspectives and stories of individuals from across the world. It is an expression of modern culture and values. The name ANEKA, which comes from the Sanskrit word for ‘many’, felt like a natural next step in embracing that sense of multiplicity.
How does ANEKA, a word derived from Sanskrit, underscore your brand’s philosophy and exemplify the blend of traditional inspiration and contemporary aesthetics in your beautiful jewellery designs?
The name ANEKA is inspired by the ancient Indian philosophy of Anekantvad – the principle of embracing multiple perspectives. It reflects our understanding that beauty and truth are shaped through many perspectives.
Our jewels are living expressions of this principle. They reimagine ancestral techniques and materials, giving them new form and meaning. This allows us to craft jewels that feel both timeless and distinctly of today. It’s that blend of ‘something ancient’ and ‘something new’ that makes each piece feel personal, but still full of discovery.
Are there any traditional Indian artisanal techniques that you consciously incorporate into your work? If so, why is this important for you?
Yes, absolutely. We draw from India’s traditions of craftsmanship, but we’re constantly asking ourselves how we can honor these techniques while reimagining them, to bring the beauty of the past into the present and future. We try to bring the richness of our culture into subtle details and intricate savoir faire, through textures, movements, and even sounds that reflect its vibrancy and depth.
One example is the colored enamel work in our Poetry in Motion collection. While enamel as a craft didn’t originate in India, it found expression here from the 16th century onwards, through Persian-Mughal influences. We’ve used it to reimagine the traditional Indian ghungroo (bell anklet used by classical dancers), adorning them in vibrant hues.
In the same collection, we developed a novel technique of embedding miniature gold spheres into the body of the jewel, creating a gentle chime with every movement, just like a ghungroo.
In our Kaleido collection, we showcase a technique that is emblematic of the Maison – an interpretation of stone inlay work, which is an age-old technique seen famously in the Taj Mahal. But our version is different. Rather than cutting and setting the stones, we transform lapis lazuli and turquoise using our own proprietary process to create a unique matte-like finish.
We also explore innovative techniques of setting and linking that allow for movement, flexibility, texture and dynamism. But these are possible only because of the generations of skill that our master artisans bring with them. Their hands carry a lineage of knowledge and, at the same time, they’re constantly experimenting and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.
So yes, traditional craftsmanship is a huge part of what we do, but it’s never static. For us, it’s a living dialogue – it’s about crafting a legacy in motion.
What does your design process typically look like—from concept to final creation, especially for pieces from your Entwine collection?
Every ANEKA piece begins with a deeper purpose to celebrate the values within cultural symbols that resonate with us. Because modern culture and identity are so closely connected, and we want our jewels to reflect that. When we are deeply inspired by a symbol or tradition, we try to understand what it stands for and why it continues to hold meaning.
The entire creative process begins from there in a very intentional way – from sourcing to design, to the way a jewel moves and feels or even sounds when it’s worn. Each collection is crafted in our own ateliers by master artisans, and every step – from the sketch to the final stone setting – is led by a collective and collaborative approach. Our teams work closely together, so designers, gemologists, cutters, and artisans are in constant conversation to ensure the entire process is led by a shared creative vision.
The Entwine collection is a beautiful example of that. It was born from the idea of celebrating togetherness across voices, cultures, and perspectives, and the power of interconnectedness.
We believe the ancient craft of Ikat weaving is a great representation of this harmony. It’s known for its resist-dyeing technique, where each thread is colored even before it’s woven. It stands for the idea that while different voices, histories or cultures come with their own distinctiveness, extraordinary beauty takes form when they’re intertwined.
To translate that into jewelry, we created a specialized setting technique that links diamonds of different cuts and shapes with colored gemstones to create a flexible fabric-like movement and evoke the richness of an Ikat textile.
Ultimately, our process is about creating something that speaks to both heritage and the present and feels personal to the one who wears it.
Your use of coloured gemstones is both bold and elegant. What guides your selection process for these gems?
We choose our gemstones not only for their beauty, but for the depth and character they bring to the jewel. It has to feel true to the story we’re telling. In Diversa, for instance, we have an array of diamond cuts symbolizing the variety of influences and perspectives that shape an identity, with a singular Zambian emerald amid them, which represents the vivid individual voice within the collective.
In Entwine, color serves a new purpose. Here, we carefully layer the gradients of colored sapphires and diamonds to echo the shapes, layers and motifs of Ikat. So, gemstone selection at ANEKA is always intuitive and deeply purposeful, guided by expert curation. We carefully handpick gemstones for the tone, texture, brilliance and dynamism they bring to each collection.
In the Sero collection, we see a beautiful harmony between diamonds and pearls. What drew you to this gem pairing?
Sero is a tribute to quiet compassion. We were inspired by Chikankari embroidery, especially its shadow work and ‘invisible stitches’. To bring this into jewel form, we innovated an ‘invisible’ linking method that allows rose-cut diamonds to float above the skin with a sense of lightness.
The decision to pair diamonds and pearls in this collection was an extension of this symbolic inspiration.
The fine Japanese Akoya pearls were carefully chosen for a delicate pink hue and subtle shimmer, to pair with the warmth of our 18K recycled rose gold and the sparkle of the diamonds. This gives Sero a tone on tone, understated palette that again is reflective of Chikankari embroidery.
Who is the ANEKA woman you’re designing for? What kind of personality or lifestyle does she have?
We design for a multitude of individuals, or rather, for a way of living defined by openness, curiosity, and reflection. Our jewels are designed and crafted to reflect multiple perspectives, to connect deeply and, at the same time, to open a world of discovery.
We’re designing for multidimensional creatives, living at the intersection of thought, culture, and design. They are drawn to things and experiences that speak emotionally, intellectually, and sensorially. They value intentionality, whether it’s in a hand-thrown ceramic, a bespoke fragrance, or a finely crafted jewel.
Their world includes art fairs, film festivals, cultural salons, and long-form essays: places where reflection meets discovery. They’re seeking more than an accessory or trend. They’re looking for resonance.
We want to evoke emotion and offer a sensorial experience, both through what the jewel represents and how it feels when worn.
Can you also elaborate on your sustainability programme and goals?
We believe that the interconnectedness of the world is a beautiful thing, and so we take proactive steps to be mindful of the impact we make on our community, our environment, and the ecosystems we touch.
Every ANEKA jewel is crafted using 18K recycled gold, and we operate entirely on renewable energy – choices that have already helped us save over 470 tons of CO₂ emissions in 2 years.
We’re proud to have achieved the Positive Luxury Butterfly Mark, recognizing our commitment to responsible luxury. But it’s about more than numbers for us. It’s about sourcing with care, supporting our artisan community and creating with a mindset of longevity, so that every piece carries meaning, purpose, and respect.
Featured Image : Japanese Akoya Pearl and Diamond Earrings, Sero Collection
