Kolhapuri Saaj: How this handcrafted gold necklace keeps a city’s heritage alive

As social media erupted with criticism around cultural appropriation, Prada issued a statement acknowledging the resemblance and promised to work with “certified artisans” from Kolhapur in the future. In Kolhapur itself, however, the response was dignified. “We were happy to see them,” said Nandkishore Mahajan, the owner of a 70-year-old Kolhapuri Chappal store. “But when we read the label that just said ‘leather sandals,’ we felt forgotten.”

Nestled in the southwestern cradle of Maharashtra, Kolhapur wears its legacy on its feet, and around the neck, in the form of the Kolhapuri Saaj, the ethnic handmade gold necklace that, like the chappals, gives the city its identity. The Kolhapuri Saaj, possibly dating back centuries and linked to the Peshwas and the Marathas, is made of 21 pendants, each shaped like a leaf, a conch, a fish, or a goddess, every form a carrier of meaning. A moon for tranquillity. A tortoise for stability. A peacock for beauty. A conch for awakening. The Saaj is a spiritual blueprint worn in gold.

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In Kolhapur’s oldest Saaj store, running since 1904, tucked behind the bustling Nagalapark on Indumati road, owner Giridhar Gopinath Chipade looks up from his workbench, eyes soft with memory. “Making the Kolhapuri Saaj requires a lot of skill and patience. Very few of us are left who still make it the original way.”

He gestures toward a set of 150-year-old moulds, blackened with use, sacred in silence. “These aren’t museum pieces, they’re tools still shaping identity. The traditional Saaj had 21 pieces, a sacred set. Today, some choose fewer pendants for wearability, often 10 to 12, especially among younger women who pair them with contemporary silhouettes. But even in adaptation, the soul remains intact.”

Chipade Saraf and Sons, holds archives of antique motifs like dashavatar (the ten avatars of Vishnu), Indrayani, panch-panadi (the five-leaf pattern), Lakshmi, tortoise, matsya (fish), bel leaves, Mahalaxmi goddess, peacock feathers, and more. “In Saaj jewellery, there are 8 to 9 types, like Krishna Saaj, Shavtari, Peshwai, Indrayani. Each has its own story. The Shavtari and Peshwai are pure traditions. Then there’s the wax Saaj—lightweight, but made with the same craftsmanship and purity. We just call it wax, but the soul remains the same,” notes Chipade. The weight ranges from 25 grams up to 150 grams while the price starts at Rs 2.5 lakh and can go up to Rs 15 lakh. Around Rs 1 lakh per 10 grams, but the layers matter too—more layers, more value.

“A Saaj we made was gifted to Queen Elizabeth by Karmarkar Pedhi,” recounts Mangesh Karekar, a fourth-generation jeweller. “It travelled far, but it still speaks of here.” Indeed, heritage travels well when it’s carried with conviction. The modern Saaj is now oxidised, gold-plated, and increasingly being exported to America and Australia. “Saaj now comes in different sizes, with an antique look, for modern tastes,” says Karekar. “But the feeling it gives—the history—that never changes.”

Saidul, the senior most goldsmith at the Chipade workshop shares, “We start by melting 22K gold in a crucible over charcoal in the early morning.” Once molten, it is poured into casting frames, forming rods. “When cooled, we roll them into strips or wires using rolling machines—our centuries‑old, hand‑carved moulds—to cut each ‘panadi’ (pendant leaf) bearing symbols like the lotus, conch, fish, tortoise or peacock. We solder the panadis—traditionally 21, now often 12—onto a sturdy chain using a borax‑copper sulphate flux and torch flame at around 700 °C,” says another senior goldsmith Raju, while adding, “After the Jaali soldering, the piece is tumbled with soap‑nut and fibre balls, polished, and sometimes adorned with meenakari from Agra, Jaipur and Varanasi.”

Sayaji Hotel recognises and values the expertise and care that goes into a handcrafted piece like Saaj. “At Sayaji, we’ve always believed that hospitality goes beyond rooms and restaurants, it’s about becoming a bridge to the culture, craft, and community of the destination,” notes Saba Dhanani, Regional Director of Marketing and Communications, Sayaji Hotels. She adds, “We regularly collaborate with local craftsmen, host pop-ups, and curate experiences where traditions like Saaj are not just showcased but celebrated. Our departure gifts and souvenirs across properties often include hyper-regional elements, crafted using materials or motifs found only in that geography-making them true keepsakes.”

“We believe every leaf, every curve,” says Rakshit, “gives blessings, not just gold.” By afternoon, lunch drifts into brunch at Blue Lotus, the hotel’s flagship restaurant. Executive Chef Kishan Gunjal, who has spent over 34 years rising through Sayaji’s culinary hierarchy, designs menus that tell local tales. “Kolhapur loves spices,” he says. “But what we offer here is heritage. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, every dish here is rooted in authenticity.” It’s casual, but curated.

And then there was Barbeque Nation, where global food festivals spin a global yarn. And somehow, in this cultural collage, Mutton Yakhni Shorba sits comfortably beside Kothimbir Wadi, Punjabi Tangdi and Humsam Pulusu, an Andhra-style mutton curry. As evening descends, and I sip arabica coffee, the city lights bloom like marigolds below. When dinner arrives, the aroma of slow-cooked mutton swirls with a Sol Kadhi, a drink made from coconut milk and kokum. A platter of sweets appears by bedside: chocolates or churros or something traditional Kolhapuri.

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The Prada chappal moment mattered because it prompted people to look closer and take pride in what was local. In Kolhapur, there is no need to posture. When visitors leave Kolhapur, they often carry back boxes of sweets or bottles of Tambda Rassa Masala. But for many, it’s a Saaj that becomes the true souvenir. It may be solid gold or gold-plated. But it always carries something more: a memory, a lineage. You wear it because someone you love once wore it. Or because your grandmother had one. Or because your mother never let it leave her side. A necklace with twenty-one or just 10 stories. And a place that keeps telling them.