When we hear the word heirloom, most of us immediately think of an expensive piece of jewellery that has been passed down through generations. But if you are to sit and really give it a thought we all would agree that an heirloom has far more superior meaning to itself than just being a generational passed down. We would realise that every piece we inherit has an extremely valuable and emotional story attached to it now and with times to come.

A necklace doesn't become special simply because it is valuable. It is often made special with the thought behind the moment it was bought, by the person who adorned it and mostly all the stories that gathered around it with time. That is what makes the idea of the modern heirloom so interesting. Today, jewellery collections are much more personal. People are not necessarily buying pieces only because they are considered traditional or valuable. They are choosing pieces based on what they like, what they wear and what they can see themselves returning to years later after the purchase has been made because it is the meaning that each piece of jewellery carries with itself from time to time.

A classic Kundan necklace is a good example — its design may have roots in traditional Indian jewellery, but it can be styled in so many different ways today. The same goes for a pair of jhumkas, a temple-inspired necklace or even a beautifully detailed bangle. Trends may come and go while attempting to change around them, but these designs continue to find their way back into our wardrobes and then there are the pieces that have nothing to do with tradition but still become important to us and remain long standing in our list of preference.

Maybe it was the first piece you bought yourself, maybe it was something you chose for an important celebration, maybe someone special helped you pick it. Those are the memories that give jewellery a value that cannot really be measured. This is precisely why we do not think that an heirloom has to be something you inherit, rather it can be something you choose today and eventually pass on tomorrow with deep meaning attached to it.

Choose pieces that feel like you, pieces that are not going to feel irrelevant once a trend disappears, pieces that you can imagine wearing for more than just one occasion because sometimes the most meaningful heirlooms aren't the ones we receive. Instead they are the ones we begin with.