Where Form Finds Feeling: Inside India’s Mrs. Marquise

Few things excite me more than encountering a young brand that already speaks with such a clear, confident voice. That’s exactly how I felt when I got acquainted with fifth-generation jeweller Aashray Gupta and his wife Sanjana Sojatia, founders of Mrs. Marquise. Established in 2023 in Hyderabad, this new brand is all the proof you need that contemporary Indian design has entered a brilliant new chapter. Though still a young jewellery house, it has already cultivated a distinct identity for its sculptural, gem-led creations—pieces that marry a strength and generosity of form with a sensuous, feminine spirit.

One of the things that impressed me most about Mrs. Marquise was the surety of Aashray and Sanjana’s vision. Every design is a conversation between two very different minds: his, grounded in a lineage of gemstone expertise stretching back more than a century; hers, guided by a very modern eye for proportion and emotion. Together, they’ve forged a design language unlike any Indian jewellery brand that has come before them.

Mrs. Marquise was born from what Sanjana calls a “creative alchemy”—a partnership built on contrast and conversation. “Our collaboration is truly at the heart of every piece we create,” she explains. “An idea might begin as a sketch, an architectural detail or even a colour combination that evokes a feeling. From there, we sit together and start translating that idea into form. Aashray focuses on the technical aspects and structural integrity of the design, while I consider the visual balance, proportion and emotional appeal.”

That interplay between intuition and precision guides their process. “We often have long debates over the smallest things—the shade of a gemstone, the proportion of a motif, even the kind of polish a surface should have. It’s never a linear process. It is, indeed, like alchemy.” Each Mrs. Marquise jewel carries a trace of their conversation—Aashray’s pursuit of perfection, Sanjana’s pursuit of feeling—and the pour this energy into their designs.

What’s interesting is that every creation begins not with a sketch but with a spark—a gemstone that catches their attention and refuses to let go. “The stone is first, always,” Aashray tells me. “Each coloured gem has its own personality—its cut, its fire, its imperfections—and that becomes the soul of the piece we’re creating.”

In their studio, stones are treated as individual characters, each with its own mood and way of speaking. Once a gem reveals its personality, the design evolves around it: lines are drawn to echo its silhouette, the metalwork is shaped to accentuate its presence, and colours are chosen to heighten its natural intensity.

The Mrs. Marquise aesthetic draws its strength from an era when design found power in symmetry, geometry and bold colour. Yet beneath the precise lines lies something unmistakably Indian—a love of opulence, intricate craftsmanship and gemstones chosen not only for their beauty, but for their presence.

This fusion of Art Deco boldness and Indian sumptuousness gives every Mrs. Marquise jewel its identity, with texture, light and shape layered like brushstrokes. You see it in a choker necklace set with a monumental collection of light green Russian emeralds, clasped in shield-shaped pavé diamond mounts that recall the splendour of Hyderabad’s royal jewels.

In earrings where white diamonds are suspended within a pentagonal spiral of pink sapphire pavé, each surface bursting with intricate detail. And in a pair of diamond and kunzite earrings that reinterpret the classic Deco sunray motif, with unusually elongated pear-shaped lilac kunzites radiating within their pavé diamond surrounds.

A diamond collar necklace the couple designed together captures this dynamic perfectly: pavé white diamonds form a sculptural silhouette while a cascade of brown briolettes adds warmth and three-dimensionality. “We wanted it to feel sculptural yet fluid—minimal but impactful,” Sanjana recalls. “What transformed the piece was the cascading effect of the briolettes placed above the pavé—the final touch that was Aashray’s idea, the cherry on top.”

For Aashray, the roots of Mrs. Marquise run deep. As a fifth-generation jeweller from the Mangatrai family—a name synonymous with fine pearls and gemstones in Hyderabad for over a century—jewellery making is in his blood. But history, as he tells me, can be both a source of inspiration and a constraint. “Coming from a legacy like the Mangatrai family taught me the importance of convention and foundation,” he says, “but also showed me how easily tradition can become a creative cage. With Mrs. Marquise, I wanted to break down those boundaries and move beyond predictability.”

I feel that what emerged is a brand liberated from tradition yet steeped in India’s esteemed jewellery heritage that celebrates individuality, proportion and freedom of expression. Iconic silhouettes are pared back to their essence, including ear cuffs, a staple of Indian adornment, that wind sinuously up the ear, free of ornate detailing. A chain of rose-cut diamonds, arranged in contrasting shapes, brings new relevance to a centuries-old favourite. And the peacock, the national bird of India, is revisited as a sculptural, multi-dimensional motif.

Each piece retains the exquisite intricacy, meticulous workmanship and commanding gemstones that distinguish the finest Indian jewellery, reborn in strikingly modern silhouettes. “True luxury,” says Aashray, “lies in originality, not conformity”.

For Mrs. Marquise, that originality often begins with experimentation. The duo’s fascination with unusual gemstone cuts, including shields, tulips and crescents, reveals a desire to push the boundaries of what Indian jewellery can look like. “We love working with unconventional cuts,” Aashray explains. “Our favourite is probably the briolette. We use it often in a range of colours, from icy whites and champagne tones to deep yellows and browns. Unlike traditional free-hanging briolettes, we often use them in our signature honeycomb setting, creating a mosaic-like texture that catches light from every angle.”

That textural, tactile interplay of shape and light will continue in their next chapter: the unveiling of the house’s Prêt collection. “It carries the same design DNA as our couture pieces—clean geometry, distinctive colour stories and striking silhouettes—translated into more wearable formats,” says Aashray. “The idea is to make the Mrs. Marquise aesthetic accessible without diluting its essence.

What I love about Mrs. Marquise is how instinctively it bridges worlds. The pieces feel unmistakably Indian in their detail and craftsmanship, yet they speak an entirely global design language—confident, architectural and deeply individual. Indian jewellery has a rich tradition spanning over 5,000 years, and it’s inspiring to see a new generation build on that foundation while opening it up to fresh perspectives and possibilities.