When fashion is rare, it ceases to age. It exits the market and enters a still life, claiming its place across time and space. It enters emotional and symbolic registers that we are only just beginning to measure.
Today, luxury holds a quieter power, its ability to exist beyond function, as emotion, story, and artefact. And the definition of what constitutes an ‘asset’ deemed for investment is dynamic — moving beyond bonds and bags. Echoing this idea is jewellery label Valliyan’s prized pieces which double as objets d’art, crafted to be remembered and archived — to be handed over, not handed down.
Long after leaving the studio, their jewellery still speaks — not just of craft, but of memory, meaning, and the moment it was made. It becomes an asset worthy of investment, appreciating quietly as cultural currency that carries story and style across generations. “I sometimes walk into a party and see someone wearing a piece I designed more than a decade ago and it’s like reviving a memory, it takes me back to that moment,” says Nitya Arora, mixed-media artist and founder of Valliyan. “It reminds me Valliyan is timeless.” That moment, she says, affirms the brand’s enduring relevance. And relevance, when paired with rarity, is how Valliyan has carved out its place — as a label as well as a cultural asset class in its own right.
Founded at a time when India’s luxury jewellery scene was still largely defined by karats and kundan, Valliyan offered something audaciously new: demi-fine pieces that were unapologetically sculptural, self-expressive, maximalist without noise, and nostalgic without mimicry. Drawing from Nitya’s own kaleidoscopic heritage — born in Punjab, raised in Bombay, shaped by global aesthetics, and brought to life through 17 years of collaboration with fourth-generation Bengali karigars — Valliyan’s jewellery holds a cultural richness that can not be manufactured, only lived.
It is this synthesis, of cultural influence, emotional intent, and artistic audacity, that gives Valliyan its collectible charm.
At Valliyan, the jewellery write their own tales — of history and the time yet to come
In a world of endless drops, overproduction, manufactured virality, and algorithmic aesthetics, Valliyan offers something radical: permanence. Their refusal to participate in the churn of fast fashion, combined with a fiercely limited production model, has created what Nitya jokingly calls a “jewellery speakeasy”: a cult following that understands the brand’s philosophy without needing it spelled out. Valliyan’s flagship store in Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda is hard to find. So is its work, often produced in micro-runs. Pop-ups and trunk shows across global cities offer intimate encounters rather than mass exposure. And while the brand has long been beloved by celebrities — Priyanka Chopra, Katy Perry, Kim Kardashian — for them it is never about the placement, but about becoming a part of someone’s visual and emotional vocabulary.
Scarcity, here, is not a strategy. It is the natural cost of creating with care. To make slowly, with artisans who carry generational knowledge in their hands, is to accept that you will never flood the market.
While Valliyan may not be part of the formal resale economy just yet, its potential as a collectible remains palpable. “I often joke with my friends and clients that maybe one day they’ll be able to auction their Valliyan for a lot of money,” Nitya says. With the global rise of archival auctions celebrating cultural artefacts and design-led objects, what Nitya playfully imagines today could well be tomorrow’s reality: Valliyan jewels returning to the spotlight at auctions. Resale value, after all, is built on cultural relevance, scarcity, and recognisability. Valliyan already has the trifecta.
The founder and the asset class she has formed — timeless, bold jewellery
Until then, their lifetime aftercare policy — more a philosophy than a service — tells its own story. “If you come back to us even after 10 years saying ‘I have lost a stone’ or ‘The plating needs to be refreshed’, we will completely repair and refresh the piece and give it back to you as good as new because we want our clients to wear their pieces forever and pass them on to their next generation, like heirlooms.” That’s the quiet assurance of Nitya — a powerful indicator that this is jewellery made to endure, not expire.
With this belief — one that elevates their pieces from commodities to cultural assets — Valliyan is redefining what it means to invest in jewellery. For modern collectors who measure value beyond karats and logos, Valliyan offers what few brands can: an opportunity to hold something whose worth is measured not just in metal or stones, but in its power to carry culture forward. That is the thing about true wealth — it survives the seasons. Financially, culturally, and emotionally.
And that may be the most telling indicator of where luxury is headed: toward meaning, not material; toward soul, not status. In a time when cultural value often outpaces commodity value, Valliyan is building pieces that speak, and sometimes whisper, across time.
Words by Utkarsha Rai
Featured Image by Anush S Kumar
