Kashmiri Ghungroo Bangles

Four bangles or eight, and the choice changes the piece more than the price does. Four sit quietly on one wrist. Eight fill the forearm and turn the ghungroo…

Four bangles or eight, and the choice changes the piece more than the price does. Four sit quietly on one wrist. Eight fill the forearm and turn the ghungroo bells from an occasional sound into a constant one.

These are fine gold-plated bangles with clusters of tiny bells hung along them, in the style Kashmiri work is known for. The bells are the whole design. The bangle itself is deliberately plain so nothing competes with the movement.

Ghungroo bangles do something no other jewellery does, which is announce a person before she arrives. That is either the appeal or the reason to buy four instead of eight, depending on the wearer and the room.

Sizes run 2.4, 2.6 and 2.8, chosen over WhatsApp rather than on the page, so the size conversation happens with a person. Worth using rather than guessing, because bangle sizing is unforgiving and a set that will not clear the hand is a set that stays in the box.

Gold plating over brass, so keep them dry and store them away from damp. Bells collect moisture in their seams more than plain metal does.

Wear them with a plain sleeve where the sound has room, or stack them against solid bangles for contrast.