My Mangalsutra, My Way
Once only a symbol of marital status, the mangalsutra is reimagined in natural diamonds for women who choose meaning over mandate. Today’s modern version champions real diamonds, and can be worn with a sari or a slip dress
I never imagined I’d wear my mangalsutra with a slip dress. But there it was — delicate, minimal, unmistakably mine. The natural diamonds caught the light just enough to make a statement, though not the one tradition expected. This wasn’t about broadcasting my marriage. This was about choosing how I carry meaning.
Growing up, I saw mangalsutras as weighty heirlooms — long gold chains beaded with black and dominantly gold, delicately peppered with diamonds and worn like a badge. The mangalsutra has been deeply rooted in rituals, signifying the sacred bond of marriage, believed to protect the husband and mark the wife’s marital status. In every wedding I attended, tying the mangalsutra around the bride’s neck was the moment. Cameras flashed. Tears flowed. Tradition stood tall.
And yet, for many women, the mangalsutra wasn’t a piece they wore with pride — it was duty, not desire. Bulky and ornate, it clashed with contemporary wardrobes. Most stayed locked away, gathering dust, only emerging like chicken biryani at family functions — never with jeans, never in boardrooms, never on coffee dates. It felt less like a symbol of love, and more like a marker of role and expectation. But somewhere along the way, that narrative began to shift. Or maybe we began to rewrite it.
Redefinition, Not Rebellion
When I got married this February, I knew one thing: I wasn’t signing up for a mangalsutra that only saw the light of day at poojas. I’m Sindhi, which basically means real diamonds are part of life’s starter kit and ’just’ gold’s never been my thing. My mangalsutra wasn’t going to be an exception. If I was going to wear something every day, it needed to feel like me: understated, stylish, and strong enough to grow with me through the years.
Natural diamonds being the hero of my mangalsutra made sense. They’re timeless, like a good Bollywood chorus and built to last, like a Sindhi’s value dream. They hold emotion too — like that one diamond kada passed down from your dadi that everyone pretends not to fight over but secretly wants.
Of course, you can imagine the mental prep I did before bringing it up with my Gujarati mother-in-law, a woman who loves her gold. But to my surprise, she was completely on board.
“She knew that the best mangalsutra is one you’ll actually wear. For me, that had to be with real diamonds”
So off we went, my fiancé, his mom, and I, to my family jeweller. Thanks to my endless scrolls on Pinterest, I already knew what I wanted— a short, fine gold chain with three delicate black beads on either side, framing a Toi et Moi pendant set in natural diamonds.
Two shapes, side by side symbolising two souls, two stories, coming together. No frills. No boring gold flowers from the ‘90s. Just a quiet nod to tradition — reimagined with meaning that only diamonds could lend.
The Mangalsutra’s Natural Diamond Glow Up
I see more women doing the same; taking this age-old symbol and restyling it in a way that feels true to them today. My best friend, Simran Mehta, works in an ice-cream start up in Mumbai, and got married just ten days apart from me. Our mangalsutras couldn’t have been more different in design, and that was the point. While I kept the black beads flanking my pendant as a nod to tradition, she chose to tuck hers near the clasp, almost hidden, like a private wink to her marriage. Her pendant? A delicate emerald-shaped setting of diamonds — soft, minimal, entirely her.
The designs were each our own, but what bound them all was natural diamonds. Real, timeless, and deeply personal, it felt like the perfect material to carry the meaning of a mangalsutra. With natural diamonds, our style, and our love stories, could take any shape we chose. We knew this was a piece we’d reach for at brunch, not just for bhajans.
The modern mangalsutra is slowly becoming a mainstay in the everyday jewellery wardrobe, and natural diamonds have everything to do with it. They bring a quiet luxury to the piece, and make it feel like second skin. Today’s versions are shorter, sleeker, effortlessly wearable with delicate diamond pendants, and attached with meaning. They sit close to the collarbone, layering easily with other chains or pendants — less heirloom, more everyday essential. The black beads remain, like subtle anchors to where it all began. But the rest? That’s entirely up to you.
I’ve come to love how this piece, once rigid in its expectations, has become fluid in its expression.
Anchored with diamonds at its heart, my modern mangalsutra has one clear message— you can respect the past, dress for the present and invest in emotional currency for the future.
Today, don’t wear my mangalsutra because I have to. I wear it because I chose to. And that difference, to me, is everything.
