India, Chennai, Sep 19, 2025: Meenu Subbiah, a luxury designer jewellery brand from Chennai, rooted in Chettinad heritage and celebrated for its rare in-house craftsmanship, today unveiled “Pettagam”, India’s first private museum on Chettinad jewellery, in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu.
Every Chettiar (the business community in Tamil Nadu) home is said to have a “Pettagam”, a traditional wooden chest or strongbox used to store the family’s valuables. Karaikudi, which is undeniably the cultural and architectural heart of the Chettinad region, will now have a “Pettagam” that has been born of a dream to immortalize the glittering legacy of Chettinad Jewellery.
History tells us that the Nagarathars or Chettiars were fearless traders who crossed the oceans in pursuit of opportunity. And while doing so, they brought the world back home with them. The Nagarathars’ influence across the oceans was so widespread, that they were even specially invited to Queen Victoria’s coronation. Consequently, from weaving European flavours into their cuisine to incorporating Art Deco elegance into their jewellery, the Nagarathars blended global influences into their rich traditions. Rooted in this legacy, Pettagam unfolds as a space that celebrates the global journey of the Nagarathars and how echoes of the past come alive in the Chettinad aesthetic of today.
Built as a typical Chettinad edifice and spread across two floors, Pettagam takes the visitor through a multi-media journey showcasing the quintessence of Chettinad jewellery. The journey begins by tracing the origins of Chettinad jewellery, its regional motifs, and craftsmanship that has evolved over five generations. This leads into a theatre space where a short film draws visitors into the world of diamonds, intricate designs, and the hum of skilled hands practicing age-old techniques. Pettagam spotlights the dying art of traditional close setting, a meticulous technique used in less than 10% of traditional jewellery worldwide.
The second floor showcases three distinct genres of jewellery: authentic Chettinad ornaments, exquisite reimagining of regional artistry from various states of India, and sleek yet statement-making modern designs. On this floor of Pettagam, classic kandacharams, poocharams, and mullaicharams from Chettinad are juxtaposed with incredible adaptations of the rich Kasumala of Kerala, the attractive Arakku temple jewellery of the Chola and Pandya kings, the intricate Jali wrist adornments from the Mughal era and the opulent Kundan necklaces from the royal courts of Rajasthan. And then there is jewellery that makes seemingly impossible demands on the technology used to create it—in this section of the museum, modernity takes over.
Speaking on the occasion of the launch, Meenu Subbiah, said, “I’ve been studying traditional Chettinad jewellery for the last 20 years—talking to elders in the community, looking for references in literature, in music, sifting through hundreds of sepia-toned photographs of impeccably dressed Aachis (Chettiar women) adorning sparkling diamonds. And the idea of Pettagam was born along the way; I felt the strong desire and need to archive Chettinad’s rich and layered jewellery heritage. Every region in our country has beautiful ancestral legacy in jewellery. These legacies deserve to be protected, preserved. Pettagam is a humble effort in that direction as well. And finally, Pettagam also holds a mirror to the future of jewellery wherein technology offers limitless designing possibilities.
After 3 decades of pursuing authenticity in our design journey, the launch of Pettagam at this year’s Chettinad Festival feels like a true homecoming.”
Pettagam is designed as a private museum on SRM Street in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu. Guests can visit by making an appointment via email or phone: [email protected] / +91 95665 03736.
About Meenu Subbiah – The Designer:
Meenu Subbiah was one of South India’s first few Graduate Diamonds from GIA-USA. Meenu blends Chettinad heritage with modern design, preserving traditional craftsmanship while creating pieces that are both intimate and effortlessly luxurious. She experiments with rare cuts like portrait and pie cuts and works with a rich palette of gemstones including rubies, emeralds, sapphires, tourmalines and more.
Meenu Subbiah – The Brand:
At a time when most jewellery brands source readymade pieces and focus mainly on retail, Meenu Subbiah is holding on to something rare. Across their outlets in Chennai, Coimbatore, Karaikudi, Trichy, and the US, known in the name of Meenu Subbiah Diamonds for the last three decades, every piece of jewellery has been designed and manufactured in-house.
Founded by Meenu Subbiah along with her father SM Subbiah in 1993, this brand stands apart owing to its deep-rooted connection to the Chettinad aesthetic and expertise in Chettinad jewellery. The brand is also one of the few globally that still practices the dying art of traditional close setting, a meticulous technique used in less than 10% of traditional jewellery worldwide. Their artisans come from a lineage of illustrious craftsmen committed to protecting the traditional techniques of their region, carrying a legacy of a thousand years of craftsmanship. Today, Meenu Subbiah caters not just to India, but also to clients across Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai, the US and UK.
For more details, please visit: www.meenusubbiah.luxe (corporate) and www.msdjewels.com (online store).
