Early 1900s
Mukhamal Gokalchand, Chandni Chowk
The family's jewellery making begins in Old Delhi, founded during the British Raj and patronised by the residents of the neighbouring havelis and the merchant elite of Civil Lines.
Early 1950s
Mukhamal Ramnarain Jewellers, Connaught Circus
A branch of the family opens in the now-trendy Connaught Circus, patronised by central and south Delhi's socialites and style icons, and by royalty residing nearby in Lutyens' Delhi.
Early 1980s
Rakesh Khanna opens at Chanakya
The youngest of the family, gifted with a flair for design, sets up a jewellery boutique at the Chanakya Cinema in Chanakyapuri — a tribute to the generations of family jewellers before him. He is soon singled out to represent design at the Festival of India at the Cooper Hewitt Museum, New York, with displays inaugurated by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. He rubbed shoulders with the Duke of Edinburgh, the Maharani of Jaipur, heads of state, and diplomats.
1992
De Beers Diamonds International Award
Rakesh Khanna becomes the first Indian to win the award, sometimes called the "Oscar" of jewellery design — presented by Mrs. Oppenheimer in Tokyo for a diamond cuff-bracelet, and covered as front-page news back home.
2006
The Ashok Hotel Showroom
The flagship showroom of Jewels by Rakesh Khanna opens at the Ashok Hotel in Chanakyapuri — a salon frequented by those with a taste for the finer things in life, and the house's home for the next two decades.
2021
A chapter closes
“In 2021, my father Rakesh Khanna passed away, closing a chapter of this house. What follows is a continuation — the same workshop and design language, now carried under my own name as the sixth generation.”— Nipun Khanna
Today
Jewels by Nipun Khanna
Nipun Khanna leads the house as the sixth generation, now working from the new Defence Colony atelier, designing every piece by hand from first sketch to final setting.
