Four generations,one perfect lustre.
Our Collections
Three ways to wear light
Single strand
Chandni
One uninterrupted line of graduated South Sea pearls, silk-knotted, closed with an 18k clasp cast in-house.
Seven strands
Satlada
The classic Hyderabadi seven-row necklace, reinterpreted at heirloom weight. Made to order over sixteen weeks.
Archive revival
Nizamat
Restorations and re-creations of court-era pieces, built from the house's ninety-year pattern archive.
In 1932, Ghulam Sadaf opened a single counter in the lanes of Pathergatti, grading pearls by candlelight for the last court of the Nizam. The counter is gone. The eye remains.
Craftsmanship
01
Selection
Every pearl is graded by the same lamp the house has used since 1968 — lustre before size, always. Nine of ten candidates are returned.
02
Matching
A strand is a sentence; a mismatched pearl is a wrong word. Matching a Satlada can take a year of waiting for the right stones.
03
Knotting
One silk knot between every pearl, tied by hand. If the strand ever breaks, it loses one pearl — never twelve.
04
Keeping
Every piece returns to us, free, for cleaning and re-stringing. Our ledger holds strands we have serviced for sixty years.
Heritage
Ninety-two years, four generations, one lane in Pathergatti
1932
First counter, Pathergatti. Court grading for the Nizam's jewellers.
1968
Second generation introduces hand-knotted silk stringing, one knot per pearl.
1994
The house begins restoring heirloom Basra strands for old Hyderabadi families.
2024
Fourth generation. Same lanes, same light, same patience.
Popular Questions
We work exclusively in natural South Sea and Basra pearls, graded by hand for lustre before size. Nothing dyed, nothing irradiated.
Yes — every SADAF piece is knotted one pearl at a time, so a break loses one pearl, never twelve. Restoration is free for the life of the strand.
The seven-strand Satlada is made to order over sixteen weeks. Matching the graduated rows to heirloom weight can take longer if we're waiting on the right stones.
Every piece returns to the atelier, free, for cleaning and re-stringing for as long as you own it. Our ledger holds strands we've serviced for sixty years.
Viewings are held at the Pathergatti atelier, by appointment. For travelling families, we can arrange a private showing — write to us to discuss dates.
Atelier
Viewings are private, by appointment, over chai.
The atelier receives two families a day. Bring the strand you inherited; leave with its story, its grading, and — if you wish — its next hundred years.
Request an appointment