She’s Instagram’s favourite jeweller, but who is Anu Merton?

Scrolling through jewellery designer Anu Merton’s Instagram feed to find out more about her is like treasure hunting through a pile of gemstones. Scattered amongst the images of a new polki haar or a pair of gold-plated jhumkas that have just dropped on her eponymous brand’s site, you get brief glimpses of the Bengaluru- and Jaipur-based creative. She’s there wearing the haar, hiding behind her phone, or that might be her Saint Laurent raffia bag in a video showcasing a new glass bangle. A recent obsession with velvet juttis is clear from how many have popped up on the feed in the last few months, and a pair of emerald-green Manolo Blahniks (a treat to herself to celebrate the brand’s success) make a frequent appearance in the flatlay shots. Another video gives us a glimpse of a Tom Ford perfume and an Elizabeth Arden lip tint tucked inside an animal-print Jimmy Choo bucket bag.

“I don’t really dress for the internet or for a photo,” says the 40-year-old. “There’s a saying about how ‘we don’t see the world as it is, we see it as we are’, which I think means that as you get older, you start seeing things from your own point of view even more. You’re less dependent on external validation, on what other people think.”

Yet this anti-perfection, so-casual-it’s-cool approach to social media is carefully thought-out. The mood-board-like visuals that build her world, tell its story, are a result of her time working in retail as a fashion stylist and creative director before she started the Anu Merton brand in late 2019. Most importantly, all of it is a reflection of her own personal style—deeply inspired by India yet a little irreverent, subtly sexy, almost like a louche Mughal royal who, like her, is happy to wear a jewel-encrusted choker with a sheer white kurta. Simple, casual, and very aspirational.

For Merton, beautiful things are to be cherished everyday, not locked up and reserved for a special occasion. “I’m pretty shameless. I’m that person who is happy to wear a nice chiffon sari and Indian jewellery to a club,” she says, following that up by recommending a Jaipur-based brand called Naila Heirloom Textiles for the aforementioned saris and velvet juttis. Not just a night club; last year, for her British brother-in-law’s wedding in London, she eschewed the typical cocktail dress for a tissue silk sari, worn with a fur stole and a full trousseau worth of bling—pearl and diamond sath lada and choker, a big nose ring, maang tikka, bangles, and rings. “I don’t feel the need to tone down my Indian-ness. And it can actually be quite fun because, apart from showing off your country and its craftsmanship, it also starts some very interesting conversations.”

Even during our Zoom call—me in Mumbai, Merton in Bengaluru—her accessory game is on point. From the 6x4-inch screen I can see that she’s wearing a plain white T-shirt over jeans (both Zara, for those who want to know), but on her hands there are stacks of bangles and a few rings. Chunky Ray-Ban glasses frame her face, and a colourful Zara scarf is rakishly knotted around her neck. She’s a firm believer in the power of a good white tee. “I usually like mine a bit loose, so I would choose a size up, say a Large or an XL, and I might cut the sleeves or the length. At one point I would wear a lot of beautiful zardozi dupattas as skirts. Maybe tie one like a sarong, add a high-waist belt and a white T-shirt. These old zardozi things were so beautiful and I just wanted to wear them more often.”

But Merton’s approach to India-modern dressing is far from kitsch. “I prefer neutral colours—camel, nude, brown, a dusty rose, or white. I love bare skin and these colours sort of merge with that. The clothes become a canvas. Then the metallics, say jewellery, are the fun bits that I would layer on top. That’s why I would never get a tattoo,” she says.

Her jewellery is mostly crafted between Jaipur, Jodhpur or Patna, Bihar, where her family is from, although Merton grew up around the country and attended Welham Girls’ School in Dehradun. “My father used to get transferred a lot. He was posted around Bihar, the northeast… Staying in smaller towns or cities, seeing India in its raw state, really opens your mind and gives you a different sensibility. I think that’s why when I dress I always try and have an element that is very Indian. It can be a block print, a type of embroidery, a dupatta or a Kolhapuri slipper.”

Beyond her own jewellery, Merton does admit she has a weakness for accessories. Think Bottega Veneta, Prada or Saint Laurent bags, and lots of shoes. “Just two weeks ago I bought those really high Chloe wedges from last season. I can’t wait to wear them all summer and look six inches taller than I am,” she says. And if there’s any indication that her marriage started on the right note, it’s that her husband, Ben Merton, first proposed to her 13 years ago with a pair of shoes. “We were roaming around Notting Hill [London] and entered a store—I think it was Kurt Geiger. He came towards me with this a pair of black high heels with spikes—they were very cool—and he said, ‘Will you marry me?’” So, does every anniversary come with a new pair of heels? “Recently we were in the same neighbourhood and he asked if we should go back to the store. I suggested we try Manolo Blahnik instead!”