5,000 years in gold: Sabyasachi raids The Met's history for a dazzling new collection

Museum jewels

Sabyasachi Mukherjee has found inspiration far beyond the runway. His new collaboration with New York’s The Met reaches into 5,000 years of art and history, turning ancient objects, sculptures and cultural exchanges into high-jewellery pieces designed as modern heirlooms.

Roman reborn

A third-century Roman marble sarcophagus is taking an unexpected second life—not in stone, but in gold and gemstones. Sabyasachi has transformed its visual language into an 18- and 22-karat gold wrist cuff studded with garnet and tourmaline cabochons.

Tiger returns

One necklace reaches back to a 12th-century Italian or Byzantine carved casket, but Sabyasachi gives that history a distinctly dramatic twist. A tiger-claw motif emerges in gold, surrounded by tourmaline, jade and brown diamonds in a collision of ancient references and contemporary luxury.

History glitters

Tourmaline, garnet, jasper, lapis lazuli and jade come together in one of the collection’s standout pendant necklaces. Its unlikely starting point is a Roman funerary relief from Thrace dating to the 2nd-3rd century CE—a centuries-old artefact reimagined as wearable luxury.

Met return

Sabyasachi's relationship with The Met has moved quickly from red carpet to collaboration. After becoming the first Indian fashion designer to walk the Met Gala carpet in 2024, he is now preparing to unveil a jewellery collection with the institution itself this September.