Meet 5 women entrepreneurs whose passion for jewellery shines through successful businesses
Traditional and fashion jewellery is big business and women entrepreneurs are cashing in on this trend. Meet a few of them who stand out by innovating according to what the market wants.
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The gems and jewellery industry in India is one of the largest in the world, contributing 20 percent to global jewellery consumption. The jewellery industry has never lacked lustre in the country with it being an inherent part of the tradition. Women not only buy gold but also invest heavily in fashion jewellery that is soon becoming the most preferred choice for daily wear.
A number of women entrepreneurs are ruling the roost in the jewellery industry in India, constantly innovating in terms of gems, designs, colours, and cuts.
Both traditional and fashion jewellery is big business and women entrepreneurs are cashing in on this trend. Meet a few of them who stand out by innovating according to what the market wants.
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Women entrepreneurs in the jewellery business - Saroja Yeramilli, Anam Patel, Radhika Jain and Garima Singh
Pretios by Dwiti Bhuwalka
Pretios is a jewellery brand launched by Dwiti Bhuwalka, who comes from a family of jewellers in the field for over a hundred years. After a conventional academic route comprising a BCom Honours and an MBA, she also underwent professional training in diamond grading and assortment, followed by a jewellery designing course from JPDC, Delhi. She has always been attracted by colours, cuts, and gems since childhood.
After marriage and a move to Kolkata, Dwiti launched her own brand Pretios – affordable handcrafted silver jewellery with contemporary designs. Her brief is elegance and delicacy, and she achieves this by working in tandem with the materials she uses.
Each handcrafted piece, she says, becomes a treasured keepsake and is also scratch-resistant, non-tarnish, and hypoallergenic. The collection of silver handcrafted jewellery also incorporates Swarovski Zirconia, silver polki, and pearls. She retails from her flagship store in Kolkata.
BlingVine by Garima Singh
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What started off as an MBA internship project in 2016 by Garima Singh has now grown into a popular online fashion jewellery brand. Based out of Hong Kong with its Indian counterpart in Chandigarh, high quality stones like Swarovski elements, Austrian crystals, sea shell elements and other less common elements are used in making BlingVine jewellery to give it a luxurious and exquisite look.
It includes high quality imitation jewellery, mainly necklace sets, earrings, bracelets, and long necklaces. BlingVine offers really high-quality polishing and finishing in all the jewellery pieces.
Most of the jewellery is 18K gold plated with smooth finish all over, including the non-visible parts of it. BlingVine is planning to get into traditional jewellery market soon. BlingVine hopes to hit a revenue of Rs 50 crore by 2019.
Anomaly by Anam
Anomaly by Anam is a contemporary fashion jewellery brand created by Anam Patel in 2016. Though the designer has a background in marketing and hospitality, she has no previous experience or guidance in the jewellery industry.
However, with just her passion, she took a leap of faith with Anomaly by Anam. She takes inspiration from history, world culture, and music and considers her father and Alexander McQueen as her idols. Her designs are bold, experimental, distinctive, and expressive and aspire to empower the wearer to make a statement wherever they go.
It claims to be the only jewellery brand in the country to create a new type of body jewellery, called 'Shin Harnesses'. Each piece is designed in-house and handcrafted using the finest metal alloys and semi-precious stones.
MiRA by Radhika Jain
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MiRA (pronounced “my-ra”), the brainchild of Kolkata-based designer Radhika Jain, has been creating waves for the past eight years in the field of fashion accessories and silver artefacts. Her collection has over 15 colours, styles, and textures.
Radhika’s unique fine jewellery combines complex shapes and undulating pattern with precious and semi-precious stones. Her award-winning designs echo the natural surroundings of her youth and focus on movement, texture, and colour. She also engages in custom work and provides consulting and design services.
The designs, she says, are meant for the women who are modern but at the same time deeply connected and appreciative of their roots and culture. Her flagship store is in Kolkata.
Melorra by Saroja Yeramilli
Saroja Yeramilli founded Melorra, a fashion inspired jewellery brand in 2016. It aims to create fashion-forward jewellery to meet the changing wardrobe of the Indian woman. A seasoned professional with 20 years of diverse experience in building successful brands in India and the US, Saroja has built Melorra as a leading player that is changing the landscape of fine jewellery for the current generation.
Melorra’s styles are curated under casual, work and party wear, motifs, colours, patterns, and textures. All the gold jewellery is hallmarked and all the diamonds are SGL, IGI, and DGLA certified.
(Edited by Evelyn Ratnakumar)
