How These Young Indian Women Entrepreneurs are Disrupting the Jewellery Space With the increase in High-Quality Investors (HQIs) courting the sector, young women jewellery designers have taken to entrepreneurship to seize opportunities in market

Gone are the days when gold and silver was the only choice of women for adorning jewellery in India. A vibrant change in the lifestyle of people has now shifted the entire focus of consumers to the modern jewellery which is all about gemstones and exquisite designs.

Taking a note of the rising demand for gemstone jewellery, the jewellery designers in India have now taken to entrepreneurship to seize the opportunities in the industry. Already a home to more than 5 lakh players, Indian gems and jewellery sector is the second largest exporter in the world, which is now being encouraged by a stellar line of investors.

With a lot of High-Quality Investors (HQIs) courting the sector, young women jewellery designers are experimenting with their designs in the market.

Mumbai-based Leshna Shah is one of those leading designers who is disrupting this space. After completing her graduation in Gemology in New York, when Shah came back to India she saw a huge gap in the demand and distribution in the gemstone jewellery. This is what induced Shah to embark on her entrepreneurial journey and she launched Aurelle, one of India's leading jewellery marketplaces.

"Gemstones have always been my fascination and I decided to take it further," said Shah.

To put Awadhi Jewellery on the map of Indian jewellery market, Tanya Rastogi from Lala Jugal Kishore Jewellers launched her latest collection to woo consumers with her innovative designs.

Similarly, when Prakshi Sharma completed her graduation from Fashion Institute of Technology, she was passionate about starting up a jewellery brand; and on April 13, she launched Prakshi Fine Jewellery. "I was assertive of my own line of jewels," said Sharma.

Entrepreneur India had a chat with a few young women entrepreneurs to know about their journey and how are they aim to leave behind a glittering trail regionally, nationally and globally.

The idea of Designing is the Major Differentiator

Drawing an inspiration from her personal experiences, Shah explained about how she aims to design multifunctional pieces which can be paired up with different kinds of looks. "My idea of design has changed with the taste of the modern woman. The idea is to design a piece that can be worn on the red carpet as well as with casual work clothes," said Shah.

Prakshi Fine Jewellery took just three years to break even and ever since then it has grown by leaps and bounds. "We expect a better growth in the coming five years. We can see the Indian market maturing for designer jewellery," said Sharma

When Sharma was asked what differentiates her brand in the market, she marked her exclusive collection of designs that serves casual luxury space in Indian jewellery market.

On the other hand, Tanya Rastogi, a designer and entrepreneur from Lucknow's Lala Jugal Kishore Jewellery said she wanted to restore the vintage collection of the Mughals and Nawabs for her target market, which is not differentiated on the basis of age group. "My idea of collection if for all age groups of women who are fond of jewellery," said Rastogi.

The trick to Overcome Challenges in the Jewellery Space

Setting up a business has its own set of challenges. From getting a good team in place to understanding the pulse of the market, there are hundreds of challenges come in your way. Talking about challenges in the industry, Shah said finding reliable vendors and parties who can provide high-quality raw materials is the most difficult task.

"The business needs its own trusted set of vendors and parties that are reliable and provide you with high-quality raw material and service," said Shah.

She added that the best way to find reliable sources is to research and do groundwork on your own. "Unless you're not convinced yourself about the quality of stones being used in business, how will you go a long way," said Shah.

Finding the right craftsmen who understand your design language is also one of the major challenges, said Sharma, who started up her own line of jewellery without any corporate experience. She added that an entrepreneur should never oversee this challenge and get the demo work done by the artisans based on her designs.

Scaling Globally

The company which was funded by Sharma's family at its initial stages is now expanding its business globally. In about four years of the launch, Prakshi Fine Jewellery has made its presence felt in the Middle Eastern countries. The company is also planning to expand now in the western countries.

When Shah was asked about her jewellery line's expansion, she said the brand is looking at an international expansion with target markets such as Dubai, UK and Hongkong.