Confessions of a Diamond Jeweller

“Most jeweller meets are vegetarian events. A recent one had delegates from the US and Russia too, but it was still vegetarian”

The jeweller community is dominated by Gujaratis and Sindhis at the manufacturing level. The brokers include Punjabis. At the retail level, all communities are involved, but curiously I haven’t come across a south Indian.

Most jeweller meets are vegetarian events. At the recent International Diamond Conference in Mumbai, there were delegates from the US, Zimbabwe, Russia and Belgium too, but the meals were still vegetarian.

My family has been in this line for three generations. I find that my father has a higher threshold for bargaining. The generational differences show up in customers too. Earlier, my father would show a client 20 designs and he would pick one. Now you can show someone more than a hundred designs, and he would still be unsatisfied.

Clients expect us to give discounts, and there is also the fear of being cheated about the actual value of precious metals. But in my short professional life, a client has cheated me. We delivered his product, but all his cheques bounced and he lives in another city.

October to December is a good season for us. Dusshera and Diwali is the season for selling precious metals, and weddings are better for diamonds and gems.

People are often surprised that I have an interest in films and music. They expect me to be boring and loaded. But that isn’t true. Our profit margins have considerably reduced over time.

Since I joined the diamond jewellery business three years ago, the price of gold has almost doubled, while that of diamonds has risen by only 10 to 15 per cent. When people look at investing in diamonds, they should keep that in mind.

(After completing his jewellery design course in the US three years ago, he began working in his family business)

As told to Shubhangi Swarup

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