Meet India's six diamond kings: Nirav Modi, Mavji Bhai Patel, Mehul Choksi, Dharmesh Shah, Ashok Gajera & Russell Mehta
(India’s diamond…)
India's diamond kings-the biggest players in the Rs 70,000 crore diamond industry-are relatively as obscure as their products are glittering. The six diamantaires profiled here are India's largest and the most aggressive. And a motley bunch too: from Nirav Modi, who started his creative journey by designing an earring for a friend, to Mavji Bhai Patel, who became India's biggest diamond exporter, vehemently shunning the idea of "individual success story"; from Mehul Choksi, who began his career in diamonds and jewellery as a teenager and conquered the peaks of branding, to Dharmesh Shah, who simply wants to double his turnover every five years.
From Ashok Gajera, who treats every diamond like a piece of canvas, to Russell Mehta, who believes trust is hard to build but even harder to maintain. They are entrepreneurs who are the real force of a local industry that's already a global major in the $160 billion fine jewellery. And each of these stories straddle the world's diamond hearts: from the dust lands of Surat to the Belgian city of Antwerp to New York City's glittering showrooms.
Nirav Modi
Firestar Diamonds
Born into an Antwerp-based diamantaire family, Nirav Modi was sent as a 19-year-old to Mumbai to learn the ropes from his maternal uncle Mehul Choksi, chairman of Gitanjali Gems. A decade in sales later, in 1999, Modi decided to step out from the shadow of his family.
"Being naive was my greatest strength," says Modi, whose siblings eventually joined the company. He had just one business mantra—find the large opportunity with a big moat around it.
Thus began the global search for the finest and rarest diamonds. Aided by his youngest brother Neeshal, Modi began buying yellow diamonds from Sierra Leone, white stones from Russia and Armenia, and pink diamonds from Argyle, the company's only Indian customer.
"We see diamonds as more than luxury. Like a house, they appreciate in value and are passed on to the next generation," says the 41-year-old. Around 2005, Firestar acquired a company in New York with a jewellery sales network. In 2007, it acquired Sandberg & Sikorski, a US company that had the concession to jewellery to shops in all defence bases. "We now sell jewellery worth $million annually to the largest armed force in the world,'' he says.
In 2009, when the global economy, and the luxury market, were in meltdown mode, Modi took the gamble of setting up seven manufacturing units in six countries, including Armenia and Russia, where he is the only Indian player.
The next niche opportunity arrived in 2010 when his Golconda Lotus necklace in a cut, patented by Modi, was auctioned at Christies's for Rs 16 crore. Since then Modi sends a few pieces to each of the 16 auctions held annually by Christie's and Sotheby in Geneva, Hong Kong and New York.
Designing a pair of earrings for a friend helped Modi discover the artist in him and 'Nirav Modi' the brand was born. Modi, who says he can't hold a pen, shares his ideas with an in-house design team who work on them till he is satisfied. "I wanted to be a music conductor as a child. This could be a manifestation of that same urge," says the maverick designer, who loves the poems of Robert Frost and has David Ogilvy's 'Confessions of an Ad Man,' and the Gita on his bedside.
What lies ahead? Two Nirav Modi signature stores in Delhi and Mumbai will be opened this year. "Ultimately everyday is a challenge because prices, people and lawa are all continuously changing. My biggest success has yet to come," says Modi.
Mavji Bhai Patel
Kiran Gems Pvt Ltd
In a family-driven industry where your name is your business card, managing director Mavji Bhai Patel is refreshingly free from tradition."My father was cotton farmer living in a village of 500 people in Gujarat's Bhavnagar district. We are first-generation entrepreneurs," he says. With some seed capital from his father, Mavji's eldest brother and chairman, Vallabhbhai S Patel, shifted to Mumbai and set up the company in 1985 where he was soon joined by Mavji, a fresh commerce graduate.
Despite such humble beginnings, Kiran Gems today is India's largest exporter of diamonds and jewellery. It is also the diamond industry's largest employer, with an army of 30,000 craftsmen handling over 5 million carats in rough diamonds each year.
How did an 'outsider' make it so big so fast? "The most important thing is family because the business is all about trust," he says, without the least trace of iony. Nine family members, including his five nephews, handle areas—raw material purchase, manufacturing, marketing and finance, and each has equal importance. "We have no ego factor. We have no individual success story," says Mavji Bhai, who spends his free time on family holidays and Bollywood films. His 18-year-old son is still studying. His daughter is married into another diamond business family.
His most precious memory in business is of the day Kiran Gems gotsightholder status from DeBeers. "It was fantastic,''he recalls. The company is among the largest suppliers of jewellery to stores in the USA, as well as Indian brands like Tanishq, he says. There are no immediate plans to enter the Indian retail market.
Mehul Choksi
Chairman and MD, Gitanjali Group
The 53-year old had a crystalclear goal even in his teens: to become the world's largest luxury player in branded jewellery. Mehul joined the business in 1975 and took over the reins of a Rs 50 crore firm in 1985 after his father Chinubhai Choksi died. Chinhubhai had laid the foundation of the company, which he named Gitanjali after his two daughter—ita and Anjali. "I was attending college during the day and was learning the tricks of the trade from my father in the evening," recounts Choksi.
Initially, trading in rough and polished diamonds formed the core business for Gitanjali, and it was considered one of the biggest exporters of raw diamonds worldwide. This led to Gitanjali entering the international jewellery arena and it gradually started expanding the business. Mehul, who loves yachting on weekends, realised that by selling diamonds as a commodity Gitanjai was not realising its full potential. "This triggered me to launch the Gili brand of jewellery some 18 years ago," says Mehul, who loves Chinese and Mexican food.
Today Gitanjali's product portfolio consists of several brands, including Gili, Nakshatra, Asmi, D'damas, Maya, Diya and Sangini; they are sold through over 4,000 points of sale in multiple retail formats.
Gitanjali enjoys direct access to the US retail market through 111 high-end stores under Samuel Jewelers Inc, acquired by the group in 2006. Popular brands retailed in the US include Love Universe, Passion Stone, Affiance, Lune Dargent and REVV. The company also acquired Italian brands like Valenete, Stefan Hafner, Nouvelle Bague, IO SI and Porrati.
Mehul has a medium-term target: "Within next five years, my target is to achieve a turnover of Rs 50,000 crore."
Dharmesh Shah
Joint MD & CFO, Asian Star Company
Asian Star Company started its journey in 1971 when three cousins Dinesh Shah, Arvind Shah and late Prabodh Shah floated a partnership firm for diamond processing; the compan had a small diamond processing unit in Surat.
The second generation of the Shahs took up the business in 1990. Dharmesh Shah is the joint MD and CFO and his brother Vipul Shah is the MD besides being the chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promot Council. Dharmesh, who is a graduate from Bombay University, says: "Asian Star is now one of the biggest diamantaires. The year 2000 marked the launch of the jewellery manufacturing business of Asian Star."
Dharmesh took up the business when the turnover was around Rs 350 crore; In FY12, that figure stood at Rs 1,835 crore. "Our aim is to double turnover within next five years," he says.
Asian Star plans to consolidate its position in the core business of diamond processing, while exploring further in the jewellery manufacturing business. Asian Star is a B2B company and hence does not promote consumer brands. "But I can proudly aim that 'Asian Star ' is a renowned corporate brand within trade circles," says Dharmesh who loves to read and play cricket.
At 46, Dharmesh is hungry to acquire brands overseas. " As and when opportunity comes we will grab it," he says.
Ashok Gajera
Managing Diractor, Laxmi Diamond
Laxmi Diamond was started 40 years ago by Vasant Gajera, the elder brother of Ashok Gajera. While Vasant stays in Surat, Ashok is based in Mumbai and looks after the sales and marketing.
The company imports rough diamonds, processes and exports polished diamonds to US, Far East, Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia.
Ashok, who joined the company in 1986 after the opening of the firm's office in Mumbai, emphasises that sourcing is the most important thing to become a major player in the industry. It gets regular supplies from mining companies like Rio Tinto, BHP and Diavik Diamond Mines.
"Every piece of diamond is a canvas and cutting diamond or making jewellery is a work of art. Our method of quality control ensures less than 0.25% of rejection rate," says Ashok. The legendary diamond cutter Sir Gabi Tolkowsky is the training consultant of Laxmi Diamond and has trained and sharpened the skills of its workers The company sells diamond jewellery under the brand name Cygnus and has 180 outlets in India. "Every year we have plans to increase the numbers by 10-15%," says Ashok. However, the company is cagey about sharing numbers.
Russell Mehta
Rosy Blue (India)
Belgium-based Rosy Blue, flagship of the Mehta family, is one of the world's largest diamond jewellery companies and owns the retail brand Orra. The privately-owned company began trading as B Arunkumar more than 50 years ago. In 1973, with Dilip Mehta at the helm, Rosy Blue Antwerp began expanding into global distribution and sourcing of diamonds. "The company and the business were started by my father and his maternal uncle in 1960 and were growing in the '80s when I joined," says Russell Mehta, chief operating officer of Rosy Blue India.
Today Rosy Blue consists of two legal entities, one operating in India, Rosy Blue (India), and the other active in the rest of the world, Rosy Blue investments Sarl. All the companies operating within these entities share the Rosy Blue trade name.
"Rosy Blue is a 'family corporation'. We have evolved differently from most diamond companies, which are managed by the core family. We have trained and groomed professionals to take over key job of trading diamonds which I don't think many other companies have done. This allowed us to scale up," says Mehta. Even so, family ties remain crucial. "All diamond trading happens on oral promises and without any written contracts or documents. Also, large part of trading is on 'clean credits'. Hence the family's reputation, roots and heritage are quite important in trading diamonds," says Mehta.
Inter Gold is the jewellery manufacturing arm of Rosy Blue India, and is one of the largest diamond jewellery companies in the world. Orra, Rosy Blue India's retail chain, has over 30 shops. In 2011, Rosy Blue India became a member of the Responsible Jewellery Council that has been established to promote responsible ethical, social and environmental practices, throughout the diamond and/or gold jewellery supply chain, from mine to retail.
Mehta believes the reputation and the trust Rosy Blue and the promoters enjoy among suppliers (diamond miners) and customers (retailers across the world) are its biggest success. "The real challenge is to maintain it," he says.
Source :
Nidhi Nath Srinivas & Sutanuka Ghosal, ET Bureau
