Jewellery is the soul of Indian cultural identity. Weddings and festivals are incomplete without jewellery purchase and it finds usage in daily life as well. This has propelled the Indian jewellery industry to the top globally, accounting for a 24.21% share of the total global market.
While traditional retail contributes 85% to the overall jewellery sales in India, online marketplaces are piggybacking on the digital boom to create a niche for themselves in the segment.
Besides the digital penetration, the demand for online jewellery products has also been growing on the back of rising urbanisation, need for novel and customised products, rising disposable incomes, evolving fashion preferences, cultural significance, among others.
Notwithstanding the legacy players, which too have been actively expanding their online presence to meet this demand, several Indian D2C jewellery startups have emerged over the past decade or so.
According to a report, the Indian online jewellery market is expected to grow to a size of $3.7 Bn by 2025. So, what is driving this boom? The shift towards online sales channels, especially after the pandemic, has been led by factors such as convenience, variety of options, and competitive pricing on ecommerce platforms.
While Indians have always had a penchant for gold and diamond, other segments such as daily wear and fashion jewellery are also seeing rapid adoption among masses in recent times.
With Dhanteras, Diwali, and the upcoming wedding season, this demand will get further boost. As such, we have compiled this list of the Indian startups shining in the Indian jewellery landscape.
Editor’s Note: This is neither an exhaustive list nor a ranking of any kind. We have listed the startups alphabetically.
D2C Jewellery Startups Shining Brightly
BlueStone
Founded in 2011, BlueStone is a Bengaluru-based omnichannel jewellery retailer that claims to offer more than 8,000 diverse designs. It offers products across a host of categories like rings, pendants, and earrings.
The company counts the likes of Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath, Manipal Group’s Ranjan Pai, Cardekho Group’s Amit Jain, Zomato’s Deepinder Goyal, among others, as its investors.
While the company is reportedly eyeing a public listing by the second quarter of next year, it bagged INR 900 Cr in a funding round in August, which catapulted its valuation to $970 Mn. The round saw participation from Peak XV Partners, Prosus, Steadview Capital, Think Investments, and Pratithi Investments through a primary and secondary share sale.
Overall, BlueStone has raised a total funding of over $219 Mn to date.
On the financial front, the company managed to trim its loss by almost 15% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 142.2 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). Operating revenue surpassed the INR 1,000 Cr mark and stood at INR 1,265.8 Cr. It recorded a net loss of INR 167.2 Cr in FY23 on an operating revenue of INR 770.7 Cr.
GIVA
Founded in 2019 by Ishendra Agarwal, Nikita Prasad, and Sachin Shetty, GIVA is a Bengaluru-based fine jewellery brand specialising in authentic 925 fine silver jewellery. It also sells 14K and 18K gold and lab-grown diamond jewellery.
Earlier this month, the startup raised INR 255 Cr ($30.3 Mn) in a mix of primary and secondary transactions as part of its extended Series B funding round from Premji Invest, Epiq Capital, and Edelweiss Discover Fund. The latest funding took GIVA’s total funding in the Series B round to INR 525 Cr, following a previous raise of INR 270 Cr in July 2023.
The startup surpassed the INR 100 Cr operating revenue mark in the financial year ended March 31, 2023. Revenue surged 97% to INR 165 Cr in FY23 from INR 84 Cr in the previous fiscal year. However, its net loss rose 138% to INR 45.2 Cr during the year under review from INR 19 Cr in FY22.
Kushal’s
Founded in 2006 by Kushal Menghar and Manish Gulechha, Kaushal’s is a Motilal Oswal-backed fashion and jewellery brand offering antique ornament alternatives for various occasions.
It is an omnichannel brand, with offline presence across more than 25 cities, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Indore, Chandigarh, among others. Besides its website, its products are available across ecommerce channels like Myntra, Amazon, AJIO, among others.
In February this year, Kushal’s raised INR 284 Cr (around $34 Mn) in its Series B funding round from Lighthouse’s fourth alternative investment fund (AIF). The round also comprised a secondary transaction, providing partial exit to its first institutional investor India SME Investments, which invested INR 15 Cr ($1.8 Mn+) in 2019.
Metaman
Founded in 2022 by Anil Shetty, Raunak Samdaria, and Yudister Narayan, Metaman is a men’s jewellery startup backed by the likes of Suniel Shetty, Nikhil Kamath, Prashanth Prakash, Gaurav Singh Kushwaha, KL Rahul, and Robin Uthappa.
It sells bracelets, pendants, chains, and rings, with prices starting from INR 1,999. In August this year, Metaman raised additional funding from cricketer and existing investor KL Rahul to launch its perfume range.
Last year, the startup acquired hip-hop luxury jewellery brand Drip Project for $1 Mn to strengthen its presence in the growing Indian online men’s jewellery market.
Pipa Bella
Founded by Shuchi Pandya in 2013, Pipa Bella is a fashion jewellery and accessories brand. It offers various types of bracelets, rings, pendants, among others. Pipa Bella was acquired by Nykaa in 2021 to capture the growing market for contemporary fashion jewellery in India.
Besides its own website, it sells its products via ecommerce platforms such as Myntra, Amazon, and international sites like Lazada and Zalora.
Prior to its acquisition, the startup secured $1 Mn in a funding round from Fireside Ventures and other investors in 2021.
Pulmonas
Founded by Pallavi Mohadikar and Amol Patwari in 2021, Palmonas is a demi-fine jewellery brand for women that offers a range of contemporary options for daily and occasion wear. Demi-fine, generally, means affordable but premium quality jewellery.
The brand offers a range of jewellery options, including necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings, and mangalsutras, priced between INR 800 and INR 5,500. Its products are sold with a one-year warranty.
Earlier this year, the startup roped in Bollywood actor Shraddha Kapoor as its new cofounder.
Sukkhi
Founded in 2012 by Bhavesh Navlakha, and Prashant Gupta, Sukkhi is an omnichannel brand that designs and sells a diverse range of jewellery collections for men and women. It sells its product across ecommerce marketplaces as well as its own website. Besides, it has its retail outlets, shop-in-shops and kiosks across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Indore, among others.
Its product offerings include necklaces, bangles, earrings, rings, among others. It claims to have a customer base of 15 Lakh and offers over 10K exclusive designs.
Sukkhi raised $7 Mn in funding from private equity fund manager Carpediem Capital and Delhi-based Duane Park in 2018. Going ahead, the startup plans to establish around 300 stores across various cities in India.
Trisu
Founded by Saloni Chopra in 2023, Trisu is a fashion accessories brand offering gold vermeil jewellery with 18-karat gold plating on silver. The brand aims to provide affordable gold alternatives for customers aged 30-60.
It raised an undisclosed amount of funding in September from All In Capital, JK Tyres, and Amaanta Group, aimed at customer acquisition, product innovation, and market expansion.
The startup then claimed that it has achieved 24X growth within eight months of commencing operations. It said it was aiming to generate $1 Mn in monthly recurring revenue by 2025 and open 10 shop-in-shops and five exclusive outlets in the next two years.
Voylla
Founded in 2011 by Vishwas Shringi and Jagrati Shringi, Voylla is a Jaipur-based fashion jewellery startup. It is an omnichannel brand with a presence across multiple online channels and 250 offline stores across India. Its product offerings include necklaces, bangles, earrings, rings, and accessories.
It sells its products through its app, website, offline channels, and marketplaces like Flipkart, Amazon, and Myntra, among others.
Although it started with women’s jewellery, Voylla later ventured into men’s jewellery space in 2015. In the same year, it raised $15 Mn from private equity firm Peepul Capital.
Zariin
Founded in 2010 by sisters Vidhi and Mamta Gupta, Zariin is an omnichannel jewellery brand offering products across categories like necklaces, earrings, rings, and bracelets. It offers a lifetime warranty on its gold plating, allowing customers to have their jewellery re-plated free of charge.
It claims to sell products in over 21 countries and 200 stores worldwide. In India, it sells its products via marketplaces like Nykaa Fashion and Myntra.
The brand has been adorned by celebrities like Sonam Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Nargis Fakri, Soha Ali Khan, Kalki Koechlin, among others.
