Shah Luxury is in many ways like the 100-plus other jewelry manufacturers in Mumbai’s Special Economic Zone (SEEPZ). However, the company, which operates in India and New York, differentiates itself from its competitors by applying mass-production technologies from other industries to manufacture, personalize and distribute its jewelry to retailers and consumers.

“We take inspiration from Lyft, Uber, Domino’s, Apple and others,” says Salil Shah, who runs the company with his younger brother Neil. “We want to use technology to democratize the customer experience. You can walk into a Levi’s store and there’s a machine that measures you 20 different ways. Then you get a pair of tailored jeans. Twenty or thirty years ago, that would have been impossible. But technology is bringing these things to the masses. We’re big believers in that.”

Shah Luxury specializes in luxury bridal and fashion jewelry. Brands in the former category include Carizza, Promezza and Carizza Boutique, while luxury fashion collections include LeCirque, Essentials and SL Boutique.

“From the ground up”

The two brothers are able to lead the company’s development despite being practically blind. They owe this to their business training – they both attended prestigious business colleges in the USA – as well as their curiosity about technology. They also owe this to their father, Natwar Shah, who founded the company over 40 years ago.

Today, the company employs around 575 people, 525 of whom work in production in India. The New York office is responsible for sales, marketing, order processing, and local production and repairs. The jeweler is also involved in diamond sourcing. In addition, it receives and processes customer goods – for example, by measuring stones for new settings or by 3D scanning rings.
“Our manufacturing process is designed from the ground up for individual personalization. We’ve integrated technology into both our internal operations and the customer experience,” says Salil. The tools they use range “from virtual try-ons to holograms. We believe this combination of skills and technology creates an experience you won’t find anywhere else.”

Building bridges

The brothers’ focus on technology and customization is perhaps most evident in their partnership with retailer Ben Bridge Jeweler. Together, they produce a custom bridal collection called Bella Ponte – Italian for “beautiful bridge.” Through this program, Ben Bridge customers can create a wedding ring based on 10 parameters, including metal type, gemstone selection and style. There is also the option to collaborate with the jeweler and manufacturer to create a more personalized experience.

“The Bella Ponte collection is available in store,” says Salil. “(Ben Bridges store teams) can also interact with our team daily through a specially designed software portal. With this software, they can do many things: combine center stones and settings, place custom orders, price resettings, ship merchandise, view past orders and see status updates for current orders.”

The company goes a step further and can create a 3D hologram of the personalized ring that then appears on the customer’s smartphone. It does this using a cone-shaped plastic holder that attaches to the phone and a ring-shaped “seed” that is inserted into the cone.

A wonderful partnership

The Shah brothers and Ben Bridge CEO Lisa Bridge met for the first time at a trade show in 2018.

“We originally noticed them because they had beautiful jewelry,” Bridge says. “When we tried to create what we wanted (in terms of) the experience and quality of the jewelry and the ability to customize, we felt we had a good synergy with Shah.”

She also saw other qualities that encouraged her to work with the company: “They align wonderfully with our values. They care about their employees and the community. They have a desire to innovate and push the boundaries of technology, and they are nice people.”

Main image: Hologram attachment for a smartphone. (Shah Luxury)

This article is from the July-August 2024 issue of Rapaport Magazine. You can find more articles here.