• Women Entrepreneur

She has just auctioned a piece of jewelry in Abu Dhabi for a charity trust that enjoys the patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco. At the event, she rubbed shoulders with top brands and designers, not to mention the rich and the famous of the world.

But celebrity customers are no strangers to Poonam Soni, one of India’s top jewelry designers, who clients list reads like a veritable who’s who of the rich and the famous in India and many parts of the world too. “I don’t need to ride piggyback on any celebrity client’s name,” is her quick retort.

And that is not false ego or blind pride speaking, for Soni has built up a formidable business which really does not need any buffering. Soni today retails from India, U.S.A., Russia and a host of other countries; her brand is considered synonymous with the best jewelry pieces. She started with a seed capital of Rs.3 lakh, which was completely self-funded. She is unwilling to divulge current turnover or profit margins but judging by her popularity and the spread and reach of her brand, success has been coming to Soni for a long time now.

But the going has not been always smooth for Soni, especially the initial years. The Indian jewelry market, steeped as it is in centuries-old traditions, was very closed during the late 1980s and early 1990s when Soni started her business.
Married off at 18, Soni was always a bright student, a gold medalist from Delhi University. Her inclination and passion for jewelry designing led her to painstakingly learn the tricks of the trade without any institutionalized guidance. “Way back in 1989, when I started out, I believe I was the only one doing this. I don’t know of any other entrepreneur who started out in this trade. I learned through experience; it was a tough task but I had perseverance and the belief that people would buy jewelry as pieces of art and not just as an investment option,” recalls Soni.

She has a number of firsts to her credit, and has spearheaded a number of innovative measures in her field of work. Her brand, in one of the first instances in India, received patent rights. She has introduced concepts like bespoke jewelry and signature by appointment boutiques. Her jewelry has also been sold through auction houses with authenticity certificates. Her Monochromos collection was auctioned along with S.H. Raza and M.F. Husain paintings. She holds private shows for her clients abroad and in India and opened an office in New York in 1996. In all this, her clients have been her focus of attention.

“My task was to change the mindset of the Indian buyer who usually bought jewelry as an investment. To enjoy a piece of jewelry as a work of art… that is also important. I have introduced diverse materials in my pieces like malachite, shell, leather, burnt gold, crushed gold, as early as 1989 when I started out. At that time, such concepts and materials were unheard of,” says Soni.

She was vindicated in her choice of materials when her Greek and Egyptian style of jewelry caught the eye of Harrods in 1992 at the London fair.
Soni has her own production unit in Mumbai where jewelry is handcrafted. The diamonds are sourced from an Antwerp-based company and the precious stones are painstakingly sourced from all over the world. “I understand the need to feel comfortable and safe about the jewelry pieces you buy, so we give authenticity certificates, have patent rights, design registrations and trademarks,” says Soni.

“I started out by designing the interiors of my house, clothes and personal jewelry pieces. My jewelry pieces became popular amongst my social circle, thanks to the unconventional designs and orders began pouring in, most wanting replicas of these items, a trend that’s still in practice,” says Soni. She opened her first flagship store in 1992, in the busy Fort area of Mumbai.

In 1998, Soni went international when she opened offices in New York and Paris and held various private shows in Dubai, Paris and London. Her Paris office is supported by Richard Rasonbo, who was the marketing head for Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) for 13 years. She has also designed for Takeya Gems in Tokyo.

With her daughters Kriti and Esha, who both share their mother’s passion and creative instincts for jewelry designing, the Poonam Soni brand has just got further enriched. “We are constantly innovating and creating something new, something special. I believe in Buddhist principles and hope that my work continues to do most of the talking for me and my brand,” signs off Soni.

Crafted to Perfection
• Soni is the first jewelry designer to design for the Miss India and Miss Universe franchise.
• In 2006, she was invited by Marc Jamet, LVMH Paris to open the ‘Incredible India Show’ in Paris.
• Soni is one of the only two designers to have ever showcased jewelry-art at the epic Burj Al Arab Hotel, Dubai. (Other two are Harry Winston and Chopard).
• She created India’s first painting-jewelry in collaboration with artist Laxman Shreshtha, securing a listing in the Italian Trends book as a Global Trend of 2009 along with Cartier and Tiffany’s.
• Her Gaudi Revived collection was inspired by Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi. Each piece of jewelry was accredited an official Spanish emblem by the Spanish government.
• Last month, Soni participated in an auction organized by Eco Art, a charitable institution for ecological welfare supported by Prince Albert II of Monaco where her jewelry piece was auctioned alongwith works of notable designers and brands.

©Entrepreneur December 2010

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designers, jewelry, Poonam Soni