Cultivating the Region's Most Motivated Talent

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1. Background

Founded by a mother and daughter duo, Deema is a design house that is inspired by Islamic art and Oman's nature, architecture and heritage. Deema comes up with state-of-the-art designs that are modern and exclusive. Deema first started off with jewelry but then due to customer demands has expanded to chinaware, fine linen and corporate gifts. Deema also works on bespoke commissions. 

2. Inspiration / When and Why We Launched

We started as we noticed a massive decline in Omani women wearing traditional Omani jewelry. Traditional Omani jewelry are big and do not resonate with a modern woman's lifestyle. These pieces were mainly worn to traditional events. Jewelers at souks started melting the silver pieces as they were not moving and were considered "frozen assets". This was alarming as these traditional old pieces were part of our heritage and melting them means getting rid of our rich heritage. That is where the idea of modernizing Omani jewelry with the aim of preserving it has come from. 

We launched the brand and registered it in 2008. We were the first registered Omani jewelry brand in the country.
 

3. Brand Mission, Vision and End Goals 

Positioning Deema as a high-end designing house internationally, letting the world know of the beauty of Islamic art and Oman through our products, preserving Omani heritage and making our customers feel special with their bespoke or one of a kind, limited edition product. 

4. Hopes and/or Dreams for the Brand

For Deema products to be stocked in well renowned boutiques/department stores around the world, for Deema jewelry worn by A-list Hollywood celebrities and for Deema to team up with a renowned real estate developer to design the interior of a property.
 

5. Long-term Plans

We have aggressive plans for Deema in the long-term, but for the short-term, we would like to deal with a US based PR firm to market our products in the US and have a few celebrities wear our jewelry to events/galas. We believe this will open so many doors for us. 

1. Background

The company was officially launched in mid-November 2019. Before that, our sales were mainly through our Instagram account In A Heartbeat ever since 2016.  

Since launching, we've expanded both our physical and online presence. We now have our first physical space in Amman, Jordan and are in the process of developing our online shop (we should go live in September). 

Our goal is to create everyday fine jewelry of top quality. Nour; the CEO and Founder, only uses 18K gold, precious and semi-precious gemstones of exceptional value in all her collections.  

The brand has two main collections: 

• Customizable Collection: This collection redefines the concept of bespoke jewelry. The customer is very involved in the design process. The customizable line  celebrates individuality and gives the customers the chance to reflect their own style. This line is consists of two categories.

• Ready to Wear Collection: This collection is relatively new, however we are witnessing increased demand and the customers' awareness of this collection is growing. Nour drops new items almost every 2-3 months and we've seen some good traction, it is definitely gaining popularity! The current Ready to Wear Collection is very much inspired by colors and highlights femininity. Generally, the idea behind the ready to wear collection is to be flexible in styling, so the items can be worn everyday, to special occasions and can be dressed both up and down. 

2.  Launch Story

In A Heartbeat was born in March 2016 when I had initially taken time off of work to figure out my next move. Little did I know that I was going to venture into jewelry design! Inspired by my love for unique and thoughtful gifting, I designed my first pieces to celebrate two very special occasions; my friend’s childbirth and my other friend’s birthday. And just like that Ina Heartbeat was launched. 

The image of the designs just popped up in my head as I was laying down thinking of their gifts. I wanted the pieces to be personal and close to the heart. I remember thinking about the beauty of Arabic calligraphy and how decorative it is and that’s how the Lifeline Collection came to life. It is true what they say, inspiration can come from anything! 

The positive feedback was very encouraging. Thanks to the support of my family and friends I decided to take a leap of faith and venture into the world of jewelry. Today, In a Heartbeat has grown into a jewelry brand with a range of both bespoke and ready to wear collections. Our pieces are personal and unique with special stories. We design dainty pieces that are flexible in styling. You can dress them up or down, for everyday and special occasions. This way they can stay close to your heart. 

3. Mission, Vision & Brand Promise

Mission:

Our Mission is to create beautiful every day fine jewelry, and a seamless, fun shopping experience for anyone looking to purchase our custom or ready to wear items. 

Vision/End Goal: 

Our Vision is to become an internationally recognized leading brand for jewelry, fine accessories and personalized gifts.

Brand Promise:

To provide everyday fine jewelry, perfected to the last details. Whether customized or ready to wear, we strive to create pieces that are meaningful and close to your heart. To do that, we combine high quality materials and meticulous designs to handcraft masterful pieces for you to cherish! 

4. Hopes, Dreams & Longterm Plans

Our dreams and long term goals is to be an internationally recognized brand specialized in bespoke and everyday fine jewelry. We aim to always create pieces of top quality and flexible styling. The vision behind our pieces is to retain their value with their ‘easy to wear’ and personalized designs. They can be worn day or night, everyday or on special occasions. 

We hope to create a seamless and fun shopping experience for our customers, so they can feel special when reflecting their own styles in our collections.

A vision of fifth generation jewelers, Ashni and Sidhant Kothari, ARAYA is a private jeweler specializing in crafting exceptional modern high jewelry. Built on a family legacy dating back to over a 110 years, ARAYA has unmatched access to the finest gemstones and resources across the globe. Approaching high jewelry as a wearable modern artform, ARAYA’s design philosophy combines modern aesthetics and techniques to create functional and versatile pieces. Exclusive to a hundred creations a year, ARAYA jewels are crafted to be timeless pieces of wearable modern art, unique to its wearer.  

Read more in our conversation with cofounder Sidhant below.

1. Briefly tell us about Araya Fine Jewelry, its history as a 5th generation private Indian label and its expansion into GCC.

ARAYA is a private jeweler with a specialty in crafting unique and modern jewels. My family has been in the diamond & jewelry industry for over 110 years, founded by my great, great grandfather in 1905 in Jaipur, India. The family business, KGK Group, was initially focused on trading of colored gemstones, but over decades has vertically integrated into mining, manufacturing, trading, and of course jewelry. ARAYA is an off shoot of the family business, and the brand child of my wife, Ashni, and I. 

Our expansion into the GCC, was a very natural step forward as the tastes of Indian consumers and GCC consumers are very similar. Both cultures have vibrant and festive wedding celebrations, and have a keen eye for interesting and unique jewels! We introduced the brand to the GCC in 2016 at the Sharjah Jewelry Show, and have continued to do select shows in the region ever since. We have recently opened doors to our brand new private boutique in Almas Tower, Dubai. 

2. What can you say about the shopping behaviors around fine jewelry in GCC versus in India?

As I briefly mentioned earlier, there are definitely a lot of similarities. Both cultures host grand and festive weddings celebrations, which translates to a love for bold and unique creations. Both regions also value creativity and design as one of their top priorities. Over the last few years, we have noticed that value for money is getting more and more important as well. We expect this to be an important trend post COVID-19 too.

A key difference in shopping behaviors is time taken to make a decision. It’s nice to see that in the GCC, many clients are quick decision makers, and if they like something, they are usually quick to decide on it. At times in India, there is a longer time period involved in liking something and purchasing.

3. How have peoples’ tastes or priorities shifted since COVID-19 when it comes to buying these higher investment pieces?

There is no denying that COVID-19 has drastically impacted sales. High jewelry is a category where the jewelry needs to connect and speak with the consumer upon viewing and trying on. This becomes extremely tough in such times. Also due to the postponements of many weddings, high jewelry definitely isn’t a high priority for many right now. 

Moving forward, we do project (and hope) there is a spike in demand in September/October/November, when many may be back to wedding shopping.

With that said, there are a select few gemstone collectors, who are seizing the opportunity of low prices and desperate sellers.

4. Since COVID-19, virtual shopping has become more of a ‘norm’; how have you shifted any of your operations virtually (if at all?)

Absolutely! Being a tech savvy team, we recognize the importance and significance of being digital and having a virtual presence. These times have shown how important it is to adapt, and we have taken many initiatives to do so. 

A.  Virtual Appointments - Have hosted many virtual appointments for consumers and brands, to walk through our current collection.

B. E-Boutique - Recently launched our E-Boutique store on our website.

C. Try at Home Service - Offering our current customers the service to shortlist pieces and have them shown in the comfort and safety of their own home. 

The customer is at the core, and we want to make it as easy and safe for them to browse and shop for our jewelry. 

5. From its sourcing, craftsmanship or customer service, what makes Araya Fine Jewelry so unique compared to its competitors in the region?  

Tough question. I’d have to say our creative designs and our customer service. On the design side, we are personally involved in each and every piece, to ensure that it reflects the brand ethos. We really push the creative boundary with each and every piece, approaching each creation as a wearable art form. On the customer service side, we are consistently adapting and keeping our customer’s needs and demands in mind. We are currently developing templates for our classic line of diamond eternity rings and cuffs, to ensure complete price transparency with our clientele. 

6. Do you consider Araya Fine Jewelry to operate via a customer-centric/customer-focused approach? How so?

Absolutely. In any business, especially on the retail side, the customer/consumer is the most important to identify, understand, and cater to! At ARAYA, we are always putting ourselves in the consumers shoes, and understanding their scenario, and how to adapt to better serve them. For example, we have been reaching out to many customers over the lockdown, and understanding how their priorities, budgets, needs have changed. This has been extremely valuable data and insight to better prepare ourselves and our collection for the near term future. Times are changing so fast, that being able to pivot and adapt is now essential to sustain and succeed.

7. What advice do you have for aspiring founders who want to start their own fine jewelry brand amidst a competitive market here in GCC?

We’d suggest the following few pieces of advice:

A. Find your niche - now more than ever before, there is great value in being specialized and having a strong positioning. There are a lot of jewelry options all across the GCC and having a strong positioning in a particular niche is extremely valuable. 

B. Identify and understand your customer - A niche product offering, will have a niche customer base. This makes it ever so important to clearly identify your customer, where they shop, what their budget is, what their habits are. The better you understand your customer, the more likely you are to sell and succeed.

C. Stay lean - many entrepreneurs often focus only on marketing and sales, and often forget to keep an eye on expenses and overhead costs. This leads to some tough situations! For a business to succeed, it’s essential for the founders to be lean on expenses and overall overheads such as staff and office space.

8. What is next in Araya Fine Jewelry’s future?

We have many exciting plans and ideas for ARAYA’s future and hope to work hard to make them a reality. We are going to strive at becoming the leading private jeweler in the GCC for unique and one of a kind jewels. We’d love to participate in world renowned art exhibitions such as Paris Bienalle. Most importantly, we aim to continue growing and making many more clients delighted with our service and jewelry creations.