Diamond World (DW) May - June 2020
Why Covid-19 will make people fall in love with diamonds all over again | Ban is good - Industry welcomes ban on rough imports | Hong Kong jewellery industry show mettle| An Irrevocable Loss - Arun R. Mehta, Rosy Blue Group
Why Covid-19 will make people fall in love with diamonds all over again | Ban is good - Industry welcomes ban on rough imports | Hong Kong jewellery industry show mettle| An Irrevocable Loss - Arun R. Mehta, Rosy Blue Group
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In MeMorIaM<br />
A Saga of Successes<br />
A throwback of an exclusive interview with him in 2007, on the occasion of him<br />
winning the Life-time Achievement Award<br />
decided to set-up a partnership with me for<br />
a diamond cutting unit in Mumbai. This is<br />
how we started in 1960 our company – B.<br />
Arunkumar & Company and set- up its first<br />
tiny manufacturing unit in Mumbai. Initial<br />
business activity was quite limited. This<br />
is evident from the fact that we purchased<br />
rough worth about Rs. 25,000-30,000, cut<br />
and polished it and sold the same in the<br />
market. This yielded small profit, but added<br />
to our confidence.<br />
Receiving Life Time Achievement Award from Kamal Nath, former<br />
Union Cabinet Minister of Commerce<br />
What is your age, sir ? How were you<br />
attracted to this business?<br />
I was born at Patan (N. Gujarat) in January<br />
1940, now I am 67. Apart from our parents,<br />
there were four members in the familythree<br />
brothers – myself, Harshadbhai and<br />
Dilipbhai – and one sister.<br />
After studying upto SSC, I joined a college<br />
for higher studies. My father, Ramniklalji<br />
Mehta was doing some diamond business.<br />
His friends advised him to induct me into<br />
this business. This changed the course of<br />
my life. Subsequently, I got some training in<br />
the Ratanchand Laxmichand & Company’s<br />
diamond units in Surat and Navsari. For a<br />
few months I went to Pondicherry where<br />
in my uncle’s firm I got some training for<br />
accounts and import business.<br />
When and How did you launch your<br />
own diamond business?<br />
Even today I remember well that in 1958<br />
I purchased one diamond for Rs. 25 and<br />
sold it at Rs. 27! This was my first brush<br />
with this business. Subsequently, I started<br />
purchasing –polished gemstones from<br />
some units and selling them in the market.<br />
This gave me enough experience about<br />
assortment and marketing.<br />
When did you start manufacturing<br />
activity ?<br />
My maternal uncle Bhanuchandra<br />
Bhansali was doing some business in<br />
rough diamonds with his son-in-law. He<br />
When did you start business in<br />
antwerp ?<br />
In 1970 Dilipbhai went to Belgium to settle<br />
down there. He set-up the Rosy Blue firm<br />
there.<br />
When did your firm become a DTC-<br />
Sightholder?<br />
Our firm became a DTC Sightholder in<br />
1969. Thus we started getting rough stones<br />
from this all important direct source.<br />
Do you get rough from other<br />
producers too ?<br />
There are five major producers of rough in<br />
the world at present. Rosy Blue is getting<br />
rough from all of them.<br />
When did you start jewellery<br />
manufacturing business ?<br />
We turned our attention to this activity<br />
around 1985. At present jewellery accounts<br />
for the major share of Rosy Blue business.<br />
What is the philosophy of the rosy<br />
Blue Group ?<br />
It has been the philosophy of our group<br />
to spend regularly a part of our earnings<br />
on education, healthcare and charitable<br />
objectives. All members of the Rosy Blue<br />
Group share this humanitarian view.<br />
40 | may-june <strong>2020</strong> | DiamonD WorlD
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