I always say that my jewellery is not for the subtle-hearted,” says Deepti Kore Aradhya, the founder and designer behind Diani, an exclusive jewellery brand tucked away in a quiet corner of UB City. In the company of designer labels and high-end brands from across the world, the boutique stands out with its unique statement pieces bringing out the bold colours and underrated beauty of gemstones beyond just emeralds, rubies and diamonds. “For a long time now, my inspiration has been gemstones with vibrant, vivacious colours – paraiba tourmaline, fire opal, multi-coloured sapphires – I love playing with all these gemstones; I love the colours that they bring to your life. The diamonds are there to accentuate the colours I’m using,” says Aradhya, who started the boutique in UB City back in 2012 after moving to Bengaluru and years of selling to family, friends and customers at trunk shows.
For Aradhya, a graduate of the Gemology Institute of America, a leading research and education centre for gems and jewellery, her love for jewellery is deep-rooted, starting as a child following her mother to jewellers. “I would toddle around to every jeweller she went to and I’d tweak stuff saying, ‘Do this, do that, change that’. I would constantly push jewellers to think differently. One day, one of the owners got so irritated, he, very sweetly, scribbled ‘gia.edu’ and said ‘Go apply’. I just applied and got in – the journey since has been so organic,” she explains.
Apart from gemstones, Aradhya, an avid traveller, finds inspiration in the places she visits and the people she creates for. From a necklace matching the colours of a client’s five super cars to a ‘bali’ choker inspired by the Vatican’s angels, and a handcrafted gold mangalsutra featuring the ‘Gandaberunda’ with ruby eyes, Aradhya has created some truly eclectic pieces. “I’m constantly pushing myself and talking to people. When somebody says ‘I’ll never wear something like this’, I get a kick and say, ‘Okay let me do it and see what happens’,” she says.
Despite the steady success, Aradhya, who maintains a low profile with no social media presence for herself or the store, wants to keep the boutique exclusive, allowing her to pay more attention to the quality of her pieces. “People love to branch out and create outlets in multiple cities but I’m content where I am. The minute I start branching, I feel that the creativity and quality of the product will be lost. If I keep it niche, catering to the absolute creme de la creme who understand jewellery, my mission of making something very exclusive is met,” she says.
