Saruchi R Jewellery (SRJ) has been founded by and is the vision of Singapore based jewellery designer – Saruchi Chauhan. From a young age, Saruchi had been inspired by the highly skilled art of jewellery making after spending her formative years in India – a country which lives and breathes jewellery. Over the years this inspiration turned into her passion, and the creative journey of “Saruchi R Jewellery” started in 2014.
Gems2jewellery.com had an opportunity to talk to the Dynamic Woman Entrepreneur Saruchi Chauhan about her creative journey, the challenges she faced and her vision of the gem & jewellery industry. Here are the excerpts:
Personal Journey & Inspiration:
Q.: What inspired you to start Saruchi R Jewellery, (SRJ) and how did your journey from India to Singapore shape your vision?
Saruchi: Having great love for jewelry comes naturally to me. From a regular jewelry buyer to a jewelry designer my journey was backed with strong Indian heritage in which jewelry play significant role. Being raised in an Indian value system, where jewelry is an expression of celebration and happiness for all ages, and where you are taught to invest in gold & silver as soon as you have some spare money is something which exposed me to this field more. Regular visits to jewelry stores with parents, understanding how much work is involved in every piece, going after trendiest pieces, spending hours with jewelers on customized pieces led me to explore this field more technically and professionally. I moved to Singapore in 2011 after marriage and realized the huge gap which Singapore Jewelry market has, which offers nothing in affordable and yet good quality range to its buyers. Either everything was high end jewelry or it was allergy causing fashion jewelry. Being a creatively inclined jewelry lover and understanding this existing gap in Singapore jewelry market led me to formally conceptualize my jewelry line “Saruchi R Jewellery” (“SRJ”) in 2014.
Q.: Can you tell us about your earliest memory connected with jewellery?
Saruchi: My earliest memory of jewelry goes back to when my parents gifted me a gold necklace with my name initial “S” on it for my 8th birthday and I cherished it for a very long time. That piece was literally inseparable to me which also helped me understand first-hand the sentimental value that jewelry holds.
Q.: What challenges did you face in the early days of building your brand, and how did you overcome them?
Saruchi: Challenges were always expected as my brand was founded and built in a country where I did not belong. I was new here and along with exploring and understanding Singaporean culture I was also trying to build a jewelry line from scratch, although my country’s strong reputation for best gemstones, intricate jewelry and quality craftsmanship provided me a solid foundation and some cushion in setting up a strong base for establishing my work here. Some of the initial challenges included winning trust of local people, understanding and complying with all regulations related to industry, sourcing reputed and reliable vendors locally and globally, securing optimal retail space for the boutique store – all this while maintaining focus on profitability. However, with uncompromised quality, prioritizing each individual customer (whether small or big), attending to them personally, understanding their needs and valuing their feedback, and a strong after sales support resulted in creation of brand recall value and made me win over a good share of regular clients who eventually made it possible for me and my brand to feel like one of them and continue running this business for over a decade now.
Brand Story & Philosophy:
Saruchi: At SRJ, we believe in “expression of an individual’s uniqueness” which forms a quintessential part of our creative designs. Inspired by people and their modern work lives, our philosophy and endeavor is to keep our designs simple yet elegant, attractive to all segments and perfect for all occasions. Our jewelry line reflects genuine authenticity, individual appeal and custom finish which mass-produced items simply don’t have.
Every phase of jewelry making process at SRJ is carefully managed and controlled to ensure only the best quality gemstones and materials are used in crafting our jewelry line. We love working with fine metals & natural gemstones which are all sourced from our select base of globally reputed suppliers. These are then handcrafted with great precision to create an elegant and chic collection.
Q.: Your brand emphasizes individuality and craftsmanship. How do you translate that philosophy into each design?
Saruchi: Every collection and every jewelry piece made at SRJ is designed to keep them always in fashion and wearable. All our jewelry is a “forever in fashion” pieces and we don’t follow trends which last only 3 months and then either the trend is gone, or the piece is broken. Every piece is given the attention it needs for them to last a lifetime and eventually being passed on to next generation. All gemstones are hand selected and only best in the lot are used in our designs to celebrate the individual uniqueness of each gemstone. Designs are created specifically for each gemstone keeping them at the focal point to bring out their optimal brilliance. Every step of the process entails high degree of attention and undergoes several quality checks to give buyers a unique heirloom piece which they won’t be able to find anywhere else.
Q.: Saruchi R Jewellery positions itself between fashion and fine jewelry—what gap did you see in the market that you wanted to fill?
Saruchi: Singapore is a very brand conscious market and those who can afford it will only go for high end brands to mark their special occasions. Or else other option in the market was “mass produced” jewelry which is allergy causing and mostly popular with young kids who are looking for fast fashion. There was almost nothing here for daily wear which would still be elegant, and to make memories with quality, pocket friendly jewelry. Nobody understood the goodness of natural semi-precious gemstones, sterling silver and affordability of 14k gold. My jewelry line had a great response as our buyers were happy to not have skin allergies and burn a hole in their pockets from their jewelry purchases. They liked the durability, uniqueness and affordability of SRJ creations.
Q.: How are you personally involved in the design and crafting process today?
Saruchi: Being a very hands-on person, I am involved in all aspects of the jewelry making process at SRJ from creative concepts to crafting, finishing and even marketing. These aspects of jewelry making process motivate me a lot and I wish that people wearing our jewelry feel the same joy as we feel while crafting it. At SRJ, we believe our jewelry pieces would be a celebration of the person’s expression as an individual and their uniqueness. My jewelry brand has a clear motto “work hard to create jewelry and work harder to keep customers happy” so do expect a solid customer service from us along with quality jewelry.
Craftsmanship & Materials:
Q.: You work with sterling silver, vermeil, 14K gold, and natural gemstones. How do you source your materials responsibly?
Saruchi: As we operate out of Singapore, jewelry is a highly regulated business here. Being a licensed jeweler in Singapore we are expected to provide best standards in terms of authenticity of materials used. We source our raw materials very carefully from our select base of globally reputed suppliers who have been involved in jewelry and gemstone trade for generations. Our industry works on trust; our uppliers are transparent with us and in return we are transparent with our customers.
Q.: What is your design process like—from concept to finished piece?
Saruchi: Observing jewelry industry trends and keeping in mind styles of jewelry which are being demanded on our daily interactions with customers leads us to conceptualize a collection. Selecting gemstone for the project is the first starting point and then a design is created either through a manual sketch or through CAD for more intricate work. Gemstones are always the focus, and all our designs would always highlight the natural goodness of gemstones used. We love working with 925 silver and use only vermeil plating which is 2.5 times thicker than normal plating available in the market, increasing durability of gold color for gold lovers. For our fine jewelry and fine gemstone collections we use 14k gold and 18K gold. We keep in mind customer preferences for design if any and durability is the focus during our manufacturing process. All our artisans are highly skilled in hand work and have great talent in creating pieces which don’t give a mass-produced feel. All products made under SRJ are only brought to market when they pass our strict quality check process. We do stand by our products, and we have had zero complaints till now from our buyers.
Q.: How do you balance timeless elegance with modern trends in jewellery?
Saruchi: Modern trends when uplifted with quality materials can be turned into timeless pieces which can be adorned and enjoyed for long time. Thankfully in jewelry industry our trends seem to last longer than in the clothing industry, so we try our best to build a collection which is widely acceptable to young, middle-aged and mature buyers. Giving modern twist to classic gemstones like pearls makes them more appealing to younger generations. Using semi-precious gemstones and enamel on jewelry pieces gives them a great pop of color and keeps them trendy and versatile.
Market & Business:
Q.: What role does Singapore play as a base for your jewelry brand compared to India?
Saruchi: Singapore is known for its strict laws and hence operating a highly regulated trade like jewelry business leads to easy global acceptance of the brand. More influx of global tourists leads to more exposure and visibility for the brand. Retail sector is thriving with best brands in jewelry industry carving a niche for themselves in Singapore so being one of them is always good for image of our jewelry line.
Q.: How has e-commerce changed the way customers interact with jewellery brands like yours?
Saruchi: We started as an e-commerce business only when we established SRJ and having sold our jewelry on global ecommerce giants like Amazon, Etsy and locally in Shopee & Lazada for Singapore, I will always be a strong supporter of online presence for businesses. Most of our global regular buyers have come through internet over the years from all over the world. Customers can see multiple photos, videos, read detailed product descriptions, have one on one chats with businesses are nothing less than physically looking and choosing an item for themselves. I would say we all are blessed to have this kind of exposure which internet and e-commerce can provide to us and our work today.
Q.: What kind of customers resonate most with SRJ’s collections?
Saruchi: Global travelers, working women, brides looking to add everyday pieces to their collection or anyone who has taste for quality and uniqueness.
Sustainability & Industry Trends:
Q.: Sustainability and ethical sourcing are increasingly important. How does SRJ address this?
Saruchi: At SRJ we have strong internal processes to use only ethically sourced gemstones & diamonds, use recycled metals and other materials. We are in line with entire jewelry industry in not being part of any unfair/unethical trade practices.
Q.: What’s your take on the growing popularity of lab-grown diamonds versus natural gemstones?
Saruchi: Lab grown diamonds seem like a “fast trend” to me which came up suddenly and is now coming down in value and demand with GIA not recognizing them in same categories as natural diamonds. Though those who want cost effective alternate to natural diamonds can still consider them and enjoy the look of diamond jewelry because at the end of it purpose of jewelry is to bring joy to the wearer. However, the confidence and elegance that a natural gemstone provides still remains unparalleled.
Q.: Where do you see the demi-fine jewelry segment evolving in the next 5–10 years?
Saruchi: It’s here to stay and will take over the market for sure. Since last 3-5 years so many jewelry lines with 925 silver, 9k & 10k gold have come up in the market. Rising costs of higher karat gold like 14k, 18k, and 22k gold coupled with reduction in purchasing power given all that’s going on in the global system seems to be the reason for surge in rise of demi fine jewelry segment. Plus, buyers also want to wear the jewelry they are buying and not just store it in lockers so demi fine jewelry will surely gain more popularity with time.
Leadership & Future Vision:
Q.: As a woman entrepreneur in the luxury space, what advice do you have for aspiring founders?
Saruchi: The key is to cultivate resilience, embrace authenticity, and build a strong network. Focus on crafting a unique brand identity, delivering exceptional customer experiences, and being adaptable to the evolving luxury market. Remember to prioritize your well-being and celebrate your journey.
Q.: What’s the most rewarding part of running your own jewellery label?
Saruchi: When you see people buy your jewelry to mark special occasions in their lives that’s when you realize the power of your creations and designs. That feeling is the best reward any designer can get for their hard work.
Q.: What’s next for Saruchi R Jewellery—new collections, collaborations, or global expansion?
Saruchi: New collections to attract all age groups are always in the works and definitely some more local expansions in Singapore are expected as of now.
Interview by Suresh Chotai
