As per an anonymous adage, ‘Women love diamonds because they are strong like them’. Women tend to have an infinite affinity for these precious rocks as they illustrate their dignity, status and contentment in life. Moving one step ahead, an Indian woman entrepreneur Pooja Sheth, took the obligation of creating a luxury niche for lab-grown Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) diamond jewellery worldwide by exactly replicating the diamond creation process that occurs below the earth, in deep tech labs. As the Managing Director and Founder at Limelight Diamonds, her vision is to establish the company as the first sustainable luxury jewellery brand from India, which craft diamonds with the same characteristics and properties as the natural diamonds but do not involve any mining and hence carry no burden of the associated environmental and socials costs.

In a very short span, Limelight Diamonds has managed to fortify its place as a new-age sustainable diamond category builder and business disruptor in the Indian gems and jewellery industry, recently being recognized and awarded with the Economic Times Business Icon 2020 for Technology Leaders in Sustainable Diamond Creation. Women Entrepreneurs engage in an exclusive interaction with Pooja Sheth to know briefly about her impressive entrepreneurial journey.

1. Kindly Enumerate On The Major Factors That Motivated You To Start Your Entrepreneurial Venture.

I worked as an Investment Banker with Barclays London and on one of my trips back home, I got a chance to visit the deep-tech labs in Surat growing the finest quality diamonds at a very large scale. I was completely in awe of the level of automation and efficiency of this cutting-edge technology that managed to establish India as one of the pioneer countries in the lab-grown CVD diamond industry. I felt an immense sense of pride to see how our country is progressing and the decision to build a brand around this product was a natural progression. I always had the aspiration to be a category creator and an entrepreneur, focused on bringing the ‘India story to the limelight. My formal education and experience in Economics, Business and Finance coupled with no prior exposure to the traditional diamond business/industry has helped in breaking shackles and barriers to emerge as a true disruptor in the gems and jewellery industry.

“In a very short span, limelight diamonds has managed to fortify its place as a new-age sustainable diamond category builder and business disruptor in the Indian gems and jewellery industry”

2. What Inspired You To Take-Up Entrepreneurship, Especially In A Niche Segment Like Arts & Crafts Design?

With 90percent of the world’s natural diamonds are polished in India, the country has been known for the diamond cutting, polishing skills and capabilities which has now coupled with the technology of growing sustainable diamonds, holding a unique proposition for India to dominate the global gems and jewellery industry. Seizing this opportunity for Limelight Diamonds, of being a true ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ brand was a no-brainer for me. Another reason is the significant environmental and socialbenefits of CVD diamonds which are grown in labs and not found in mines, leaving the earth free of mining manipulations. Millennials and Gen Z as purchasers of luxury including diamonds, are steering away from natural diamonds because of their higher environmental and social costs and increasingly leaning towards sustainable luxury. With the largest population of Millennials in the world, India is perceived to become the largest market for lab-grown CVD diamonds in the future.

3. What Were The Initial Challenges That Taught You The Basic Lessons Of Entrepreneurship And Helped You Achieve The Success That You Had In The Later Phase?

Although a sustainable diamond is the same as the natural diamond in terms of its carbon composition & characteristics, clearing misunderstandings around the fact that these arereal and of the finest quality (Type IIa) – a quality that is rare to find even in natural diamonds required clear technical evidence. This drove me to have a detailed study of the diamond creation processes of both above and below the earth. Then I could present my views to larger audiences as well as convince many highly experienced and seasoned business minds from the traditional diamond industry.

4. What Innovations Are You Currently Working On At Your Company? Also, Brief Us About Your Company’s Future Plans.

With a strong focus on transparency and up-keeping high ethical standards, Limelight aspires to redefine partnerships and way of doing business, re-enforce and redeem the lost trust by masterfully crafting our Type IIa diamonds into a 100percent honest product. Limelight is working closely with reputed jewellery retailers across the globe to associate with them and introduce Limelight’s branded lab-grown diamond jewellery as a new product offering in their retail stores. With a strong focus on the consumer base in India, Limelight has successfully established its presence with several jewellery partners across Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and most recently Hyderabad. We aim to establish ties with over 200 such retail partners in the next 12-18 months.

Poojasheth, MD & Founder, Limelight Lab Grown Diamonds

Pooja holds an MSc in Finance from the Imperial College of Business, London and a BSc in Management Sciences from the London School of Economics. She also pursued a short course in economics at Harvard Business School, USA and has worked at Barclays Capital, London. Pooja heads the strategy & operations for the brand with a mission to create a luxury niche for handcrafted diamonds in India.

Message: Women in today’s age make their own choices and decisions. They have their own independence not just in terms of profession but are now more empowered in their thoughts and opinions. This is very much starting to reflect in the trends in the fashion and jewellery industry where more women are opting for sustainable options, such as the lab grown CVD diamonds that allow them to enjoy several luxuries without damaging the planet for the future generation.