Taking stock at Amrapali

“It’s very important for a piece of jewellery to have soul and history,” says Tarang Arora, CEO-Creative Director of luxury jewellery house Amrapali. It is, after all, the principle on which his father, Rajiv Arora, and co-founder Rajesh Ajmera built the now 41-year-old brand. Tarang, 35, recalls how he used to watch, wide-eyed, as his father handled glittering jewellery in their old Jaipur boutique. “When I was 14, I picked up an old silver filigree ring; the work is popular in Junagadh, Gujarat. I wore it for years,” he says. Another favourite: an old thali he discovered in their stock, to which he added a black rose-cut diamond. He wore it constantly until he gifted it to his friend, fashion designer Manish Arora.

The brand itself has stories to tell — from red carpet sightings (think Halle Berry, Sofia Vergara and Sonam Kapoor) to special promotions at Selfridges, the London luxury department store. Even now, with a new Bengaluru store and an upcoming one in Mumbai — which join 11 stores in India, two in London, an office in New York, and 24 retail points in the country and abroad — Amrapali’s focus hasn’t moved away from its storytelling and ethnically-rooted designs. Tarang guides us along the brand’s big years, through its jewellery.