FURA is looking to develop a market for multi-colour sapphires in India

Dev Shetty, Founder and CEO, FURA, on the rise of Mozambique as the legendary source of rubies, missed opportunities to profit from colour gemstones, why the company is most invested in sapphires, and its recent foray into the Indian market

Founder and CEO Dev Shetty’s fascinating real-life journey of building FURA, the largest colour gemstone mining company by its scale of operations and portfolio of gemstones, in a record six years is the stuff of fiction. The young mining company Shetty founded in 2017 stands tall with mines spread across three continents covering Colombian emeralds, Mozambican rubies and pink sapphires, and Australian sapphires in multi-colours.

Fascinatingly, FURA’s fast-paced progress is the slow unfolding of Shetty’s overarching vision of bringing metamorphic change in how business is conducted in the coloured gemstone industry.

With a razor-sharp focus on advancing the category and what FURA can become, Shetty has been introducing new practices one day at a time and disrupting traditional working methods to fulfil the potential of the colour gemstone industry, catapulting FURA to become the torchbearer of the global coloured gemstone industry.

In a free-wheeling one-on-one chat with Soma Bhatta, Shetty talks about the rise of Mozambique as the future source of high-quality rubies, the key highlights of the first-at-scale consumer survey in India, their disruptive approach to business, more importantly, why India is important despite being a low-value market and its recent partnership with India.

Edited Excerpts:

Soma Bhatta (SB): Congratulations on the recent auction sale of Estrela de FURA at a staggering $34.8 million. It has put Mozambique on the map as the new source of high-quality rubies on par with Burmese rubies. Comment?

Dev Shetty (Ds): Estrela de FURA has had a thrilling journey since we discovered it in our mines in Mozambique, from a mind-boggling 101 carats in rough to an unrivalled cut gemstone of 55.2 carats.

It puts the ruby’s origin on the global map for all the right reasons: it is a rich and promising source of premium quality rubies for the next few decades. We have been vocal about Mozambique’s unfathomable similarity with the famed Mogok mines, and finally, this record sale at the auction corroborates our stance. Watching the sale of Estrela de Fura is like watching the start of the history of Mozambique as the legendary source of high-quality rubies in the making.

“ We have been vocal about Mozambique’s striking similarity with the famed Mogok mines, and finally, this record sale at the auction corroborates our stance. Watching the sale of Estrela de Fura is like watching the start of the history of Mozambique as the legendary source of high-quality rubies in the making ”

SB: Emeralds, rubies and even sapphires found favour with Indian royalty from the 17th-19th century. Yet, only diamonds came into prominence in the later period. Comment.

Ds: The coloured gemstone industry lost out to diamonds due to the need for a unified vision. Colour gemstones command a considerable margin for retailers and manufacturers, but industry players are yet to work on promoting this category. FURA is ambitious about the global future of colour gemstones and wants to be the driving force for change.

We are taking a holistic view of the industry, addressing the most critical issue of the supply of well-graded materials and, in the 21st century, building a narrative based on responsible sourcing, transparency and traceability of origin. We are creating solid fundamentals for business and already seeing how the trade benefits from it and positively respond to it.

SB: FURA recently conducted a detailed, India-wide market survey in nine cities to explore consumer perceptions of precious colour gemstones. What are the key findings?

Ds: Given the country’s long association with the category, it is unsurprising that India’s awareness of precious colour gemstones is very high. One of the key findings is that despite a poor promotion history of the colour gemstone category and lower visibility on retail shelves, the gap between diamonds and colour gemstones is unexpectedly and encouragingly low.
Ninety-three per cent of the surveyed consumers spontaneously recalled diamonds, 85 per cent recalled rubies, 73 per cent emeralds and 72 per cent sapphires. It points towards the missed opportunity that can lead to positive outcomes as there is plenty of headroom to grow the category and its profits.

SB: The awareness levels may be high, but consumers don’t seek out coloured gemstones actively. What could be the plausible reasons for the dichotomy?

Ds: Awareness is not the only factor driving demand; it needs to be reinforced by knowledge that builds familiarity and lends confidence to buy the product. At present (as per research), the familiarity levels are low. The trade must increase the perceived knowledge of the category. Consumers must believe they are reasonably armed with information to avoid getting deceived!

Lack of familiarity inhibits purchase /high-value transactions. Educating consumers to assess precious colour gemstones’ quality and price independently is the most urgent prerequisite for growing the demand. Retailers looking to increase their profits and introduce diverse colour gems in their product portfolio must make a concerted effort to bring about this change.

“ There is a notable shift in the demographics of the buyer worldwide. Most brands respond to it by orchestrating a severe makeover of their identity and perceptions. This must be supported with new materials that create contemporary aesthetics and choice ”

SB: The category is at a very nascent stage in terms of broader acceptance at retail. What more needs to be done to create an active consumer base?

Ds: Education is just the starting point. Quality is the top consideration for jewellery consumers; at a fundamental level, quality assurance strategies through certification and other post-purchase policies become pivotal. Much as they do in diamonds, jewellers must provide resale values, better exchange value, and price growth, which will also enhance price confidence.

“ As per analysis, ruby and emeralds overlap highly with those pre-invested into diamonds. Retailers must increase their association with the category and train staff to cross-sell to gemstone customers. To begin with, they need to create designs with colours as the hero and dedicate a separate counter so that consumers start viewing it as a choice above or beyond diamonds ”

SB: Through the auction route, FURA is beginning to cater to the Chinese, European and American markets. How do you assess India against these regions?

Ds: These are relatively mature markets for coloured gemstones, particularly for high-quality ones, compared to India. Quality materials are not being made available to Indian customers, unlike in other markets where even small-size gems are offered in better colour and fluorescence.

Overall, it remains a low-value market regarding the material it consumes. But markets will mature as retailers realise the potential and profits of doing business with better materials and take necessary measures to grow the category.

SB: How do the three gemstones stack up regarding market opportunities in India?

Ds: Research shows that emeralds are doing well regarding their aspirational value in India; it’s perceived as elitist. At the same time, it is considered unaffordable- a barrier for many. There needs to be offerings in more miniature goods that create accessibility for the masses.
Rubies are currently perceived as traditional and unavailable to customers in modern and contemporary styles. The designs can be reimagined to reposition rubies for young consumers.
Sapphires have restricted appeal due to the need for more availability of choices and astrological baggage. The new opportunity around sapphires can be exciting and highly profitable for the Indian trade.

SB: FURA is the largest producer of sapphires globally. What is the outlook on sapphires?

Ds: Amongst all the categories, FURA is most invested in sapphires. It is a sunrise segment within the more prominent family of coloured gemstones; it’s youthful, individualistic and diverse.

There is a notable shift in the demographics of the buyer worldwide. Most brands respond to it by orchestrating a severe makeover of their identity and perceptions. This must be supported with new materials that create contemporary aesthetics and choice.
The industry has seen more diamonds, much less emeralds and rubies but hardly any sapphires. The youth seeks newness in jewellery design vocabulary, and sapphires offer that possibility in their varied hues.

Given these underlying changes in the industry dynamics, we acquired the Australian mines in 2020. It is little known that Australia accounted for 90 per cent of the global supply base until the late 1980s. Due to a lack of organised approach, Australian sapphires lost out to gems from Madagascar, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Cambodia and the mines eventually shut. We hope to bring back the lost glory.

Subsequently, we discovered a rich deposit of the much-in-demand pink sapphires in Mozambique. These are exceptional in colour with unusual fluorescence. Pinks are the current favourites of uber-luxury brands for their soft feminine charm. We also have Australian parti-sapphires, which come in rare bi-colour and tri-colour combinations- a designer’s delight. Parallelly, we have started exploring Madagascar for sapphires.

SB: What is the current opportunity FURA presents to the Indian trade in the sapphire category?

Ds: India is a young and populous nation, and the youth will drive the economy, making it a potential market for sapphires in its varied hues. Some of the prominent new-age omni-brands have already taken notice of this category and are creating sapphire collections. FURA is looking to develop a market for sapphires in India.

SB: Sapphire has a solid astrological connotation for Indians. What are the challenges you foresee?

Ds: Yes, it’s valid to some extent. However, during our research, spontaneous reactions were largely positive when we showed modern styles positioned in the non-traditional space in mostly white gold with sapphire as the central gemstone in the design. These concerns largely surround the classic blue; the others are yet to be explored by Indians.

We need to target the young as the baggage of astrological inferences is much lower, as per research. And our colours- blue, green, teal, parti and pink lend themselves to sleek modern designs.

Retailers will need to introduce designs across price points to get new buyers into the fold of the category. Pink can be presented as a ‘unique symbol’ of ‘love’.
Sleek designs using small stones will attract the attention of the young, making the astrologer’s consent unessential. Even statement designs worn occasionally negate such cosmic influences.

SB: You recently forayed into India through a partnership with a large-scale manufacturing company. How is the association panning out, and what are the other plans in India?

Ds: Yes, we have just signed up with a sizeable reputed manufacturing company. The company is taking far-sighted measures by switching to responsible sourcing that promises traceability and transparency. It is the call of the hour. Their clients are not demanding such responsible sourcing, but they do it of their own accord as, eventually, the markets will move in that direction. We are extremely pleased with the partnership. We are also in talks with select retailers to launch exclusive retail programs in India and working on our global campaign for sapphires to activate the markets. All our gemstones come with a certificate of origin, adding tremendous value to the business and customer.

“ We are in talks with select retailers to launch exclusive retail programs in India and working on our global campaign for sapphires to activate the markets. All our gemstones come with a certificate of origin, adding tremendous value to the business and customer ”

SB: What is your message to the Indian retail community?

Ds: As with diamonds in the1990s, the prime opportunities may now lie in the under-explored category of precious colour gemstones. Unlike diamonds, this category is not new to Indian consumers or retailers, and jewellers agree it is profitable and shows potential.
Jewellers must take deliberate action to build precious colour gemstones into a sub-segment with a scalable revenue stream. As per analysis, ruby and emeralds overlap highly with those pre-invested into diamonds.

Sapphires, too, overlap with those pre-invested in ruby and emeralds. Retailers with a mature diamond jewellery buyer base have a tremendous opportunity to grow their coloured gemstone business. Retailers must increase their association with the category and train staff to cross-sell to gemstone customers. To begin with, they need to create designs with colours as the hero and dedicate a separate counter so that consumers start viewing it as a choice above or beyond diamonds.

Retail Jeweller India Magazine