Riding on unique designs, Hyderabad-based Mangatrai blazes a trail

By Suneeta Kaul

When you have the distinction of having presented souvenirs to world leaders, and having been featured by international lifestyle television channels and global publications, you can be forgiven for stating unabashedly that you are unique. The allusion is to Hyderabad-based jewellery retailing and designing company, Darpan Mangatrai, which functions under the aegis of Mangatrai Jewellers, and is renowned for its offering of pearls, diamonds and precious gemstones.

Tradition meets contemporary design

Darpan Mangatrai is a specialized retail jewellery company that straddles the traditional and the contemporary with equal panache. It has a distinguished history of dealing in colour gemstones and pearls that dates back all the way to 1905. “Ours is a family business of four generations of reputed jewellery merchants, with the millennial fifth generation now having come into the picture,” says Darpan Gupta, Partner, Mangatrai Jewellers. The fifth generation he refers to is his son, Mohak Gupta, who is the Marketing Manager of the company.

“When I became a partner in the company, I decided to brand our jewellery, and thus ‘Darpan Mangatrai’ was born. You can say that it is our in-house brand of fine jewellery that strives to make the shopping experience of our esteemed patrons a delightful one. We have our own design studio and our jewellery experts craft the finest pieces of jewellery for discerning customers,” explains Gupta Senior.

Darpan Mangatrai prides itself on creating jewellery that is unique. “In such a vast jewellery market, consumers can get confused about which designs to pick. Moreover, trust is a huge factor. We have already earned the trust of our customers, thanks to generations of hard work and quality products. Now, we strive to make our jewellery genuinely unique through creative designing and masterful use of precious gemstones,” says Mohak Gupta.

Traditionally, Mangatrai has had a focus on heritage and heavyweight jewellery. “While tradition is at the heart of our style, we also understand and value the importance of innovation and acknowledge the changing trends and tastes of customers,” says Gupta Senior. “Our designers have proactively reacted to the new trends in the market, and we have, thus, been able to cater to the customers’ changing needs and preferences. We have a whole collection of lightweight jewellery for the younger generation at affordable prices. At the same time, we continue to showcase our traditional jewellery,” adds Gupta Junior.

Building an envious reputation

Sharing more details about the company, Gupta Senior says that Mangatrai has special expertise in the use of gemstones. “We specialize in gemstone setting, and our are gems sourced from the largest mines of Africa, Australia, China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Japan, Philippines and Tahiti. Every Darpan Mangatrai gemstone is meticulously inspected, assorted and graded by highly trained professionals, leading to fine jewellery of the highest quality. As we look ahead, we take great pride in the fact that we have no equal when it comes to chiselling world class jewellery,” he adds.

Such is the reputation that Mangatrai has enjoyed that when Bill Clinton, the former President of the US, visited India, the company presented a replica of the famous Charminar monument crafted out of pearls to him. The souvenir continues to be on display in the White House. A similar replica was presented to Prince Charles on his visit to India. “Our commitment to excellence has helped us acquire such a reputation that we have been featured by TLC, a popular international lifestyle channel, and by The New York Times, BBC, The Times of India, and so forth,” says Gupta Junior.

Talking about the recent clarification issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs that allows export of jewellery using courier services, Gupta Senior says it will go a long way in helping the industry ship jewellery to overseas customers. “We have a client base that straddles India, Europe, USA and the Gulf countries. Now that the government has liberalised export of jewellery, it will be easy for our overseas clients to buy from us,” he adds.

And what if Joe Biden, the President-elect of the US, happens to come to India? Well, knowing Mangatrai, he might be presented with a replica of Charminar made of diamonds!

Courtesy: Retail Jeweller India News Service