How Jaipur's Gem Palace Built a Global Legacy | Siddharth & Samarth Kasliwal

Siddharth & Samarth Kasliwal of Jaipur's iconic Gem Palace talk about how the family has successfully elevated their heritage jewellery brand into an internationally acclaimed luxury powerhouse. Explore actionable strategies including leveraging organic storytelling, strategically showcasing jewellery at esteemed venues such as The Met and the Kremlin Museum, and the art of maintaining exclusivity.

Gain expert insights into:

• Building brand prestige organically
• Curating high-end exhibitions
• Crafting digital exclusivity strategies
• Engaging celebrity clientele authentically
• Ensuring craftsmanship and quality at scale

This is essential listening for jewellery industry professionals, luxury brand strategists, and entrepreneurs aiming to grow globally while preserving heritage and exclusivity.

Transcript

00:00:00

Siddharth Kasliwal: The Kasliwal surname is synonymous with Jaipur because we were the first settlers in town, on the invitation of the Jaipur royal family. With legacy comes great responsibility—and with that comes your family’s name.
Anjana Vaswani: Your family also personally designs the jewellery?
Siddharth: Yes, we do. My father told me something that has stayed with me: “Son, it takes many generations to build a business, but just one to take it down.”

00:01:02

Anjana: Hi, this is Anjana, and you're watching Indian Jeweller’s podcast, How Did You Do It? This is where we sit with thought leaders in the jewellery industry to understand one aspect of the business they’ve nailed. Today, we’re at Gem Palace, with Siddharth Kasliwal, who’ll talk to us about the brand’s international presence. Welcome to the show.
Siddharth: Thank you for having me.
Anjana: Can we start with the legacy of the brand—and the story behind your jacket?

00:01:38

Siddharth: The legacy is central to our identity. We always say Gem Palace is from Jaipur, and we’re very proud Rajasthanis. Our surname is synonymous with the city because we were invited here by the royal family.
We take pride in everything—our food, culture, attire. This jacket is a traditional hunting jacket, called a bundi. It’s a casual one; we wear more ornate versions with big buttons for weddings.
Anjana: I noticed everyone in your family wearing one. It really adds to your brand identity.

00:02:45

Anjana: Can we talk about this haveli we’re in? You’ve been here since 1852?
Siddharth: We moved into this space in the early 1900s. It’s on MI Road—Maharaja Ismail Road—one of Jaipur’s main roads. This was the "new" Jaipur, outside the city walls. Our family moved here in the late 1700s and formally established Gem Palace in 1852.
My grandfather and father were born here. Although we’ve now moved out, one of our uncles still lives on the premises. It was common in India for one family member to live where the business was.
Anjana: Especially important when you're dealing with jewellery.
Siddharth: Yes, and we’re lucky to be in Jaipur—a safe city. There’s a traditional belief in India that stolen jewellery doesn’t bring happiness. So we’re blessed that we can have jewellery lying around without locking it all up.

00:04:41

Anjana: How has your family legacy shaped your approach to business?
Siddharth: I’ve been coming to Gem Palace since I was five. I grew up listening to stories of Maharani Gayatri Devi, Lady Diana, and women from across the world who shopped here.
Our clients include not only celebrities, but royalty and industrialists—what we call the business maharajas. The legacy is important, and with it comes responsibility. We must maintain trust and confidence with integrity. My father taught me to be careful with every decision.

00:06:39

Anjana: You sell quintessential Indian craftsmanship internationally. What were the challenges?
Siddharth: It’s hard to bring an Indian brand and ethos to a global audience. In the 1950s and 60s, there was no social media, but my grandfather still got Gem Palace featured in Vogue.
Today, our challenge is balancing heritage with modern demands. We stick to quality and traditional craftsmanship like kundan meena, but make it wearable and fun—like nuggets strung on chains.
We don’t do mass production; it's quality over quantity. That’s helped preserve the brand.

00:10:08

Anjana: But it’s also about aesthetics and storytelling.
Siddharth: Exactly. Each piece tells a story—like poison rings, or Kamasutra rings from the 15th century that revealed erotic scenes. We also make accessible jewellery using semi-precious stones like amethysts or tourmalines, instead of emeralds or rubies.
We design everything ourselves. Gem Palace is vertically integrated—from sourcing to design to sales—it all happens in-house, which is rare even for top Western brands.

00:12:00

Anjana: What’s it like working in India compared to the West?
Siddharth: India is one of the most talented places. Here, two people might make a piece that takes thousands of hours—usually the goldsmith and setter.
Elsewhere, a machine does it and many people contribute. But our jewellery is entirely handmade. We use electricity, but no computers or lasers. That’s what gives each piece its soul.

00:13:33

Anjana: Storytelling is key to your brand—how do you balance it with ROI?
Siddharth: We don’t have a marketing or ad budget. Everything is organic. Word-of-mouth has worked for us, and we have a great relationship with the press.
We’ve had coffee table books, BBC documentaries, and we welcome people in—not just journalists. This very room lets you open a drawer and try on jewellery.
Anjana: That’s rare.
Siddharth: It’s about hospitality. In Rajasthan, we say Padharo mhare des—welcome to our land. Guests are gods.
This room was designed with Marie-Anne Oudejans, known for Bar Palladio. It’s hot pink for Jaipur, with a mud ceiling like a village home—juxtaposed with jewellery.

00:17:10

Anjana: Where are you present globally now?
Siddharth: We’re in New York, Istanbul, Korea, and do trunk shows globally. Each market is different—Asia prefers small, certified pieces; Americans love storytelling; the Middle East wants opulence.

00:18:30

Anjana: What about celebrity endorsements?
Siddharth: They matter, but we’ve never paid a celebrity. Jackie Kennedy, Lady Diana, Gwyneth Paltrow—all bought pieces themselves. No brand ambassadors, no Indian trade shows.
There’s always been mystique around us. Instagram has made some things public, but our key pieces are still shown only by appointment—in this very room.

00:20:50

Anjana: Tell us about your museum shows.
Siddharth: In 2006, Treasures of the Gem Palace at Somerset House had over 30,000 visitors—more than the Tiffany & Co. show running at the same time.
We also did the 2014 Jewels That Enchanted the World exhibit at the Kremlin. And we were the first Indian jewellers at the Met Museum in the early 2000s.

00:22:45

Anjana: Do you adapt jewellery for global markets?
Siddharth: Yes. India is now a luxury market. Our clients demand one-of-a-kind quality. In the early 2000s, Americans believed quality only came from Italy or France. That’s changed.
Now, Indian designers like Rahul Mishra are worn at the Met Gala. That was unthinkable 10 years ago.

00:24:40

Anjana: What’s next for Gem Palace?
Siddharth: We’ll never compromise on craftsmanship. We don’t follow trends—we often set them.
For example, my father made polki necklaces cool by pairing them with t-shirts. That became a trend in New York in the early 2000s.

00:26:20

Anjana: What advice would you give to jewellers aiming to go global?
Siddharth: Stay rooted. Be authentic. Take pride in our tradition.
Samarth Kasliwal: It’s important to maintain a “touch and feel” aspect with jewellery. Scaling up can lead to loss of personalisation. Every piece we make—we know the history, the stones, the artisan.
Online requires scale and speed, but we prefer intimacy.

00:29:00

Samarth: We’re working on an invite-only website for regular clients to view and buy pieces. Not open to the public. Payment, packaging, and fulfilment will all be handled by us personally.
We’ll never mass-produce. Each piece must feel special.

00:29:30

Samarth Kasliwal: We’ve been very fortunate that these family relationships have continued over generations.
Anjana Vaswani: Yeah.
Samarth: Someone walking in today—our great-grandfather might have dealt with their great-grandfather. That continuity means a lot to us.
It’s a matter of pride that they still have trust in us. And we don’t take it for granted—it’s something our ancestors worked hard to build.

00:30:04

Samarth: As a family jeweller, that sort of experience matters.
Anjana: Of course.
Samarth: Online automatically removes some of that, but we still want to offer something convenient. I get calls every day—people asking for gifts for their daughters, daughters-in-law, brothers-in-law. Sometimes just a set of buttons.
So it helps to have a catalogue they can browse through.
Anjana: Definitely.
Samarth: I’d say—create what makes you happy, something that has a story, and something that makes the wearer happy too.
As they say—we come and go, but the jewellery remains forever.

4o

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Absolutely—here’s Part 2 of the cleaned-up transcript from "How Jaipur's Gem Palace Built a Global Legacy", continuing exactly where we left off. This section captures the final leg of the conversation between Anjana Vaswani, Siddharth Kasliwal, and Samarth Kasliwal, preserving their tone and making only minimal, necessary edits for clarity. As before, topic shifts are timestamped.

🟪 Part 2

00:29:30

Samarth Kasliwal: We’ve been very fortunate that these family relationships have continued over generations.
Anjana Vaswani: Yeah.
Samarth: Someone walking in today—our great-grandfather might have dealt with their great-grandfather. That continuity means a lot to us.
It’s a matter of pride that they still have trust in us. And we don’t take it for granted—it’s something our ancestors worked hard to build.

00:30:04

Samarth: As a family jeweller, that sort of experience matters.
Anjana: Of course.
Samarth: Online automatically removes some of that, but we still want to offer something convenient. I get calls every day—people asking for gifts for their daughters, daughters-in-law, brothers-in-law. Sometimes just a set of buttons.
So it helps to have a catalogue they can browse through.
Anjana: Definitely.
Samarth: I’d say—create what makes you happy, something that has a story, and something that makes the wearer happy too.
As they say—we come and go, but the jewellery remains forever.