Diamonds For Me, Diamonds For My Pet

Published on 28/09/09

Everything glitters in Gujarat's Diamond City. Sparkling gemstones adorn not just necklaces and noserings, but a whole gamut of accessories like
leather belts, cell-phones, pen-drives, crockery, shoes and even collars for the mutt.

Diamond dust coats the hearts and minds of the citizens of this port town, the largest centre of diamond polishing, cutting and crafting in the world. Diamonds here are forever and for everything. In fact, apart from manufacturing diamond jewellery, diamantaires have separate teams of designers and stone-setters to fix gemstones on gadgets and accessories. Surtis, after all, look for a little bit of sparkle in everything.

"Diamond-studded accessories are fast becoming a rage among Surtis," says Praveen Nanavati, a leading diamond manufacturer, who also runs a jewellery showroom at Mahidharpura. "They just walk into a jewellery store with a gadget and ask for real diamonds to be embedded in it. We have an expert team just to set the sparkling stones in accessories. But it requires a lot of precision and finish."

Harshad Shah, a city-based businessman, uses a diamond-studded mobile phone. His phone has a skin of over 200 small diamonds, transforming it into a Rs 4 lakh-gadget that is worth showing off. Shah has also spent Rs 1 lakh on the collar of his German shepherd. The dog cost him Rs 12,000 though. "I bought the stones and asked the jeweller to embed them in the collar," he says, not without pride.

Hitesh Gadhia, a ready-made garment wholesaler, bought a Nokia phone and had it arrayed with 400 sparklers. Today, the phone is priced at Rs 1.55 lakh and is an eye-popper. "The moment I take my cellphone from its leather cover, all eyes around me are riveted. The phone is like an expensive bit of jewellery and it gives me a huge kick," Gadhia says, taking it out one more time.

Or take the case of Kailesh Waghel, owner of an electric-motor manufacturing company. He uses a diamond-studded pen-drive, which he also uses as a pendant for his gold chain. It's worth Rs 1 lakh. "I always wear this pendant in which I store all my information," he says.