She was surrounded by rough and polished diamonds since childhood since her father was a diamond manufacturer. Her contemporary aesthetics were further fuelled by a De Beers Scholarship early on in her career which enabled her to learn from top international jewellery houses.
Today, the award-winning jewellery designer Sonali Shah Sheth wears many entrepreneurial hats. She runs JewelSprings Design Centre, a technical institute for jewellery design, and Sphere, a jewellery manufacturing company with her brother, in Surat. She was also the Head of Design at Reliance Jewels for two years. A design strategist, Sonali launched started her retail brand, Sohnaa in 2023.
While creating spectacular jewellery for other retail brands, Sheth harboured a desire to establish her own retail brand—a space where she could weave her own intricate tales through jewels. Armed with designs that hold meaning and a fervent determination to challenge the conventional practice of selling jewellery solely by weight, Sohnaa is a cut apart from the rest.
Just at the cusp of launching Sohnaa formally, Sheth talks about her passion for jewellery, and her plans to retail through shop-in-shops of other high-end jewellery brands in India.
Why did you decide to launch Sohnaa?
Twenty years ago, when I started Sphere with my brother right after college, I wanted to create a retail brand. It was a learning curve for us to understand the dynamics of the industry. At that point, people only wanted my designs through wholesale.
I put a lot of thought and research into every collection, but that cannot reach the end consumer when you do wholesale business.
When I did a programme at IIM Ahmedabad in luxury management, I realised there is so much that goes into creating a brand. During the course, I met the CEOs of some of the biggest companies in India. I asked them if there was a model where they would showcase my designs in their store, but they didn’t have room for a jewellery designer back then.
In 2017, I started working on my own brand, but I had to take a detour. I was approached to head the design department of Reliance Jewels. My brother, the co-founder of Sphere, managed the business with my team while I worked with Reliance for two years.
I finally made my retail dream a reality in 2023.
What has been the response so far to Sohnaa’s unconventional designs?
It has been fabulous. I soft launched the brand at the IMC show in Mumbai in September 2023. I received a lot of praise for my jewellery.
The only hesitation was regarding the price policy. It is a conscious decision on my part to stick to selling on MRP and not on the weight of gold and diamonds, a concept that curbs my creativity.
After launching offline, we went live with the website around Diwali. We are yet to make an official debut.
We are currently in talks with jewellers from different cities in India to carry our label with our branding. We will support them with marketing and help them get new customers. We bring fresh designs to the table which appeal to the modern consumer, who values design and highly finished products.
What type of women does your jewellery design cater to?
I have always followed my instincts and created my own aesthetics rather than following trends. I cater to women who are seeking extraordinary pieces. Since my customers have refined taste, for them, the story is more important than the intrinsic value of the material. The story consumes the piece, and the piece consumes the story.
Tell us about your Miraas collection.
I first conceptualised it around 2016 – 2017 after my trip to Türkiye. I was awestruck by the geometric tessellations in their architecture. I subsequently went to Spain and Morocco where I found similar patterns, but the vibe of Türkiye has stayed with me. I kept developing the designs over the years and have refined it for Sohnaa.
Miraas features small to high-end products – from a Rs. 20,000 watch charm to Rs. 15 lakh-worth necklace in one thematic collection.
Another reason for picking Türkiye is that it blends the aesthetics of the East and the West. It serves as a metaphor for Indian women who want the best of modernity and tradition.
I also like a lot of colour. I wanted the consumer to be involved in designing the piece they buy. She can semi-customise the jewellery by choosing her pattern and colours.
Each pattern has multiple options for size, colour and style enabling women to pick the right piece to suit their facial structure, personality, occasion, or interest.
We also have Aurm, a complimentary collection that features muted gold and diamond pieces to offset the vibrancy and intricacy of Miraas.
What were your key takeaways from your time as the Head of Design at Reliance Jewels?
I am very grateful to the team at Reliance Jewels, especially the CEO, Sunil Nayak, for giving me the opportunity. I learned to appreciate Indian art and geography in detail because for any collection that we developed, we had to take a thorough recce trip to whichever region we were drawing inspiration from. We had to understand their culture, lifestyle, and varied practices while creating jewellery for them.
Additionally, I gained access to a wealth of data, business insights, and consumer trends due to the expansive nature of their operations across the country.
Perhaps, the biggest achievement was establishing the CAD team. Earlier, all tasks were done manually. I pushed for designing and creating collections using CAD. Under my leadership, we expanded the design team from 8 to 30 members across the country. It was a challenging and fulfilling experience.
During my tenure, I successfully secured 6 major industry awards for Reliance Jewels. Ultimately, they wanted me to relocate to Mumbai, but my children needed me, and I preferred to stay in Surat. Therefore, I made the difficult decision to resign.
How do balance your time between all your ventures?
I would be lying if I said that I am balancing everything very well. Sometimes, a role takes priority. There is a team in place for Sphere; I only give them direction periodically.
As for JewelSprings Design Centre, my jewellery training institute, I currently teach only one class. It helps me stay in touch with the new generation and is also my way of giving back. Teaching gives me the satisfaction of passing on the knowledge that I have gained over the years.
Today, I am concentrating on my brand Sohnaa. This is the dream that I have had for years, and I am fulfilling it today.