Ekatra Jewels to Open 5 Stores by 2027, Plans to Expand in Tier II and Tier III Cities

Ekatra means ‘together’. Launched in 2026, this is India’s first women-led, and design- and-technology embracing luxury lab-grown diamond jewelry brand that has disrupted thejewelry sector in India before making a full-fledged retail presence in the country.

Established by entrepreneur Pavitra Gandhi alongside Vasuki Punj, Sunny Sakariya, and Chirayu Yardi, Ekatra Jewels currently operates under Ekatra Retail Ventures Pvt. Ltd., gaining massive mainstream attention through prominent co-founders and partners like Producer Ekta Kapoor, and actors Sussanne Khan and Jennifer Winget.

Ekatra Retail Expansion Plans in India

The brand has recently raised INR 10 crore for its physical retail expansion. The brand has identified 5 store locations and aims to open its first out of five stores by next year.

Commenting on the physical retail expansion goal, Pavitra Gandhi, Founder, Ekatra Jewels, says, ‘‘We’ve identified five locations. Our first store out of the five locations will open early next year, and the rest follow through 2027. Each store will be spanning in an area of 500- 750 sq ft. which is intentionally kept small on purpose, so every square foot earns its place.’’

She adds, ‘‘We’ve also identified 12 shop-in-shop partners, strong local jewellers who already have their town’s trust, and that’s how we plan to go deeper into Tier 2 and Tier 3 India, where the next diamond buyer is.’’

Brand’s End-to-End Value Chain

Talking about the brand’s value chain ecosystem, Pavitra shares, ‘‘We have built a ‘Reactor to Ring’ value chain system. We grow the diamond, cut it, design it, make it and sell it.’’ Recalling her experience and legacy of being married into a family that has dealt in diamonds for three generations, Pavitra shares, ‘‘Every time a stone changes hands, you lose cost and accountability. Owning the chain lets us price honestly, patent our own cut, and give every customer a Diamond Birth Certificate, a Human Touch Certificate naming her craftsmen, and a year of Olocker insurance.’’

Product Portfolio

Ekatra Jewels deals in rings, earrings, pendants, necklaces, bracelets and solitaires in 9K and 14K gold, across four collections: Born Different, Diamond Diaries, OH MY GOLD by Sussanne Khan, and Not Just One with Jennifer Winget.

Sharing about her product portfolio, Pavitra shares, ‘‘Our jewelry is drawer jewelry, not locker jewelry. We plan to target 360 days of the year that aren’t weddings.’’ She adds, When our customer buys for themselves, they ask three things: Why this price, why this design, why this brand.-We answer with design, not discounts. Jennifer Winget, Apoorva Mukhija and Pragya Kapoor design with us.’’

Brand’s USP & Customer Experience

Moving ahead, Pavitra shares how the brand wants to create an experience of a ‘jewelry room’, as opposed to a showroom, which will be distinctive from other brands.

She says, Our first store opens early next year. If you walk out without buying and without taking your phone out, we’ve failed. No glass counters, no hovering salesman, no ‘flat 40% off’. You sit, you talk, you see how a diamond is grown and cut. You leave with your Diamond Birth Certificate, Human Touch Certificate and insurance already active. It should feel like ‘The Jewelry Room’, not like a showroom.’’

Technological Integration & Patents

Further discussing technology, Pavitra says, ‘‘A chatbot isn’t jewellery innovation. Technology has to change the product.’’

She adds that a standard round has 57 or 58 facets. Our ‘Shristi Ratna’ has 108, a number sacred in India, and the design is patented. Every Ekatra diamond is Type II A, the purest type, which nature manages under 2% of stones. Ekatra Jewels manages it every time, due to its efficient and effective technological and manufacturing ecosystem. She says that the brand’s hollow gold construction gives a ‘big look’ with far less gold, and at record high quality that matters to the customers.

‘‘With the help of technology, we have patented such product designs. Many brands talk about technology but lack patent designs,’’ says Pavitra.

Digital Presence of the Brand

Ekatra Jewels’ content has been viewed over 55 million times in six months, and 98 percent of those views came from people who are not actually following the brand.

Sharing the brand’s digital strategy, Pavitra says, ‘‘India doesn’t buy fine jewelry in one click. The customers find us on Instagram, WhatsApps, or visit a store and think for days before making a purchase. That’s one journey, so we run it as one business…. Ekta Kapoor drives our content, showcasing Ekatra’s products in the Naagin 7 finale as a part of the story, not an ad.’’

This makes our digital strategy unique as compared to other brands that are advertising on different digital platforms.

Lab-grown Diamond Market in India

Further discussing the lab-grown diamond segment in India, Pavitra shares that the lab-grown diamond market is around USD 450 million this year and is expected to reach about USD 1.8 billion by 2036. She adds that there are 3 factors that are driving this segment: gold as a value-asset, self-purchase, and jewelry certification becoming standard.

Pavitra says, ‘‘The category will split into commodity sellers and a few brands that have their own design and meaning. We know where we stand.’’

Challenges for the Segment

Sharing about the challenges in the lab-grown diamond sector, Pavitra shares, ‘‘The customer is confused as the industry confuses them. One brand sells sustainability, another sells price, the other sells carat size, making it difficult for the customers to choose the correct value proposition for jewelry purchase.’’

She adds that if one sells lab-grown as the cheap option, people will treat it as cheap. So the industry or brand must inform the customers about the segment, show them how it’s made, and put it on paper with certificates, hallmarked with gold and insurance.

She emphasizes, ‘‘I won’t build Ekatra by attacking natural diamonds. There’s room for both the categories.’’

White Space in the Segment

She further says, ‘‘The biggest gap in the lab-grown diamond segment is the brand is not actually innovating in the segment. If 10 companies sell the same stone and fight over INR 5,000, nobody has built anything.’’ Discussing about the opportunities in the segment and for the brand, Pavitra says, ‘‘We are building lightweight gold jewelry, with OH MY GOLD collection. The idea behind this collection is that jewellery can look chunky without using a lot of gold. With Shrishti Ratna, our spiritual luxury comes in. These are patented designs for Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in India and the world, where no Indian lab-grown brand has gone yet. Our designs for the US and the Middle East are ready.

Vision for the Future

Sharing about the brand’s vision, Pavitra shares that Ekatra Jewels launched on Women’s Day this year, and that’s exactly what it became: a women-centric brand where women are coming together as founders, co-creators and customers.

‘‘India cuts most of the world’s diamonds and brands in almost none of them. I want to change that. When someone in Dubai or New York asks for a diamond with a story, I want the answer to be an Indian name, ’’ signs off Pavitra.