Priya Jajoo, Founder and CEO of Juwelina Paris, a guilt-free jewelry startup for women is redefining the jewelry category with a sustainable technology driven alternative that prevents environmental damage. Juwelina pieces have been featured in fashion spreads such as Elle, Grazia and many more. Her exquisite taste and expertise in the industry spawns across generations. Chiseled into sparkling success, Jajoo explains how gems are a family affair, “I grew up in a family with four generations of expertise in fine gems and jewelry. My grandfather was a pioneer who expanded the business globally in the 1960s, taking him from France to Brazil. Deep-rooted knowledge in gemstones led to my father working with luxury brands like Van Cleef, Cartier, and Boucheron. From a young age, I had accomplished mentors who taught me about the landscape of the business, the importance of quality craftsmanship and gave me the tools to become a successful entrepreneur.”

While Jajoo was rich in mentorship and guidance she was scrappy with her launch. Jajoo looks back at the launch of Juwelina and explains her confidence in her startups trajectory, “I launched the brand with less than $15,000 dollars and we have steadily grown organically in the first year. Launching a tech driven brand in an industry rooted in tradition requires an immense amount of intrinsic faith in my product and in myself.” Jajoo says, “A key barrier I faced in building the brand from the ground up, was in educating my peers on the environmental and human impact of mining and breaking away from tradition to embrace technology to help drive our mission.”

Building a startup is never easy but Jajoo is Brilliant under pressure. Jajoo was able to navigate the complex diamond industry supply chain. She explains her innovation and the challenges she faced creating the brand, “We use tech by using lab created stone that result in completely removing mining as a component of the supply chain. It took over 2 years of R&D for us to develop the right mineral compositions for our stones. We wanted to make sure our jewelry was still luxurious. For that we needed innovative and skilled stone cutting and setting skills, which take years to perfect. My product development journey took me to Vicenza, Italy, where I wanted to work with master artisans who could make each stone beautifully brilliant. Convincing them to break away from the tradition and embrace technology was not an easy task. By patiently working with them on every step of the production process and staying committed to our brand mission, we were able to persuade them.”

As the diamond value chain becomes more digital, Jajoo, who started the brand online is now starting to build brick-and-mortar store relationships. “We retail omni-channel across 'Net A Porter' & 'Nordstrom' equivalents of Asia. Distributing in 9 countries we are now building our category-defining brand across the U.K., Europe & USA.” Juwelina Paris is tracking towards a growth rate of 1200%. Many of their e-commerce pieces including Lucia Blossom & Essie earrings sold out in the first week. Jajoo goes on to say, “Millennials and now Generation-Z are moving away from traditional fine jewelry purchases with nearly 70% of Millennials looking for an alternative. The pandemic has further amplified the relevance of sustainability.”

Jajoo’s passion for her work is palpable through her jewelry and her mission, “I wanted to create modern heirlooms by asking women what they wanted, rather than telling women what they needed because no one had bothered until now.”

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