It was December 2013. I was chasing a story on "Agents of Luxury"- the likes of Kalyani Chawla (Dior), Dilip Doshi (former Mont Blanc) and Sanjay Kapoor (Jimmy Choo, Armani, Canali). Of course, now infamous but then famous Nirav Modi was also on my list. Modi by then had established his foothold in the world of luxury; he was actually a regular at most luxury conferences and was getting showcased as this great luxury jewellery brand from India. I bumped into him at the CII luxury summit where he promised me a meeting. I was not so sure, for most people I had approached had given oodles of attitude, hemming and hawing when it came to a meeting. I came back and promptly wrote him a mail. To my utter surprise, he had replied in less than an hour, agreeing to meet me the next week. I couldn't have been happier. Despite being a luxury brand, he was so easily approachable!
His office, then at Kamla Mills in Worli was no less than an art studio. Actually, it wouldn't be wrong to call it a library. I was blown away with his art collection—it was phenomenal and was adding vibrancy to the tastefully done office. His 28,000 square feet expansive office had art collection ranging from Raja Ravi Varma, Amrita Shergill, F.N. Souza to Jitish Kallat. An elephant installation by V.S Gaitonde was particularly impressive. I, along with my photographer, was taken to his jewellery studio, where the interview was to happen. The jewellery studio was meant for clients to explore his collection, do trials and order customisations.
It wasn't palpable at all, that the guy who once wanted to be a music conductor and even a professor had the genius of conning a bank. The day we went, he was dressed in an impeccable pink shirt. He told us later that he had a fetish for Canali suits. Extremely soft spoken, he would sort out his thoughts and pause in between speaking. "My designs are not trendy, these are timeless pieces. You can wear it several years down the line. The question I pose to myself is—will a woman like it even after 100 years. If not, it's a waste of time," he had told me.
The fluire collection with rose cut diamonds, also one of his best selling, was on display and it was fabulous. Its price was all the more fantastic—Rs 1.5 crore for the necklace and Rs 3 crore for the ear-rings. Well, I could only think of John Keats—“a thing of beauty is a joy forever" and be content! While I was going through the collection and wondering, Modi asked me to try one of the bangles which was inspired by his daughters' bangles. It was gorgeous.
Where does he get his inspiration from, I asked. He said it is many things but of late nature, mughal architecture and art. A painting on tribal art was his inspiration for a bracelet design. He told me that each of these pieces were so exquisite, it took anywhere from 100 hours to 200 hours to make a piece.
His softspoken nature aside, at one point Modi did come across as the jockey who very well knew rules of the diamond industry. He told me that he had exclusive access to rare pink diamonds. There are a very few pink diamond producing mines and its annual production can fill up only a champagne flute. These diamonds are therefore valued much higher than colourless diamonds. Modi has used pink diamonds in many of his pieces including the much coveted Golconda necklace and the Shalimar ring. His suppliers were no small names—Russian diamond mining behemoth Alrosa and Australian miner Rio Tinto.
Modi's firm Firestar would import rough diamonds, polish it and sell it to retailers in US. His largest revenues at that time, he told me, were coming from the US. Macy's was his major client. What astonished me during the conversation was within just a few years of starting his diamond business (Modi started his private label in 2010), he had made three acquisitions, Sandberg & Sikorski, the largest jewellery supplier to the US Armed Forces, and A Jaffe, a 120-year luxury bridal jewellery label, for $50 million. He also acquired Fantasy Diamond, a jewellery wholesaler in 2012.
Somewhere in between, he told me that he was targeting billion dollar turnover in the next three years. Bang on, Forbes in 2016 listed him, mentioning his $1.6 billion turnover. I really wonder how sagacious the man was—he has made more than a billion dollar exactly at his targeted timeline, alongside splurging on art and celebrities.
After having talked about the business aspect, I switched the topic to know about his personal side. He told me that he is a very simple man who loves going for walks. He spoke about his wife Ami who is an American national and has lived a high life in the US. She moved to India after they got married and since then has been trying to adjust to Indian conditions—harsh weather, traffic etc. She is apparently a great cook and packs home made lunch for Modi. He told me that one of his prized possessions was cuff-links with his daughters’ hand-prints, gifted by his wife.
While Modi dropped out from Wharton he did several short courses in finance, accounts and business from MIT and Harvard University. Designing and literature were his two passions. Though he did not regret dropping out, Modi wanted his children to have a liberal arts education at the undergraduate level.
One thing I very clearly remember him telling me is about the book, The Billionaire's Apprentice. He was reading it at that time. The book is about the insider trading fraud that two high profile individuals—Rajat Gupta and Raj Rajaratnam—committed, landing them in jail in the US. Probably, Modi was so inspired that he wanted to better Rajat Gupta, but lie and deceit have a short life.
