IITian who quit Amazon job to start jewellery business now worth Rs 1,300 crore

Gaurav Singh Kushwaha, a computer science graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, who left his job at Amazon to start an online jewellery venture, saw his net worth soar to more than Rs 1,300 crore on Tuesday after BlueStone Jewellery and Lifestyle made its stock market debut.

Kushwaha, who launched BlueStone in 2011, held a 17.70% stake in the company through 2.45 crore shares acquired at an average cost of Rs 47.92 per share. That investment, worth Rs 117.23 crore before the listing, swelled to Rs 1,340.68 crore at the stock’s intraday high of Rs 548 on its first day of trading.

BlueStone has emerged as a direct competitor to CaratLane, the omnichannel jewellery retailer majority-owned by Titan Company, a Tata Sons Group enterprise. The rivalry underscores how online-first players have disrupted India’s traditional jewellery industry by combining digital channels with physical retail.


Kushwaha’s Rs 1,300 crore wealth estimate is based solely on the market worth of his holding in BlueStone and does not include other investments or earnings.

Ratan Tata’s words of advice

Kushwaha’s entrepreneurial journey drew early attention from Ratan Tata. In a 2014 interview with The Economic Times, the BlueStone founder recalled walking into Tata’s Mumbai office for the first time and being at a loss for words. “I just didn’t know how to start the conversation,” he said.

“His (Tata’s) name overwhelms you. But, when you meet him, his charm and soft personality just win you over,” Kushwaha told The Economic Times. Under instructions from his wife, he made sure to return with a photograph. “She told me I don’t care if you get the funding or not, get a photo with Mr Tata.”

Beyond the photograph, Kushwaha received a lesson that would shape his outlook. “Mr Tata just gave me one key advice: If you honestly look to create value for customers, they will connect to you and trust you. Always strive for building the extraordinary, be it product, service or culture,” he had told The Economic Times.

Building a scalable jewellery business

Jewellery retail is notoriously capital-intensive, but BlueStone sought to sidestep the challenge by rethinking its supply chain. Initially outsourcing production, the company later took manufacturing in-house to compress production times to three or four days and reduce the need to hold large inventories. “We currently offer 3,000 designs. In another two years, we’ll take this number to 20,000,” Kushwaha said in an interview dated October 2014.

Back in 2014 when Kushwaha met Ratan Tata, BlueStone was clocking annual sales of Rs 50–60 crore. Kushwaha admitted the business had its personal quirks, too. “My wife keeps buying pieces from our website almost every month. I’ve realised being in the jewellery business is not such a great idea when you are newly married!”

From startup to public listing

The company has since scaled into a national retailer. As of March 2025, BlueStone operated 275 stores across 117 cities, including 200 company-owned outlets and 75 franchises. Revenues rose to Rs 1,830 crore in FY25, up 40% year-on-year, though net losses widened to Rs 222 crore due to higher financing and employee stock option costs.

BlueStone’s Rs 1,541 crore initial public offering, which closed on August 13, was subscribed 2.72 times, led by strong institutional demand. The stock opened on Tuesday at Rs 508.80 on the BSE and Rs 510 on the NSE, both below its IPO price, before climbing more than 6% to Rs 542 in intraday trade.

The company raised Rs 693 crore from anchor investors ahead of the listing and plans to deploy Rs 750 crore of the proceeds toward working capital.

From his early meeting with Tata to taking on Titan’s CaratLane, Kushwaha’s bet on blending technology with tradition has transformed him from an Amazon engineer to the billionaire face of one of India’s fastest-growing jewellery brands.

Also read | BlueStone Jewellery shares jump over 6% on market debut after weak open below IPO price

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)