Kalyan Jewellers' TS Kalyanaraman Tops Wealthiest Indian Jewellers' List

TS Kalayanaraman, the chairman and managing director of Kalyan Jewellers, is the wealthiest jeweller in the country with a personal fortune of $1.3 billion, according to a Wealth-X report.

Opening his first jewellery shop in in Thrissur city of Kerala in 1993 with a capital of just $1,00,000, Kalyanaraman expanded the jewellery chain to 79 showrooms across India and abroad.

In 2013, Bloomberg had estimated the valuation of Kalyan Jewellers at about $1 billion. Currently, the firm employs around 8,000 people in India.

Mumbai-based Nirav Modi has been ranked second wealthiest jeweller in the country with a net worth of $1.1 billion.

"Born into a family of Indian diamantaires, Modi left the family business in 1999 and launched his own company, Firestar Diamonds. In 2007, Firestar Diamonds acquired New York-based Sandberg & Sikorski," The Economic Times cited the Wealth-X report.

MP Ahammed, who is also from Kerala, is the third in the list, with his personal fortune standing at $1 billion. He opened his first jewellery shop Malabar Gold and Diamonds in Kozhikode in 1993, with a capital of Rs 50 Lakh. By the end of 2013, the company had a turnover of Rs 22,000 crore. Currently, the company owns over 100 showrooms in various countries.

"The gems and jewellery industry is among India's fastest growing sectors fuelled by UHNWs affinity for jewellery and the fact that they view it as an important store of value. For India's ultra wealthy jewellers, all that glitters is gold!" Sahil Mehta, director, Indian subcontinent at Wealth-X said.

Other jewellers in the top 10 list include Bhima Jewellers' B Govindan with a personal fortune of $620 million, Kiran Gems' Vallabhbhai S Patel ($590 million), Laxmi Diamond's Vasant Gajera ($580 million), Dharmanandan Diamonds' Laljibhai Patel ($480 million), Kiran Gems' Babubhai Lakhani ($470 million), Kiran Gems' Mavji Bhai Patel ($410 million) and Rajesh Exports' Rajesh Mehta ($310 million).