Writer Amanda Christmann
Photography Courtesy of Goshwara
[dropcap]S[/dropcap]weta Jain furrows her brow as she turns a pendant gently between her fingers. A smoothly polished blue topaz cabochon, more brilliant than a clear Arizona sky, sits steady in her gaze as if waiting for her approval. She gives it a youthful grin and places it aside, carefully arranging its delicate gold chain links.
Jain is surrounded by candy-like gems: rich purple amethyst with flashes of rose, sunny lemon quartz, juicy orange citrine and luscious lime peridot, and among them, she seems to shine. Small and energetic, she’s built a life upon a foundation of colorful stones—but she’s also done so much more.
Her story began more than an ocean away, long before she was born.
“I grew up in a family of gemstone dealers,” she explains. “My father started in the business when he was about 12 years old. He was from a very poor family, and he used to walk to school along the streets of Jaipur.
“Along the way, he would see workers cutting gemstones on the street corners in front of their tiny shops. He was fascinated, and he knew he wanted to make money, so he would skip school without telling his parents and he would watch and watch as the workers cut and polished their stones. He got a break when one of them took him in and started him in the business.”
Her father worked hard, and he was smart about it. He grew his business, and by the time Sweta and her brother were born, he owned his own mine and was sourcing gems from around the world.
While other children came home from school to toys and books, Jain’s childhood was less conventional.
“I always saw emeralds in the house,” she recalls. “There would be 20 stacks of emeralds when I would come home from school. I would finish my homework, sort them into groups and wash them.”
As they grew older, Sweta and her brother accompanied their father mines throughout Africa, where they gained an understanding of and an appreciation for the beautiful gems that were so much a part of their lives. They saw the work that went into coaxing them from the earth, and they developed the gift of recognizing the potential of a raw stone.
“You could say that this business has always been in my blood.”
A Girl’s Best Friend
When she married at 21, she ventured away from the family’s gemstone heritage—but not by far.
“My husband was—and still is—in the diamond trade. He doesn’t understand colored gemstones; he’s a loose diamonds guy,” she says with a laugh and a dismissive wave of her hand.
“People who know colored gemstones don’t know diamonds. There is such large variety. I only know it because I’m so involved in it, dealing with it on a day-to-day basis. It’s not rocket science; I’m just passionate.”
Ever an assiduous study, Sweta took it upon herself to learn her husband’s business. They formed a partnership that led them, in different ways, down a similar path that continues to bring happiness and success.
“I didn’t know much about diamonds, so I went to Gemological Institute of America and learned about them,” she says.
She also took a two-year course in jewelry design at Fashion Institute of Technology, a move that ultimately returned her to her roots.
“I decided I wanted to do more than emeralds and loose gemstones,” she says.
Six years passed before she followed her calling. During that time, she and her husband, Paresh, had two children, and were living in New York. She kept busy doing accounting and marketing for Paresh’s diamond business, but she wanted more color in her life.
She wanted gemstones.
Her True Colors
For a while, Jain worked as a manufacturer with some of the biggest names in the jewelry industry. Her Rolodex contained well-worn pages for buyers from Tiffany, Cartier and Bulgari, and she made a name for herself as an expert in quality.
“I only know fine quality,” she says matter-of-factly. “That’s all I do. That’s my number one thing.”
In 2008, just before the recession altered the country’s financial landscape, she launched her own design business. Though times were difficult, this tiny dynamo was determined to make it work.
Jain named her business “Goshwara.”
“Goshwara is a word that suggests the perfect shape of the feminine silhouette. It’s used to define the perfection of beauty, and it’s used to describe the female body in a very positive connotation,” she explains.
“It was known that only the finest of craftsman could create a goshwara. It is this sense of perfection and beauty that guides us today. I follow the same tenets as the masters of centuries ago, and my jewelry reflects the sensuous curves and confident colors of the goshwara.
“In a world where tradition has too often given way to the latest and greatest, my jewelry is guided by the principles that remain timeless.”
The Goshwara Woman
Today, Goshwara has grown—not only because Jain’s jewelry is fantastically stunning, but also because many women find that it is an expression of who they are.
“The woman who is attracted to Goshwara is determined,” Jain explains. “She’s bold, and she’s somebody who is not afraid to take chances.
“She’s a woman who appreciates quality and who has seen another amethyst ring and chooses my ring because of quality—not only in the making of the jewelry, but gemstones themselves.”
Lines of design with names like “Rock ‘n Roll,” “Naughty,” “Gossip,” and other equally playful names capture fearless collections of jewelry. Like the women drawn to Goshwara, Jain’s designs stand out from the crowd, outshining less imaginative pieces from less discriminating manufacturers.
Daring uneven cabochon rings framed in sparkling diamonds, drop pendants suspended from 18K gold, and teardrop gemstone earrings dangling from brushed gold polka-dotted with diamonds are just a few favorites, and as tempting as they are in photos, they seem to come alive with their own fiery personalities in person.
“I focus on just the gemstone and chose to highlight them in the best way possible,” she says. “We do all of the cutting ourselves, and we choose to cut them to showcase the quality and the luster of each stone.”
And she does it well.
Though she describes herself as “bold all my life,” her style has changed through the years.
“We all start getting a little more perspective as we grow and evolve. The second half of my career has been influenced by symmetric patterns and architectural monuments. I look at lines and elements that inspire me. It’s not a literal translation; it’s just how I see it.
“A lot of times I have gemstones lying with me and I have not started working with them for lack of inspiration. I’ll see a geometric pattern on an historical building, and the lines and feeling of it will inspire me.
“I think it’s the aesthetic I get out of traveling. I get exposed to a lot of cultures, whether it’s going to see the Taj Mahal or the temples in southern India, or traveling to Italy or Africa.
It isn’t only travel and architecture that inspires the jewelry artist.
“Once in a while, I’ll be inspired by flowers and nature. It depends on the stone itself. Sometimes I will find a stone so dainty and feminine that I want to treat it that way. That’s when I turn to nature.”
Whatever the inspiration, this talented jeweler is unapologetically confident in her groove—and rightfully so. Her collections have made their way into specialty jewelry houses throughout the world, including Carefree’s Grace Renee Gallery.
Next month, Jain’s jewelry will be featured at a special two-day event at Grace Renee Gallery, including a wine reception Nov. 15 from 4–8 p.m. It will be an excellent time to see pieces from Goshwara’s playful, yet sophisticated collection, and find beautiful and out-of-the-ordinary gifts for yourself or someone you love.
“I think Goshwara is for the woman who has the diamond jewelry, and who is looking for something more bold and adventurous—but sophisticated,” Jain says with a smile.
In other words, someone very much like herself.
Goshwara Collection of Jewels
Nov. 15, 16 | Friday, 10 a.m.–8 p.m.; wine and appetizers 4–8 p.m. | Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Grace Renee Gallery | Historic Spanish Village | 7212 E. Ho Hum Rd. #7, Carefree | 480-575-8080 | gracereneegallery.com
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