A Life in Gems, Jewellery and the Pursuit of Excellence

Aniruddh Fatehpuriya, known to most people as Andy, was born and brought up in Jaipur, a city with centuries of association with gems, jewellery and craftsmanship. His introduction to the jewellery business did not begin with a degree or a formal job. It began at home, watching his father, Shri Dwarka Ji Fatehpuriya, work in the international gemstone trade.

From a very young age, Andy knew that he wanted to join his father. He was introduced early to the practical side of the business, including gemstone cutting and polishing, and began learning how gemstones were sourced, evaluated and traded. What started as a childhood interest gradually became a serious education in one of the world's most specialised trades.

At the age of 14, Andy began travelling internationally with his father, visiting gemstone markets and jewellery shows. His first major international experience was the Tucson Gem Show in Arizona, one of the world's most important gatherings for gemstones and jewellery.

At just 15 years old, Andy independently booked his first booth at the GJX show in Tucson.

It was an early sign of the ambition that would shape his career.

The Idea That Changed the Direction

While attending that first Tucson show, Andy began thinking about the future of the family business.

His father had already established a strong reputation in the gemstone trade, particularly for fine natural Tanzanite, supplying gemstones to jewellery manufacturers and clients internationally. Andy believed that the business could take the next step by moving from supplying exceptional gemstones to creating finished jewellery around them.

He told his father that the business needed to transition into jewellery.

The idea was ambitious and, at the time, went directly against the way the business had traditionally operated.

The family had spent years supplying gemstones to jewellery manufacturers. Moving into finished jewellery meant entering a space occupied by many of their own customers.

The response from the trade was clear.

Many people told his father, “You are the king of Tanzanite. You are a legend in your stone. Why do you want to enter jewellery?”

Their concerns were understandable. The gemstone business was already successful and respected. There was little reason, from a conventional business perspective, to change it.

Andy saw it differently.

He wanted to take the knowledge of exceptional gemstones all the way to the finished piece.

From gemstone sourcing to jewellery creation.

That became the beginning of a much larger journey.

When Nobody Would Teach Him

Andy wanted to learn jewellery manufacturing properly. He approached jewellery manufacturers and businesses that had been purchasing gemstones from his father and even sought opportunities to work as an intern.

But the industry was understandably cautious.

A young member of a successful gemstone family wanted to learn manufacturing and eventually build a business that could go directly from gemstone to finished jewellery. Most manufacturers were not prepared to teach him the trade.

The answer was repeatedly no.

Andy did not change his mind.

Instead, he decided to learn by building.

His father gave him the opportunity and the freedom to figure it out himself. The instruction was simple: go and buy the silver, learn how to make the jewellery, and do not stop until you become one of the finest manufacturers you can be.

Andy began with approximately 300 grams of silver.

There was no established jewellery manufacturing division behind him. He had to learn the process step by step, working through design, production, stone setting, finishing and polishing.

The early pieces were an education in themselves.

Every mistake taught him something about manufacturing. Every successful piece gave him a better understanding of how gemstones and jewellery had to work together.

Learning to Manufacture

One of the early projects that tested the team was a fine tennis bracelet.

The design may appear simple, but producing one to a high standard requires considerable precision. The stones have to align correctly, the settings need to be secure, the bracelet has to retain flexibility and the finishing needs to be consistent throughout.

It took the team almost a month to develop the tennis bracelet to the standard they wanted.

The experience reinforced an important lesson for Andy.

Fine jewellery is not simply about placing beautiful gemstones into metal.

It involves design, engineering, proportion, craftsmanship, stone setting, finishing and an understanding of how the jewellery will actually be worn.

This hands on approach to manufacturing would become an important part of Andy's philosophy.

Jaipur Was His First Classroom

Throughout these years, Jaipur remained Andy's base and his first real classroom.

He spent much of his formative life immersed in the jewellery business and learning directly from people working within it. Jaipur's gemstone cutters, artisans, jewellery manufacturers and traders gave him an environment in which he could learn by watching, asking questions and doing the work himself.

At the same time, Andy wanted to understand how the jewellery business operated beyond India.

Over the years, he travelled extensively and attended major jewellery and gemstone shows in Las Vegas, Miami, Hong Kong, New York, Los Angeles, Mumbai and other international markets.

Every market exposed him to something different.

He saw how gemstones were traded, how diamonds were evaluated, how jewellery was designed and manufactured, how luxury clients purchased and what standards international buyers expected.

This gave him a global perspective while keeping him firmly connected to Jaipur's traditional strengths in gemstones and craftsmanship.

New York and the GIA

After years of practical experience, Andy wanted to strengthen his knowledge with formal gemological education.

In 2019, he attended the Gemological Institute of America in New York and completed the Graduate Gemologist programme.

For Andy, GIA was an important step because it brought scientific discipline to the practical knowledge he had developed growing up in the trade.

He studied the identification and evaluation of diamonds and coloured gemstones, learning how to examine gemstones through established gemological methods and specialised instruments.

The experience also gave him exposure to one of the world's most important international centres for diamonds and jewellery.

But his education in New York did not end at the classroom.

The Diamond District

Andy subsequently worked as an intern at Meir Diamonds in New York, gaining direct exposure to the diamond business, large diamonds and high jewellery.

He spent significant time in New York's famous 47th Street Diamond District, surrounded by experienced diamond dealers and professionals who had spent decades in the trade.

For someone who had grown up primarily around coloured gemstones in Jaipur, this was a completely different side of the jewellery world.

He learned about large diamonds, diamond dealing, sourcing, negotiation and the commercial realities of the international diamond market.

He also had exposure to the world of high jewellery and prestigious gemstone and jewellery auctions, including environments associated with Christie's and Sotheby's.

For a young gemologist, these were extraordinary experiences.

He was seeing exceptional diamonds and gemstones, meeting experienced dealers and observing how some of the world's most valuable jewellery is evaluated, traded and ultimately acquired.

It was an education that could not be replicated in a classroom.

The One Principle Behind Everything

Through all of these experiences, one principle remained constant.

Trust.

It was something Andy had learned from his father from the beginning, and it became even more important as he entered international markets and began working with diamonds and high value gemstones.

Jewellery is a business where a very small object can represent a significant amount of money. A customer may not be able to independently judge the quality of a gemstone, understand a laboratory report or know whether the price being asked is reasonable.

That makes trust fundamental.

For Andy, trust means being able to tell a customer what a gemstone is, what has been done to it, what its strengths and limitations are and whether the price makes sense.

The customer should understand what they are buying before they buy it.

That philosophy continues to influence the way he approaches jewellery today.

Coming Back to Jaipur

After completing his education and gaining international experience, Andy returned to Jaipur and rejoined the family business.

He returned with more than a qualification.

He brought back years of practical experience in gemstones and manufacturing, formal gemological training from GIA, exposure to the international diamond trade and a broader understanding of high jewellery and global markets.

The next stage was to bring all of these experiences together.

The gemstone knowledge that had been developed through his family could be combined with jewellery design and manufacturing. International standards could be applied to Jaipur craftsmanship. And the knowledge gained in New York could be brought back to the city where his journey had begun.

From Gemstones to Jewellery

The original idea Andy had at 15 had now become a much more developed vision.

His family had spent generations understanding gemstones. Andy wanted to use that knowledge to create jewellery that showcased those stones properly.

That meant understanding not only the gemstone itself, but also how it should be cut, set, protected and presented.

It meant understanding the relationship between the gemstone and the metal, the engineering of the setting, the proportions of the design and the practical requirements of wearing the jewellery.

The objective was never simply to manufacture jewellery. It was to understand the complete journey from gemstone to finished piece.

That philosophy eventually became an important part of the work Andy does today.

Andy and Janki

Janki's growth into fine jewellery brings together many of the same principles that have shaped Andy's career.

To strengthen this expertise, Janki has brought Andy and his experienced team from The Sterling Factory on board as its official jewellery partner.

The partnership brings together gemological knowledge, gemstone sourcing, jewellery design, manufacturing expertise and international market experience.

For customers, it means having access to someone who has experienced the jewellery business from several different sides.

Andy has worked with gemstones.

He has worked with diamonds.

He has learned jewellery manufacturing from the ground up.

He has studied gemology professionally at GIA.

He has worked in New York's Diamond District.

He has travelled through major international jewellery markets.

And he has grown up learning the business directly from his father.

That combination is what Andy now brings to Janki.

Speak Directly With Andy

One of the things Andy believes strongly in is making professional knowledge accessible.

If you are buying a gemstone or diamond and have questions, you can speak with him directly.

You may want to know whether a gemstone is natural or synthetic, whether it has been treated, how to understand a laboratory report, whether a diamond should be natural or laboratory grown, whether the quality is appropriate for the price, or simply whether the stone you are considering is a good choice.

You can ask.

Andy is available to speak with Janki customers directly.

Aniruddh “Andy” Fatehpuriya

GIA Graduate Gemologist, New York | Class of 2019

Call or WhatsApp Andy: +91 9799121700

You do not need to understand gemological terminology before speaking with him.

If you have a question, start there.

Andy will help you understand the rest.

A Journey From 300 Grams of Silver

The story that began with a young boy accompanying his father to gemstone shows eventually became a career spanning gemstones, diamonds, jewellery manufacturing, gemological education and international markets.

At 15, Andy was already thinking about taking the family gemstone business into jewellery.

When the industry told him that it was not the right direction, he continued.

When manufacturers would not teach him, he started learning himself.

When he had to begin with 300 grams of silver, he began.

He travelled.

He studied.

He worked.

He trained.

He returned to Jaipur.

And he continued building.

Today, that journey forms the foundation of the expertise Andy brings to Janki.

His approach remains deeply connected to the lessons he learned from his father, but shaped by his experiences in Jaipur, New York and jewellery markets around the world.

For Andy, gems and jewellery have never simply been a profession. They have been a way of life.

And that is the experience he now brings to every conversation, every gemstone and every piece of jewellery created with Janki.

From Jaipur to the World

Aniruddh “Andy” Fatehpuriya
GIA Graduate Gemologist, New York | Class of 2019

Gemologist. Jewellery Professional. Manufacturer.

Call or WhatsApp: +91 9799121700

Janki

A lifetime around gemstones. Now, expertise you can speak to.