Rupesh Jain’s new venture Lucira bets on solitaires, targets offline launch & global entry

Lucira is setting its sights on building a globally renowned, design-forward label rooted in sustainability, and customer insight

Bengaluru: Rupesh Jain, the digital-age trailblazer who built Candere into one of India’s India’s leading online fine jewellery destinations before its acquisition by Kalyan Jewellers, is back in the spotlight with his latest venture: Lucira, a lab-grown diamond jewellery label.

Launched on 30 April, Lucira is just a few weeks into its journey, anchoring its brand positioning around life’s defining moments—promises, proposals, engagements, and weddings. Its offerings—ranging from rings and mangalsutras to pendants and solitaire studs—are envisioned as modern heirlooms marking personal milestones.

Entirely bootstrapped, Lucira is presently in a discovery-led phase—cultivating its early customers, conducting in-depth interviews to understand their pain points, and shaping the brand based on real-world feedback from the ground up.

In an exclusive interaction, Rupesh Jain, Founder of Lucira, unpacks the brand’s inception, sales strategies, sustainability initiatives, expansion plans, and more.

Edited excerpts…

Amid the surge of lab-grown diamond brands in India, where does Lucira distinguish itself?

In India, solitaire jewellery has historically struggled to gain traction compared to Western markets. Despite India being the second-largest jewellery market globally, solitaires account for just 10–15% of what’s consumed in the US—a stark contrast considering our population size. The primary reasons were undefined pricing structures and solitaires being perceived as aspirational, often exceeding the average consumer’s budget.

With the rise of lab-grown diamonds, the landscape is shifting—offering affordability, design flexibility, and wearability for both daily use and special occasions, making the category ripe for growth. At Candere, solitaire jewelry previously formed a modest part of our portfolio. But with Lucira, the timing feels right to embrace this opportunity. 

How much investment was involved in starting the brand?

So far, we have invested around Rs 1 crore into building the business—this includes setting up the complete tech infrastructure, crafting a customer experience layer, curating the right product assortment, and implementing backend systems for marketing and sales automation. 

What’s the story behind the name ‘Lucira’?

‘Lucira’ means ‘to shine’ and is derived from the Latin word lucent, symbolising brilliance—not just in diamonds, but in the relationships they represent. Whether it’s between a husband and wife, partners, fiancés, or marking a ten-year milestone, Lucira intends to celebrate the radiance of meaningful connections, which embodies a promise, a moment, a memory. 

How many product SKUs are there at present?

Currently, our website features around 500 designs, and over the next 3–4 months, we aim to expand that number to approximately 1,000. This is the scale at which we plan to build and strengthen our ready-to-retail (RTR) offering.

Rings are our primary category, with dedicated collections for engagement and wedding. In addition, our offerings include studs, necklaces, earrings,  mangalsutras, and tennis bracelets. At the moment, we are witnessing the highest customer interest across rings, earrings, and solitaire pieces.

Once we have established this range successfully, we may explore launching a complementary sub-brand in the future, potentially offering lightweight silver jewelry to cater to a broader audience.

Do you handle manufacturing in-house or outsource it?

We have partnered with large suppliers through contract manufacturing for most of our production needs. Also, we operate a small in-house workshop to handle smaller design pieces, repairs, and maintenance work internally.

How frequently do you update your collections?

Our plan is to launch at least three collections annually, aligned with key Indian festivals and inspired by global design trends. Every item we produce must meet the highest manufacturing standards—on par with what’s delivered for global luxury brands like Tiffany or Cartier.

India is rich in craftsmanship and already a manufacturing hub for international labels—so our vision is to build a globally respected brand from India, rooted in our artisanal heritage and elevated by uncompromising quality.

Beyond your D2C website, which channels are in your pipeline for launch?

By September, we plan to launch our first offline store—starting with Mumbai. This will allow us to closely engage with our customers, gather feedback, and fine-tune the experience. Once we establish a strong presence in Mumbai, we will look to expand into other key markets like Delhi and Bengaluru. Our retail strategy will include a mix of high-street locations and select malls.

On our D2C website, we plan to introduce quicker delivery options for select SKUs that show strong traction, tapping into quick commerce opportunities. 

While we may experiment with marketplaces like Amazon, our primary focus will remain on strengthening our own D2C platform and expanding through offline stores. 

What is your target ratio for offline and online sales for the next year?

By next year, I expect the ratio between offline and online will be roughly 50-50 between online and offline sales. However, over the next 5–6 years, this is expected to shift significantly toward offline, reaching around 80% offline and 20% online.

Can you share your long-term strategy for offline retail expansion?

Our goal is to establish around 80-100 stores nationwide in the next 5-6 years, primarily focusing on metro cities as our initial market. Once we reach about 100 stores, we will reassess our strategy and potentially begin deeper expansion into tier 2 and tier 3 cities.

Are you considering entering any global markets?

Yes. We will begin our international expansion with the US, starting exclusively through an online channel via our own website. Once we see meaningful traction and it proves profitable, we will consider opening a physical store to better understand and enhance the customer experience in that market.

What are your expectations for closing this financial year?

By the end of this year, I believe we should be comfortably reaching a revenue of around Rs 8- 10 crore. If we execute this successfully, it will set a solid foundation for the coming year.

Can you share your top three focus areas?

The first priority is definitely establishing a robust supply chain, as it’s the backbone of our business and will ultimately determine our success or failure. Second, securing store locations at the right spots and with optimal rental agreements is crucial—high rents can hurt our rent-to-revenue ratio. Third, we need to ensure efficient inventory turnover, both in our physical stores and online, to maintain healthy inventory cycles. 

How do you ensure sustainability in your operations?

On the lab-grown diamond front, we have asked our factories and manufacturers to prioritise green energy—specifically solar power—so we can reduce electricity consumption in the production process. Also, we have made an internal commitment to plant one tree for every piece of jewellery we sell, contributing to a greener India.

We are working closely with our packaging vendors to explore the use of more biodegradable materials, aiming to make our packaging more eco-friendly. Additionally, we are in discussions with our suppliers to increase the use of recycled materials in place of newly mined resources. Over the next year, we are confident we’ll make meaningful progress on several of these fronts.

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