Venus Jewel

A leading diamond company manufacturing in Surat 

Venus Jewel, for decades, has practised corporate social responsibility, long before the title CSR was coined. Management and all staff eat the same food in the same cafeteria (very fine Jain Indian food too, I might add).

Founded by brothers Sevantilal and Ramniklal Shah in 1969. Venus Jewel started as a small operation. However, 1980 saw the company begin to grow when Sevantilal decided to take on the challenge of becoming the first Indian manufacturer to polish diamonds that were two carats and above.

Shah rewrote the rules of diamond-cutting operations in the country by upskilling their workers. He created a world-class manufacturing environment. This was a defining moment in the history of the diamond industry. Venus Jewel spearheaded a movement that has today positioned the country as the world’s leading source of large, polished gems.

The building itself, vast in size- 260,000 square feet sitting on 6.5 acres and boasting solar panels feeding 20% of the building’s electricity.

Venus Jewel Staff

The Staff at Venus Jewel have a complex bonus system. It starts with how they arrive at work (bonus points for no pollution and -minus if you drive in your own car). Individual decisions such as “I think we should make this rough diamond into a 3.00ct pear shape”. If another operator says, “no, it will finish as 2.95ct and a 2ct round would be worth more” all play a part as to how they earn their commissions.

After production, the one who makes a commitment gets bonus points. If his decision is approved he gets the points or loses points if it doesn’t. The end result is an engaged, continually learning workplace. In turn,  earning top money. Surat has the highest household income in India, more even than the internet service cities.

The factory was the first of now many high-rise developments where the workers use ultra-modern computer network equipment. A considerable amount of the technology employed has been developed and supplied. Suppliers include the R&D outfit & the Cut Group, which our founder Garry Holloway is a member of. This includes the software that enables Garry to ‘see’ every aspect of a diamond, measure its light performance and assess its beauty. Garry and his partners have made many modifications to the diamond-cut designs used by Venus.

The building is built with an empty centre so that the cutters all have as much natural light as possible, plus it’s a place for corporate gatherings.

Venus Jewel Headquarters