CaratLane Stories – Correcting the many myths about CaratLane

In the last few months, there has been a sudden surge in the interest people have started to take in CaratLane. In large part it has to do with people suddenly discovering, that CaratLane was at a 2000+ crore revenue run rate with high profitability. A lot of people have asked us a lot of questions. Based on that, I realised that there were many incorrect myths about us. This article aims to correct the most common myths about CaratLane. If you have more questions, please feel free to ask.

Myth – That we are a tech company which is in the jewellery business. Like edtech, foodtech, agri tech and fintech, we are a jewellery or retail tech company. There is an alternate view that we are a jewellery company and tech is an enabler.

Both of these things are right and wrong.

This is the reality – We are a digital native jewellery company.

Like Apple which creates hardware and software which are in perfect harmony with each other, in CaratLane, jewellery and a digital mindset are deeply interconnected and in perfect sync with each other. Its deeply rooted in the psyche and culture of the organisation. So much so that even jewellery designers make most of their decisions based on data and customer experiments and even product and marketing people know the finer nuances of jewellery.

Myth – That creating a great omni channel business is our end goal.

Not its not. Its just a means to the end. The end goal is higher conversion and better consumer experience. Do whatever that takes. Omni is one of the many means and it happened organically as we kept solving these two problems. And omni doesn’t just mean opening stores, getting an app and a CRM. Omni @CaratLane is a full stack ecosystem to which enables better conversion and expereince in every pincodes with high demand.

Myth – That we are no longer a start-up and have been subsumed within Titan.

No we are not. We are still a startup with a day zero mentality. Raising money and not making any is not a mandatory condition for a start-up. And god bless the good folks at Titan. They have supported us in everything and added value in a gazillion ways. And have allowed CaratLane to operate independently. Just come and spend a day with us and see for yourself.

Myth – That our mission is to disrupt jewellery buying behaviour, manufacturing techniques and selling methodologies.

Not at all. We are very respectful of the rich historical legacy of the Jewellery industry and its social codes. Buying jewellery involves a lot of tradition, emotion and experience. The selling involves a lot of relationship building. We have a rich diversity of hand made jewellery making techniques. We don’t want to disrupt any of that. We want to make sure that we heighten that customer experience. Deliver highly personalised service like small family jewellers nat scale. Restore long lost technique like Banarsi Meenakari by giving them a contemporary flavour. Do all of this better than anyone else. With less failure and erros. At scale. Using digital and data.

Myth – That affordability means cheapest and lowest price.

No it does not. For us, affordability means great designs even in lower price points. Affordability means a bigger, more aesthetic look using less raw material than what’s available otherwise. By working hard on designs and using modern manufacturing techniques.

Myth – That our TAM is the studded jewellery market.

Not its not. Our purpose is to “help customers express their emotions through jewellery”. Based on that, our real market opportunity is every purchase where someone wants to celebrate a special moment or occasion for themselves or someone important in their lives. For that opportunity, we are not competing only with other jewellers. But with everyone who makes a product or a service which addresses that need. Like travel and watches and handbags and many other things.

Myth – That digital means technology.

That’s for companies selling digital transformation. For us digital means data. It means objectivity. It means agility. It means scale. It means transparency and collaboration. The use of technology just enables all of that. And by the way, data isn’t just limited to numbers. At CaratLane, we think of it as information. We think of it as both English and Maths. Which means it also covers full Customer Journeys, Ethnographic Research, Listening to calls and chats, Customer interviews, etc.