Based in Los Angeles, Arun hails from a family of jewelers from Jaipur, India with roots dating back to 1841, when they began creating commissioned pieces for Indian royalty. The eighth generation of the family business, Arun possesses a confidence and ease around awe-inspiring gemstones, extensive knowledge of all aspects of the fabrication process and an intuitive understanding of the inherent capabilities of metals.

Though his background is entrenched in time-honored principles, when striking out on his own, he wanted to push beyond the confines of traditional jewelry design and expand its prestige and prominence. In 2004 he, alongside his wife Ashita, launched ArunAshi to do just that. Their work is symbolic of their shared passion for jewelry and the romance that inspires their creativity. It is also a stance of independence and a self-imposed mandate to elevate the artform as a whole through the creation of provocative, imaginative designs and unexpected use of materials.

This independent streak and belief in jewelry’s potential to enhance life’s experiences was evident even when Arun was a child. Finding himself unattended in the family’s retail shop one Diwali when he was 8 years old, he made his first sale, a small parcel of diamonds he’d pulled from his father’s safe, to some German tourists who came into the shop. Arun’s father was astonished by his willful son’s audacity and concerned that the diamonds weren’t perfectly matched. Yet Arun knew, even then, that it was more important for the clients to go home and tell their friends that they bought these diamonds from a little kid in India than it was for the diamonds to be the exact same size.

This brazenness displayed from early childhood has come to be a large part of the appeal of ArunAshi jewelry. While operating within a framework that maintains his aesthetic legacy, Arun makes bold and defiant decisions about the materials with which he works, never shying away from achieving his vision, even if that limits his potential client base.

“It has always been my belief that I should look back at something I’ve done and feel proud; not proud that I sold a piece or that I’ve succeeded, but that I’ve stayed true to my beliefs,” Arun explains. That belief extends to setting Colombian emeralds in an elaborate inlay frame of opals, creating bold pieces in carbon fiber studded with diamonds, setting Brazilian Paraiba into Corian for aesthetically minimalistic rings or pairing extraordinary gemstones to form asymmetrical earrings; nothing is out of bounds in creating wearable works of art that transcend mere adornment.

Fueled by aligning with partners who share his esteem for design, Arun is steadfastly committed to nurturing relationships with the retailers with whom he works. He reveres the faith they place in him and his brand and, understanding that beauty is subjective, he values their shared perspective. Their appreciation of the complexities of his work becomes a sort of covenant and mutual lexicon, resulting in connections that surpass transactional relationships.

While his attitude and personality are consistently playful and his avant-garde designs showcase a sense of joy and levity, the seriousness with which Arun presents his work is illustrative of his appreciation of the solemnity of his collectors’ investments. Each individual piece produced by ArunAshi is accompanied by a full dossier that includes information about origin, the stories of procurement and unique tales of history and inspiration. These thoughtful touchpoints commemorate the scale of a client’s purchase and the exclusivity in owning a piece of ArunAshi, and provide the collector with the stories they will soon tell when someone inevitably compliments their jewelry.