(IDEX Online) - India's diamond trade will close tomorrow (16 June) for a day of mourning after the death of industry stalwart and pioneer Arun R Mehta. Arunbhai. He was 80.
From humble origins in a small town in Gujarat, he founded what became Rosy Blue, the biggest diamond manufacturing unit in the world.
He moved to Mumbai as a young man and recalled buying his first diamond for Rs 25 and selling it for Rs 27.
He set up a small diamond cutting and polishing unit in 1960, and with his entrepreneurial spirit built up a company with thousands of employees and offices in Israel, Russia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Belgium, China and India. It became one of the first DTC Sightholders in 1969.
"The history of the Indian diamond industry would have been different without Arunbhai's key contributions, said the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council in a tribute following his death yesterday (14 June).
"In the late 1970s he was one of the pioneers of its modernization and rapid growth phase, allowing him to not just grow the company he founded - Rosy Blue - but also the industry as a whole."
He is survived by his wife Rajnika, son Russell who now heads the the Rosy Blue Group, and daughters Amita Samir Mehta and Alpa Nishit Kothari.