“Tulja Jewellers, Green Street’s wedding experts”
By Christopher Hourmouzios
Family-owned Tulja Jewellers in east London’s Green Street jewellery quarter is renowned as a premier wedding and engagement jewellery specialist.
Tulja Jewellers sells a wide variety of mainly 22kt yellow gold jewellery and is well known as a specialist in wedding sets, including diamond jewellery.
“When people think of weddings, they think of Tulja,” said Vijay Lodhia, co-owner of Tulja Jewellers, and also Treasurer of the Green Street Jewellers’ Association (GSJA).
“Now we have reached a stage where diamond jewellery is an essential part of wedding sets,” he said.
Vijay forecast increased spending on diamond jewellery for South Asian weddings.
“Tulja Jewellers was always known by its customers as a wedding and engagement jewellery specialist for its vast variety, quality, excellent value for money and exceptional customer services,” he said.
Tulja Jewellers stocks high-quality, special designs which involve a lot of filigree work and have unusual and original patterns. These intricate designs are achieved by craftsmen with the highest skills.
“We stock necklaces, earrings, bangles, rings and bracelets, some of which can be seen on our website: www.tulja.co.uk,” Vijay said.
“Now we are known for the quality of the craftsmanship of our designs, and for the variety of pieces that we stock. Our deliberate policy is to have a big stock.
Tulja Jewellers stocks wedding rings in platinum, palladium, 18 kt white and yellow gold, and 22 kt yellow gold.
“We were among the first to stock white gold jewellery on Green Street,” Vijay said.
“We have jewellery to meet all budgets, and to celebrate both small and big occasions.”
He added, “We have seasonal offers round the year for all festival celebrations.”
Green Street is a multi-cultural area and within the Asian community there are Punjabis, Gujaratis, Bengalis, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans and others, so Tulja Jewellers has to cater to all kinds of communities.
Tulja sells 80 percent of its stock to Asians living in London and it supplies the remainder in 18kt white and yellow gold items to other Asian clients but also French, Dutch and Scandinavian people.
“We offer jewellery from traditional heritage designs to modern concepts, which are from various parts of the world – in order to offer the most distinctive designs for all multi cultural customers,” Vijay said.
LONG LINE OF JEWELLERS
Vijay Lodhia, his brother Paresh and their father Babulal are descendants of jewellers in Rajkot in the Indian state of Gujarat.
In 1900 Vijay’s great great grandfather Devshi Lodhia saw an opportunity to do more business abroad, so he sailed to Yemen and then to Sudan where there was already a small Asian community.
He settled in the capital Khartoum and set up a workshop where he began selling silver jewellery which was all people could afford at the time. The family diversified into 21kt gold pieces as the business developed through the generations and eventually passed into the hands of Babulal.
“My father used to say that Sudan was like paradise and it was very easy to do business there – he never thought he would leave. But in 1990 there were political and economic problems – the government changed and the currency was badly devalued and all of that forced him to move to England,” Vijay said.
“He used to do a lot of business with companies in London so that was the obvious place for him to come. His key target points in the capital were Southall and Wembley and he had relations in East Ham. But the Upton Park and West Ham district was ideal because it was a growing Asian area and he opened our shop here in Green St in 1995.”
DIAMOND JEWELLERY
Diamond jewellery is always a major focus of Tulja.
In its Western-style diamond jewellery it makes white gold, cruciform and wave-patterned pendants with brilliants and baguettes; floral and triple-hoop clip-on earrings; and Tiffany-style bracelets.
“We launched our Diamond Lounge in 1997 and moved along from stocking rings to all kinds of diamond jewellery with diamonds certified by gemmological institutes,” Vijay said.
YOUNGER CLIENTELE
Tulja Jewellers is increasingly attracting a younger customer base.
“Interestingly, from 1995-2003 our Asian clientele was on the older side — aged between 40 and 60. But since then we’ve had a revolution: more young people are buying from us and we are seeing brides of 20 and younger,” Vijay said.
“They want to choose what they buy themselves and not follow the old tradition of accepting what their parents bought for them.
“On the other hand, our European customers are 30-50-year-olds. We would like to attract younger clients, especially to our bridal ranges, but nowadays they are getting married later in life.”
Vijay also noted increasing tastes for Western styles among Tulja Jewellers’ younger customers.
The cheapest South Asian item Tulja stocks is a £15 nose-piece; then there is a ring for £100 and the highest price is £15,000 for a set of earrings, bangles and necklace.
The European jewellery starts at £45 for a small pendant in white gold with a cubic zirconia stone and goes up to £25,000 for a diamond piece.
Tulja Jewellers’ diamond jewellery goes from 10 pointers up to 1.5ct, most of which is VVS and VS in quality and F and G in colour.
Tulja Jewellers also does bespoke pieces in precious metals and gemstones for clients.
“Each design jewel piece is carefully selected and checked for quality and perfection, and provides the best value for money,” Vijay said.
Vijay is glad he joined the Green Street Jewellers’ Association (GSJA) because it has made a big difference to his business. “It has changed people’s perception of us. We are more valued now that we are part of a big group.
“The future looks brighter as the public becomes more aware of us as the Green Street brand. They realise that they can find a wide spectrum of jewellery here at competitive prices which offers much better value than the merchandise that they see in other more expensive shopping districts of London, such as Bond St and Knightsbridge.”
A major factor helping Tulja’s business is the third edition of London Jewellery Week (LJW) in June 2010. The jeweller took part in the first two events and has high hopes that this one will be just as successful.
Another fillip is the Olympics which takes place in 2012 at Stratford which is just minutes away from Green Street and is bound to bring in tourists from all over the world looking for attractive jewellery at reasonable prices.
Tulja and its fellow Green Street jewellers will have another bonus when the gigantic Westfield Stratford City shopping centre, housing John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and other megabrands, opens next year right at the entrance to the Olympic Park.
This means that shoppers galore will pour into the area before, during and after the Olympics which will give an immense boost to the local economy in general and Green Street jewellers in particular.
Despite the prolonged economic downturn, Vijay is optimistic about the outlook.
“Even in a recession people are still going to become engaged, get married, celebrate anniversaries and they will need diamond and gold rings. They will not stop celebrating in these ways. It’s how you present your goods to the client and the service that you provide that matters.”
Tulja was not really that much affected by the credit crunch and global financial crisis because its Asian customers went on buying jewellery for their weddings and other events.
“Maybe in the future consumers will not buy so much by volume but even if they buy fewer pieces the value will not decrease because the gold price has risen so much,” Vijay said.
Tulja Jewellers has plans to build the business further, possibly in north London.
“We have great ambitions to expand and we plan to open a store in a North London mall — perhaps in Brent Cross shopping centre which is near the Asian communities in Wembley and Neasden,” Vijay said.
Tulja Jewellers
262 Green Street
London E7 8LF