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A Jeweller Who Caught the Nizam’s Eye

In 1920, a young jeweller named Sri Tibarumal Gupta set up shop near Charminar in Hyderabad — a city that had, for two centuries, been synonymous with unimaginable wealth and an obsession with fine gems. The Nizams of Hyderabad were not merely collectors of jewellery; they were arguably the most demanding patrons of gemcraft in the world. Their collection eventually included over 25,000 diamonds exceeding 12,000 carats in total weight, Colombian emeralds, Basra pearls, and Burmese rubies — a treasury so vast it took the Indian government years of litigation to acquire even part of it after the last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, passed away in 1967.

For a new jeweller to earn the attention of this court required something beyond technical skill. It required an eye for stones that the Nizam himself — a man who reportedly used the 184-carat Jacob Diamond as a paperweight — would find worthy. Sri Tibarumal Gupta had that eye. He sourced exceptional pieces from across the country, and his ability to recognise and procure extraordinary gems brought him to the notice of the Nizam’s household. What followed was not a transaction but, by all accounts, a long friendship rooted in a shared passion for exquisite jewellery. He became the favourite jeweller of His Exalted Highness, the Nizam of Hyderabad — a distinction that would define the Tibarumal name for generations.

What the Royal Connection Actually Meant

Serving royalty changes a jeweller in specific, practical ways. The Nizam’s court had a design vocabulary all its own — a hybrid of Mughal grandeur, Deccani craftsmanship, and European influence that demanded extraordinary range from any artisan who worked within it. Tibarumal absorbed these standards. Serving the house of the Nizam gave the firm a distinct edge: it forced them to understand refined royal tastes and pushed them to explore how craftsmanship and design could evolve with greater richness over time.

Hyderabad itself shaped the firm’s breadth. The city had long drawn settlers from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bengal, and Tamil Nadu, which meant jewellery demand here reflected a wide range of regional styles. This diversity probably helped Tibarumal develop a design sensibility that was never limited to a single regional tradition. As Pankaj Gupta, the third-generation owner, has noted, the firm’s jewellery was never restricted to South Indian designs alone — it was made for customers from across India.

The royal association also established something harder to quantify: a standard of trust. When the Nizam’s household chose your pieces, the rest of Hyderabad’s elite paid attention. That credibility, earned in the 1920s, became the foundation on which the Tibarumal name was built across three more generations.

Three Generations of Carrying the Flame

Sri Tibarumal Gupta passed the business to his son Rambharos Gupta, who is credited with much of the firm’s post-independence expansion. Under Rambharos, the name Tibarumal became synonymous with authenticity, elegance, and unmatched quality — serving the elites of independent India with the same care that had once been extended to the Nizam’s court.

The third generation arrived in the form of Pankaj Gupta, who brought a designer’s sensibility to the legacy. He moved the flagship from the historic Charminar district through Basheerbagh and eventually to Banjara Hills — tracking the migration of wealth in Hyderabad as the city modernised. Pankaj’s strength was in blending traditional and contemporary design, ensuring the firm moved with the times without abandoning what made it distinctive.

And then came the question that every century-old luxury house eventually faces: what does the next generation do with a name that carries this much history?

Elevé Diamonds: The Legacy Meets a New Era

The answer, in 2025, was Elevé Diamonds — a lab-grown diamond brand launched under the Tibarumal umbrella and led by fourth-generation scion Trishank Gupta. The origin story is worth knowing. Trishank has described how a client once brought in a diamond she had purchased elsewhere, only for him to discover it was lab-grown — and the jeweller who sold it did not even know that. That encounter made him think seriously about where the industry was heading and how Tibarumal could participate in it with integrity.

Elevé’s product strategy is rooted in ethical, above-ground CVD-grown diamonds, precision-cut and IGI-certified, set in jewellery handcrafted by artisans trained in Tibarumal’s lineage. This ensures that while the diamonds come from modern technology, the soul of the craftsmanship remains human and heritage-driven. As Trishank has put it, Elevé blends the family legacy with modern style and purpose — connecting with today’s customer while honouring the past.

The Charminar Collection, unveiled at the brand’s flagship launch in Kokapet, Hyderabad, is a good illustration of how that balance works in practice. Designed by Pankaj Gupta, it draws directly on the city’s architectural identity — the same city where Tibarumal first earned the Nizam’s trust over a century ago. The collection is not a nostalgic gesture; it is a design statement that says the firm knows exactly where it comes from and is not embarrassed by it.

Elevé’s diamond rings, necklaces, and earrings are all IGI-certified and set in 18kt gold — the same material standard the firm has maintained since the days it was crafting pieces for the Nizam’s court. The difference now is that the diamonds are grown above ground, without the environmental and ethical costs of mining, and are priced to make fine jewellery accessible to a much wider audience than the Nizam-era clientele.

Why This History Matters When You Buy a Diamond Today

Provenance is not a marketing concept in fine jewellery — it is a quality signal. When a jewellery house has survived a century, served royalty, passed its standards through four generations, and still produces certified, handcrafted pieces, that history is doing real work. It tells you something about the consistency of the people behind the product.

For buyers in Hyderabad considering lab-grown diamonds, the Tibarumal–Elevé connection answers a question that often goes unasked: who is actually making this, and do they know what they are doing? A brand launched by a family that once crafted jewellery for the most demanding gem-collector in India’s history is not guessing at quality standards. Those standards were set in a royal court and refined across a hundred years of practice.

Elevé also carries forward a social commitment that feels consistent with the firm’s long rootedness in Hyderabad — a portion of proceeds supports initiatives like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao and artisan welfare programs, reinforcing that the brand’s responsibility extends beyond the pieces it sells.

Hyderabad has always been a city where jewellery carries meaning beyond ornament. The Nizams understood that. Tibarumal understood that. And Elevé Diamonds, built on that same foundation, carries it forward — this time with diamonds that are grown ethically, certified rigorously, and crafted by hands trained in a tradition that began when a young jeweller from Charminar caught the eye of the most jewel-obsessed ruler in India. You can explore the full collection at elevediamonds.com or book a private consultation through their Try at Home service.