Calibrated cuts of colored gemstones are the meat and potatoes of New York City–based Shanu G., Inc.’s business, and if you visited their booth in Tucson, you were likely dazzled by a thoughtful new presentation of its handiwork. Rohan Agrawal and his dad, Pramod, got creative with the precision-cut small gemstone layouts—from Iolite to Ruby—that its business produces, creating hundreds of boxes of colorful and carefully curated compositions that showcase their ability to cut to precise measurements.
“What makes us unique is our calibrated cuts,” says Rohan. “We take great pride in cutting for shape, not for weight, and for consistently offering proportional layouts. Calibrated gems aren’t like single stones because they require more context—they’re all uniform shapes and sizes so designers needn’t finagle with mountings.”
To make layouts so precise, Shanu G. uses CAD to perfect the tolerances. The gems are then cut by their factory in India, which is run by other family members.
“It costs more money per piece to do it this way, but you save money in the long run,” says Rohan.
AGTA GemFair Tucson is the only show at which the father-and-son duo exhibit, and Rohan started prepping for the most recent edition in October 2024. With an idea in mind to create boxes of unusual fancy cuts and vibrant colors in addition to traditional round gems, Rohan dug into his existing inventory to see what was on hand. The presentation that Rohan had in mind would differ from how his father previously displayed wares and could entice designers to buy based on aesthetically pleasing color combinations.
“We did a little work for the designer, making contrasting and complementary color combinations,” he says.
Some 200 man-hours later, five large trays comprising 77 individual boxes of gems were ready for sale.
“These offerings are a new way of displaying what we already had in inventory,” adds Rohan. “People expect to see the big stones in Tucson, so the smalls must leave an impression.”
The tray of fancy shapes took the most time to complete because of the symmetry required. Shanu G. is renowned for its custom cutting; from kite shapes to coffins, elongated triangles, ovals, tapered baguettes, and more, there’s nary a silhouette that the manufacturer can’t create.
“All of our coffin cuts line up nearly perfectly,” he says. “Everything we do from the factory to the office is labor intensive so that you get a consistent quality.”
Did all that work pay off? Yes. While the fancies were visually memorable, it was the traditional rounds that snagged them a coveted buyer.
“A single 8-by-12 tray of calibrated rounds landed us a very big account,” reveals Rohan.
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