After an approximately 100-day engagement, Tanishq officially celebrated its union with Tysons last week.
The Indian jeweler has been selling necklaces, earrings and other accessories to customers at its new store in the Shops at Fairfax Square (8065 Leesburg Pike, Suite 120) since Aug. 8, but the grand opening on Dec. 2 came with an extra level of ceremony.
Dignitaries — from corporate leaders to India’s ambassador to the U.S., Vinay Mohan Kwatra, and state Sen. Kannan Srinivasan (D-32) — highlighted the store’s significance as Tanishq’s first in the D.C. region and eighth in the U.S. The assembled crowd of press and supporters was then treated to live entertainment, courtesy of dancers and a violinist.
“The response has been good — very good in fact,” Tanishq International Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Niraj Bhakare told FFXnow. “In fact, a lot of customers have been waiting for us for a long time.”
Started in 1994 as a seller of gold watches studded with precious stones, Tanishq soon evolved into a full-fledged jewelry maker specializing in gold and diamond pieces.
Part of Tata Group, India’s largest business conglomerate, the company has particularly gained a following among Indian women, who turn to it for more casual social events as well as weddings and festivals, according to Bhakare. It now has almost 550 stores in India and continues to expand internationally, including with stores in Orlando, Florida, and the Boston area coming on the heels of the Tysons location.
Now a presence in the U.S. for three years, Tanishq focuses on serving communities like the D.C. area with sizable populations from the Indian diaspora, Bhakare says. The jeweler often explores potential new markets with “trunk shows” where local residents can preview its wares.
“We happened to do a trunk show here before we opened, and the kind of response and the number of people who were asking us to open out here was quite phenomenal,” he said. “It was therefore a natural choice.”
Tanishq then honed in on Tysons and the Shops at Fairfax Square for its central location, reliable foot traffic and the presence of other jewelers, including Tiffany & Co. in the adjacent building. The vacant suite on the ground floor of Tower 1 was also large enough to accommodate all the products the jeweler hoped to display.
Open daily from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., the Tysons store offers a variety of jewelry, from comparatively minimalist diamond rings and pearl necklaces to ornate gold pendant and necklace sets.
According to Bhakare, the jewelry is primarily sourced from India and the Middle East, but Tanishq has been working to finalize manufacturing options in the U.S. as well.
The company devotes a “significant amount of effort” to ensuring that its diamonds are conflict-free, Bhakare says, and none of the ones sold in the U.S. originated from Russia in accordance with sanctions imposed after that country invaded Ukraine in 2022. Some pieces are made from recycled gold provided by customers through a gold exchange program.
“Over a period of time, designs tend to get older, and [customers] can always refresh their jewelry,” Bhakare said. “It’s also good for the environment. It is also resulting in jobs being created here, because the gold we receive from our customers, we refine it in America itself, and we reuse it in our jewelry.”
Though no specific locations have been identified, Bhakare sees potential for Tanishq to expand in the D.C. area based on the community’s response to the Tysons store since it opened in August.
While the brand’s main customer base is the Indian American community, he encourages people to “visit the store, take a look at what we have,” regardless of their background.
“Definitely a lot of customers have already visited us, and [we] encourage a lot of customers to discover the value that we have, particularly in our diamond jewelry and the very clear and transparent exchange policies that Tanishq brings across,” Bhakare said. “Not just Indians, but also a lot of Americans who are non-Indians would find a tremendous value and craftsmanship in Tanishq. We welcome everyone.”
Correction: This story initially identified Tanishq’s Tysons location as its ninth store in the U.S. However, the Orlando location opened later than the Tysons one, a spokesperson says.
