In a Series A funding round led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India (SEAI), demi-fine jewelry startup Palmonas has raised Rs 55 crore, or approximately $6.2 million.
The money raised will be used to open 100 new stores within the next 12 months, diversify into newer categories, and increase Palmonas’ 9kt gold demi-fine collection.
Pallavi Mohadikar and Amol Patwari founded Palmonas in 2022, and Shraddha Kapoor later joined as a cofounder. Palmonas specializes in demi-fine jewelry, which includes necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings, and mangalsutras made of surgical stainless steel and sterling silver with an 18K gold vermeil finish.
With a direct-to-consumer (D2C) business strategy, Palmonas mainly uses its online store to generate sales, but it also makes use of marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart in addition to physical retail locations. Over 6.5 lakh orders have been processed by the startup since its launch, and it has a solid following of loyal clients.
Earlier this year, the brand was valued at Rs 126 crore after Ritesh Agarwal and Namita Thapar invested Rs 1.26 crore in Shark Tank India Season 4. In 2023, it had previously raised Rs 6 crore in an angel round.
D2C jewelry retailers like GIVA, BlueStone, CaratLane, Melorra, and Firefly Diamonds are competitors of Palmonas and are taking advantage of India’s trend toward online jewelry shopping.
Rapid digital adoption is occurring in the Indian jewelry market, which is still controlled by offline players with a nearly 85% share. By 2025, the nation’s online jewelry market is expected to grow to a value of $3.7 billion, opening doors for emerging companies like Palmonas.
BlueStone went public after raising Rs 693.3 crore from anchor investors, Firefly Diamonds raised $3 million in March, and GIVA raised Rs 530 crore in June.
