Tales of JOY
By Harakh Mehta
HARAKH CEO and Founder
Harakh Mehta blogs about culture, trends and spirituality in the world of high jewelry and luxury items.
Title: The Significance of JOY
In my native language of Gujarati, my first name means a feeling of JOY so overwhelming that it moves one to tears. To explain the essence of my eponymous brand, HARAKH, I want to share how my Indian culture values the deep feeling of this powerful universal emotion.
Growing up in a family with a more than 100-year history in the diamond and jewelry industry, some of my earliest memories are of seeing this JOYful emotion expressed on the face of someone opening a box containing a meticulously crafted piece of jewelry. Dinner table conversations were about all things precious and luxurious, not the least of which were such enchanting stories of the pleasures of gift-giving and receiving.
Hearing stories of this sheer delight and happiness, and in some cases, seeing this emotion firsthand, sparked something deep within me. I became fascinated by the connection between JOY and jewelry. (In fact, when we are corresponding with HARAKH collectors or otherwise writing about this topic, we capitalize the word “JOY” to reflect how important this is to our brand’s DNA.)
Celebrations of JOY are deeply rooted in our culture, which is incredibly emotional and believes in often holding elaborately colorful ceremonies to celebrate life’s small and big milestones. From graduations to birthdays, anniversaries, and weddings, festivals to family gatherings, we are blessed to have abundant moments to celebrate.
In fact, the word “HARAKH” is used commonly in the phrase, “Harakh na Aasu,” which is translated as “Tears of JOY,” tears that fall when one is experiencing such significant moments. What better way to preserve and honor those moments for posterity than by collecting a beautiful jewel?
It’s exactly this thought process that led to the inspiration for all the creations that you can discover here. By digging deep inside me and remembering my personal HARAKH moments through the various times of my life, I came up with a few that really stood out. Armed with the overwhelmingly positive energy of those precious instances, I set aside translating those into what my family and I know best—jewels and other luxury creations that become wearable pieces of art. Each collection has a deeply significant story, the magical positivity of which I hope to have not only captured in our creations, but also passed on to those who eventually collect and acquire them.
Even before our journey began, we had firmly established our core purpose – To Spread JOY. We aim to do this in several ways, much of which we will go into detail in later posts. But on a more spiritual level, I believe that a “HARAKH” level of JOY is something best experienced through the act of giving to others.
I know that when you give JOY with an intense purpose behind it, you will receive that same intensity level of JOY back, infinitely. This is a spiritual concept that aligns with the karma theory: What one puts into the universe, one will receive. You become a part of a grand, interconnected ecosystem.
I invite you to come into our world and discover our creations made with intense JOY.
