AGTA Member Profile - B&B Fine Gems
This AGTA Member Profile is part of an ongoing collaboration between AGTA and Diamondoodles. What is overwhelmingly apparent from my time attending AGTA events is that the community of AGTA Members is what gives AGTA its unique flavor and diversity in the jewelry industry. By exploring the culture and philosophies of the diverse AGTA members and their businesses through in-depth on-site interviews, I hope to provide new insight into the world of colored gemstones and the global jewelry community.
A gem dealer isn’t a mere merchant. Sure, some dealers sell gems by the gram the way spices are sold in a souk and other dealers focus on every penny in a negotiation. Still others approach gemstone dealing by doing “what that other guy is doing, but cheaper”. Each of these salesmen has his place and his purpose (except maybe the penny pincher, his type of negotiation is tedious - I think we can get rid of him). Then there is a rare type of gemstone dealer. This dealer has the connoisseurship of an art curator, thinks like a geologist and strategizes like a cross between Indiana Jones and a venture capitalist. While these characteristics are hard for one person alone to embody, they are certainly amply represented within the Bindra family of B&B Fine Gems.
Thirty-two years ago Ruben Bindra founded B&B Fine Gems, but his experience in the colored gemstone industry did not begin there. Initially, Ruben moved to the United States from India as an aspiring entrepreneur. A family friend, from Jaipur, was living in Los Angeles and working as a colored stone dealer, selling semi-precious stones. Working on consignment with his friend, Ruben began selling gemstones to retailers in California by going door to door. At the time he was working with $1 per carat goods. During this time, Ruben attended the AGTA Gem Fair in Tucson as a buyer, which opened his eyes to the expanse of stones available and the market as a whole. His experience in Tucson primed Ruben to grow his business further.
Later, traveling abroad to Sri Lanka and Thailand not only created indispensable business relationships and partnerships but also helped foster Ruben’s expertise in the growing business. In 1997, Ruben began exhibiting at AGTA Gem Fair in Tucson, bringing this story full circle.
These formative years of B&B Fine Gems set the stage for Ruben’s children, Dave and Sabrina, to join the company. For the purpose of this profile, I met with Dave Bindra to pick his brain on his experience in the industry, his community and what excites him about being second generation in the industry.
(Left) Rings for the Finger by George Frederick Kunz is one of many gemstone and jewelry reference books Dave keeps on his office shelves.
(Right) A beautiful blue sapphire and Dave at his desk.
A horsetail inclusion inside of a Demantoid Garnet from Russia.
Dave has been well acquainted with the gem and jewelry industry since his childhood when he would join his family attending trade shows that, to him, felt like Disneyland. As a young adult graduating from USC he planned on pursuing his interest in becoming a lawyer. But as his interest in the law was waning, he went on a fortuitous trip to Thailand with his father. While initially Dave did not envision himself joining this business, seeing the business from a new perspective in Thailand changed his mind. On this buying trip his father handed him a parcel of stones in the street. There was no memo. There was no receipt. There was trust. The inherent necessity of trust and relationships on which this industry is built fascinated Dave and he fell in love. Dave’s revelation in Thailand wasn’t enough for Ruben, his only requirement before Dave could join the family business was for him to attend GIA and become a graduate gemologist. Identifying wheels and wheels of gemstones in class paid off, as Dave left GIA with a greater appreciation for the world of gemstones he had grown up around.
Transitioning from student to employee, Dave helped the business streamline, shifting its focus from supplying every part of the industry to supplying anyone looking for the nest colored gemstone goods - a logical move given that Ruben’s passion for the nest in color grew incrementally with his expertise.
Focusing on one color has given Dave the opportunity to explore the peripheral aspects of the colored stone industry. While the due diligence needed to stay up to date on the newest treatments, scientific revelations, new localities and trends of consumption might exhaust some, Dave enjoys that his job necessitates proficiency in all of these areas.
(L-R) Dave in his signature Instagram pose, matching his sneakers with a 19+ ct Tsavorite Garnet from Kenya; a 6.05 purple spinel from Sri Lanka; Dave with a 8+ carat red spinel from Tanzania
It doesn’t hurt that he is personally addicted to color, fascinated by tone, saturation, and the balance of color within a stone. When you meet Dave it’s apparent that color is never far from the forefront of his mind. His personal style is a balance of suiting and streetwear, muted neutrals and vibrant hues - a seeming contradiction of relaxed sophistication that isn’t entirely uncommon in Los Angeles. Add to this Dave’s interest in contemporary art and it is no surprise that he now thinks if he weren’t working in gemstones his visual acuity and connoisseurship would have led him to be a traveling photographer or a DJ.
Four years ago, Dave’s sister Sabrina joined the business after doing her requisite time at GIA. Sabrina’s understanding of media and marketing have been an invaluable asset to the business, but in Dave’s own words, “having another passionate person on the team adds [an] invaluable presence”. Sabrina’s passion for gemstones and the industry as a whole is palpable to everyone around her.
It is no surprise that after creating a culture of passion and a respectfor individual talent in their family business the Bindras would seek to foster these same qualities in their community. While working in a family business is a double-edged sword of protection, reliability and common goals, balanced by the di culty of navigating lifelong personal relationship. These qualities are precisely what Dave has identi ed about his community in the gem trade that makes it feel like a family. The high level of trust needed to work with luxury items necessitates strong bonds being created between individuals, so it’s no surprise that a tribal style of protective community results.
Sabrina displaying a Mandarin Garnet and her matching finger nails.
Bindra Family: From left to right: Ruben, Sabrina, Lavi and Dave Bindra at the 2017 Spectrum Awards Gala.
B&B views being part of AGTA as a privilege to work amongst the premier colored gemstone and pearl dealers in the world. According to Dave, “AGTA has a distinct moral compass and it’s an honor to be part of a group that holds the same standards of ethics [as we do].” AGTA’s code of ethics strongly unites our community; these shared values unite us in a common cause more strongly than the commonalities in the goods we sell. As the world becomes increasingly smaller as technology improves communication, it will be these shared values that define the communities within the gemstone industry moving forward. And Dave certainly has an eye towards the future.
Dave sees being the second generation in his family’s business as an opportunity. Relationships are what built his father’s business and Dave has spent the last 10 years cultivating relationships and partnerships of his own. These connections have not only created added value for his business, but also enriched his family’s personal lives. It is exciting for Dave to think about being his father’s age and looking back on how these friendships have grown over the years. This kind of optimism is refreshing in a time when young consumers value technology over jewelry and retail is in constant flux. Our industry trades in commodities, but people, the passion of individuals and romance are what sustain our business from mine to market. Dave has seen the value of human capital in B&B’s operation and is inspired to build on these relationships as the business moves into the future.
Where others are disheartened by the lack of consumer knowledge in colored stones, Dave Bindra is excited to educate new consumers and lead them through the market as they gain knowledge and interest in color.
