This Persian-American content creator can’t get enough of the Ambani family’s jewellery

One look at New York-based Julia Hackman Chafé’s Instagram page, and you’ll know what we mean. Here’s how it all came to be

Obsessing over the gigantic precious rocks worn by the rich and famous in India is not uncommon. But who would have thought that posting about the jewels of Indian billionaires and Bollywood stars on social media could make a New York-based Jewish-American gemstone wholesaler of Persian descent popular with an Indian audience? Julia Hackman Chafé, who goes by 'Jewels with Jules' on Instagram, has managed to do just that.

What attracts eyeballs

While Chafé now posts about everyone from Alia Bhatt and Natasha Poonawalla to real Indian brides with extravagantly blinding jewellery, it’s safe to say that the Ambani family has a big role to play in her rising popularity. The family is one of her favourites to post about. Her Reels on the many diamonds worn by the women of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani’s —Asia’s richest man, ranked nine according to the Forbes Billionaire 2023 list—family garners millions of views and enthusiastic comments from South Asians regularly. 

Chafé admits she is still in shock over how viral her content has become on this side of the world. She had no idea, until recently, she admits over a Zoom call. “I’m truly obsessed with the Ambanis. I had no idea who they were until I got many DMs telling me to look into them. At first, I did not think much of it. But when I finally looked them up, it changed my whole life!” says the jewellery content creator. “I also felt silly that I did not already know who they were. But they’re now my favourite people to talk about on my page… probably rivalling the Kardashians,” she says.  

 
An enthusiastic, engaging audience

Chafé’s second post about the Ambanis this April, soon after the inaugural gala at Mumbai’s Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC), got her 8.6 million views on Instagram (“My highest viewership to date,” she says), and 15 million views across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. The Reel, about Shloka Mehta Ambani being gifted the world’s most expensive necklace by her in-laws turned out to be a tabloid rumour, but it did the job of hooking her audience to the subject. Ever since, posts on Nita Ambani, Isha Ambani, Shloka Mehta Ambani and Radhika Merchant (who is her audience’s favourite, Chafé admits) rake in an easy 2-3 million views, often even outperforming her posts on global icons like Rihanna and Beyoncé. “Whenever my engagement starts to dip, I know it’s time for another Ambani post,” she chuckles. “I love their audacity. And I mean that in a good way. The kind of pieces they wear is something that not many other people—forget families—in the world can compete with.”

How does Chafé get this information? She says her DMs on Instagram are a hotbed of intel, pointing her in the direction of potential new content. She then researches it online. “If nothing comes up on the piece itself, I’ll do a reaction video rather than an informational one. I try not to guess prices on my own. If I find information about it online, I’ll gauge from my own knowledge of gemstones whether it seems to be true or not,” she explains, going on to casually mention how social media personality Orhan Awatramani (who goes by Orry, and is closely associated with the Ambani family) also educated her on the topic when they met over lunch in New York this summer.

Chafé’s research—and DMs—have ever since introduced her to a host of other Indian heiresses and celebrities. Her post on designer and influencer Tania Shroff’s wedding guest style at Sofia Richie’s nuptials got over five million views. Businesswoman and fashion maverick Poonawalla is another collector whose jewels Chafé is fascinated with. Has she discovered any Indian jewellers in the process too? “I am still learning, but I look at jewellery designer Renu Oberoi’s page a lot, as well as Manish Malhotra,” she says. Her posts on Bhatt and Parineeti Chopra in Malhotra’s fine jewellery have been high-performing posts on the page.

Chafé first started posting about jewellery in 2021 to promote her family’s gemstone wholesale business IntercolorUSA, where she handles social media and gemstone processing. “I was looking for a jewellery influencer to promote our rubies and sapphires on TikTok. When I couldn’t find anyone, my husband pushed me to start my own account. It blossomed from there.” Her Instagram account was created in October last year, and has seen a spike since she began posting content on Indian jewels. Chafé’s audience is now a mix of people from the USA and Europe, as well as India and the Middle East. “Even my friends are so clued in now, and keep up with news on all the Indian celebrities,” says Chafé who is also in the process of exploring collaborations with Middle Eastern and Indian brands.

“Persians and Indians both love their jewellery but the aesthetic is so different. I love how Indian culture favours coloured stones and a big show. I’ve found the importance of uncut diamonds to be fascinating too. But the most exciting thing is the wedding jewellery you’ll wear—it blows my mind that a new set is made for every event of multi-day celebrations,” she goes on.   

Chafé admits she is learning as she posts, but what sticks about her content is the irreverence with which she is doing it all. It doesn’t come from a place of knowing everything. In fact, she routinely poses questions with her Reels so that her informed audience can educate her, and isn’t afraid to accept when she’s been wrong either. While in the serious business of fine jewellery, Chafé doesn’t take herself too seriously. She’s simply having fun with it. 

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