Tanishq is an Indian
jewellery
Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...
brand owned by
Titan Company
Titan Company Limited is an Indian company that mainly manufactures fashion accessories such as jewellery, watches and eyewear. Part of the Tata Group and started as a joint venture with Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation, TIDCO, th ...
.
Founded in 1994, it is based in
Bengaluru
Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
. As of 2023, it has more than 400 retail stores across India, the UAE, the US, Singapore and Qatar.
History
By the end of the 1980s, Titan launched Tanishq, which focused largely on exports to European and American markets, in an attempt to increase its foreign exchange reserves. In the early 1990s, India's exchange crisis was resolved, and Titan Company shifted the focus of the brand to the Indian market. A pilot plant was set up in August 1992 and the production began in 1994, and Tanishq's first store opened in 1996 at Chennai Cathedral road. Tanishq was the first jewellery retail chain in India.
The first years of Tanishq recorded consistent losses. In 2000, Managing Director
Xerxes Desai
Xerxes Desai (1937 – 27 June 2016) was the first managing director of Titan Company, an Indian watchmaking company, and played an instrumental role in laying the foundation of the company.
Biography
Desai was a graduate of Elphinstone Col ...
chose Bhaskar Bhat to succeed him. Starting in 2000, its net worth started to grow, and by 2003, Tanishq was among the top 5 retailers in India, and made up 40% of the Titan Company's revenue.

Tanishq made the beauty pageant crowns for the
Femina Miss India 2007. By 2008, Tanishq had 105 stores in 71 cities in India. In 2011, the Tanishq group launched the sub-brand called Mia for working women. In November 2012, Tanishq opened its 150th showroom in India.

In 2017, Tanishq launched a sub-brand called Rivaah targeting the wedding segment. In January 2017, the Titan group merged its ''Gold Plus'' stores with the larger Tanishq retail brand. In April 2017, Tanishq launched the sub-brand Mirayah to cater to women under their 40s. In December 2017, Tanishq launched the Aveer line, its first line of products for men.
By December 2022, Tanishq had 385 retail stores in India and announced the opening of 45-50 stores by the end of 2023.
International presence
In the late 2000s, Tanishq made its first attempt to go international with stores in the United States (at
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
and
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
), but closed them after a few years. In 2020, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, it opened its first store in Dubai. Since then, the brand has launched stores across UAE (Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah) as well as in USA, Qatar and Singapore. By the end of 2023, the brand had 13 stores outside of India.
Gulf region
The first international Tanishq store was opened in October 2020, in
Dubai
Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
in the market area of Meena Bazar. Subsequently, the brand added stores in Dubai,
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
and
Sharjah
Sharjah (; ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and forms part of the D ...
. In 2023, the brand entered Qatar with two stores in
Doha
Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...
. In December 2024, Tanishq opened a boutique store in
Dubai Gold Souk.
United States
In 2023, Tanishq opened its first store in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
on
Oak Tree Road, a shopping district for Indian goods and services. In 2023, it added two stores in
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
.
Singapore

On 4 November 2023, Tanishq launched a
boutique
A () is a retail shop that deals in high end fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in anc ...
store in
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
at the intersection of Serangoon Road and Syed Alwi Road in
Little India
Little India (also known as Indian Street, India Bazaar, or India Town) is an Indian people, Indian or South Asian sociocultural environment outside India or the Indian subcontinent. It especially refers to an area with a significant concentra ...
.
Name
The name Tanishq was chosen by Titan's first managing director
Xerxes Desai
Xerxes Desai (1937 – 27 June 2016) was the first managing director of Titan Company, an Indian watchmaking company, and played an instrumental role in laying the foundation of the company.
Biography
Desai was a graduate of Elphinstone Col ...
.
The name was formed by combining the first two letters from "Tan" (means body) and ''निष्क'' "NIṢK" (meaning gold coin or necklace in
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
), although the ''क'' k has been modified into a ''क़'' q. According to another sources, the name is formed with the two words ''Tan'' (body) and ''Nishk'' (gold ornament) in the Sanskrit language, a name synonymous to superior craftsmen or absolute design.
Controversies
In October 2020, a Tanishq commercial depicting an
interfaith couple's
baby shower
A baby shower is a party to celebrate the Childbirth, delivery or Pregnancy, expected birth of a child. Practices vary greatly by culture, but it is often a rite of passage that celebrates through Gift, giving gifts and spending time together. Wh ...
sparked controversy on social media. As calls for a
boycott
A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...
intensified, the company stated that it had withdrawn the ad "keeping in mind hurt sentiments & well being of our employees". A month later, it withdrew another ad which had called for
Diwali
Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual v ...
to be celebrated without firecrackers, owing to criticism on social media.
References
External links
Official website
{{authority control
Design companies established in 1994
Luxury brands
Companies based in Bengaluru
Indian jewellery designers
Indian brands
Jewellery retailers of India
Jewellery companies of India
Titan Company
1984 establishments in Karnataka