SHARJAH, November 11: Royal Art, a luxury brand that turns malachite, lapis lazuli and onyx into furniture, has opened its first UAE showroom on Maleha Road in Sharjah, aiming squarely at the country’s expanding millionaire class.
The showroom displays gemstone coffee tables, side tables and console tables alongside beds, statement pianos, decorative cabinets, mirrors, mantel clocks, candelabras and ornamental vases. Each piece pairs natural stone with intricate sculptural detailing, often finished with brass and gold-toned accents, so that functional furniture doubles as a work of art.
The timing is deliberate. The UAE is home to an estimated 183,000 resident millionaires, according to figures cited by the company, and a further 9,800 are projected to move to the country in 2026. The number of millionaires living in the UAE has grown by roughly 98 per cent over the past decade, while Dubai’s tally has risen by more than 102 per cent.
For Amit Khaitan, one of the brand’s founders, that growth signals a market ready for something new. He describes the collection as a revival of the kind of craftsmanship that once furnished the palaces of kings and Maharajas, now produced for modern homes. The company has invested in scaling that craft to an industrial level, he said, allowing it to create hand-crafted pieces for the UAE’s homes, villas, mansions and palaces at a more accessible price, “without compromising on the quality, authenticity and value.”
Malachite tables, lapis lazuli cabinets and onyx vases are now on show on Maleha Road, as the brand’s founders target one of the world’s fastest-growing pools of wealthy residents.
A property market built for statement pieces
The brand’s bet rests on the extraordinary run in the country’s top-tier property market. From January to September 2026, Dubai recorded 412 home sales above US$10 million, worth roughly US$6.67 billion combined. Homes in that bracket were a rarity as recently as 2020, when just 30 changed hands across the entire year.
Dubai Land Department data published on its DXB Interact portal shows 399 sales of villas and apartments priced at Dh40 million or more last year, totalling Dh28 billion. That compares with 355 such sales worth Dh24 billion in 2024.
The company links this growth to a strong inflow of high-net-worth individuals and a steady net migration of millionaires into the country. Buyers spending tens of millions of dollars on a home, the founders argue, are looking for interiors that carry the same sense of occasion, and that is the gap Royal Art hopes to fill for both high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients.
The showroom is designed with a broad but discerning audience in mind: homeowners, interior designers, architects and collectors who value exclusivity and timeless elegance.
From an accountant’s question to a showroom
Amit Khaitan is not a furniture designer by training. A chartered accountant by profession, he is currently Vice-Chairman of the Dubai Chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). He traces the brand’s origins to a single, personal question.
“Every home holds a version of its owner’s dreams. For some, it is a place of quiet comfort; for others, a celebration of achievement. For me, it inspired a question: could the extraordinary beauty of natural gemstones become part of everyday living?” he said.
That question became the starting point for the business. “Working with stone over the years, I came to appreciate how nature creates patterns, colors and character that no human hand can precisely repeat,” he said.
His ambition, he explained, was to bring that beauty into homes through furniture, artefacts and decorative objects: pieces that serve a practical purpose while commanding the kind of attention people usually reserve for art.
Rooted in Rajasthan
The brand draws heavily on the heritage of Rajasthan, whose name translates as the land of the kings. The Indian state carries much of the legacy of the country’s royal culture and is one of its richest regions for natural stone, known for its vast quarries, centuries-old architecture and long tradition of skilled stone carving.
That heritage shows in the materials. The collection moves from the deep emerald bands of malachite and the royal blues of lapis lazuli to the warm translucence of honey onyx, alongside rare marbles. Because no two slabs of natural stone are alike, every finished piece carries its own character, and the company says that individuality sits at the heart of the appeal.
In practice, that means a table becomes a centrepiece for conversation, while a single vase can lend depth to a quiet corner of a room. Royal Art positions the space as more than a conventional furniture store, inviting visitors to browse for a grand living-room centrepiece, furnishings for an entire residence, or a single distinctive collectible.
Why the UAE
For the founders, the choice of the Emirates as a first market came naturally. They point to the country’s international outlook, its appetite for ambitious design and its culture of welcoming guests into beautiful spaces as a close match for what the brand hopes to create.
Shriram Gaud, who co-founded the company with Amit Khaitan, said the partnership grew out of shared values. “We found ourselves aligned in our appreciation of craftsmanship and our ambition for the concept. Together, we began shaping a venture that would bring this expression of luxury to the UAE,” he said.
He sees a clear opening in the market. “Luxury has recognizable names in jewellery, watches, fashion and interiors,” Gaud said. “We felt there was room for a dedicated identity celebrating precious and semi-precious stone as functional art.”
The goal, he added, was to build a first-of-its-kind destination in the UAE, bringing gemstone furniture and decorative artistry together under one vision.
Made to order, and made in-house
Control over production is central to the company’s pitch. Rakesh Khaitan, chief executive of Royal Art, said owning the manufacturing process allows the team to oversee each piece from the drawing board to the showroom floor.
“Our own manufacturing facilities allow us to give every detail the care it deserves, from the first design to the final finish,” he said. Each creation, he added, brings together artistic vision, skilled handwork and a sense of royalty, with the flexibility to craft something personal for each client.
That bespoke option is likely to matter in a market where many buyers are furnishing newly built villas and penthouses and want pieces sized and styled for a specific room.
Next stop, the wider Gulf
Sharjah is only the beginning. The company sees the UAE as a springboard for regional expansion.
“The UAE is our launch-pad for the rest of the Middle East where we see a growing demand for our products,” Rakesh Khaitan said.
No timeline for further showrooms has been announced. For now, the Maleha Road showroom serves as the brand’s flagship and its first test of how far the region’s appetite for luxury extends from jewellery and watches into the furniture in its homes.
The showroom is located at Showroom 15, Maleha Road, Sharjah. Further details are available at theroyalart.ae.
For the company’s leadership, the venture is ultimately about something more personal than market data. “We believe everyone sees something royal in the home they build with love,” Rakesh Khaitan said. “The Royal Art was born from the desire to honour that feeling: to bring nature’s artistry closer, give craftsmanship a lasting place in daily life, and help people create spaces that feel unmistakably their own.”