Jewellery retailer Tanishq has said it will convert at least 50% of its gold jewellery in stores into lightweight pieces over the next 12 months.

The sharp rise in gold prices and the situation created by the pandemic and the new variants that keep cropping up are the reasons behind this move.

The jewellery pieces, internally tagged as Hi-Lites, were rolled out across the retailer’s 368 stores in the December quarter after a team of 40 people spent six months re-engineering and designing pieces to lower the grammage.

In all, 3,500 pieces of gold jewellery have been “light-weighted" by an average of 15%-25%, including bangles, jewellery sets, rings, earnings, etc, set in 22-carat gold.

The price of the yellow metal has jumped significantly since the early days of the pandemic, moving up to ?46,650 as on 13 January 2022, from ?38,070 per 10 grams for 22 carats on 1 January 2020. The pieces that have been redesigned as part of this exercise make for 30% of gold inventory at Tanishq stores in the December quarter. In the December quarter, sale from such pieces accounted for 26% of the total jewellery business.

Inflationary pressure has prompted consumers to look for what's affordable, say industry observers. Besides, consumers want options for daily wear. Lower pricing and lightweight jewellery also work well when it comes to online sales.