Western countries have made attempts to educate and enlighten their consumers by providing the source of diamonds and other gemstones used in jewellery. However, Indian jewellers have yet to adopt this practice. Sanjana Parikh speaks to jewellers pan India to understand how aware their consumers are and how this trend will shape up in the future

Does your consumer know where the center stone of her ring comes from? Can your client pinpoint which region of the world has produced her strand of ruby beads? Since trust and transparency form the foundation of any lucrative business, how can our industry, which has placed trust at the centre of its business model, survive in the long run without transparency? Gold, diamonds, gemstones and other precious materials are used in making a piece of jewellery. To strengthen trust in the mind of the consumer, important details like where the stones have been mined from, are they responsibly mined and what processes have been followed while cutting and polishing etc should be given. The responsibility of procuring and divulging these details lie with the jeweller if he wants to survive in the long term.

Saumya Sanjjay of AVR Swarnamahal, a Salem based chain of jewellery stores says, “It definitely has an impact when you know the entire history of the diamond that you own. Gemstones such as emeralds, rubies, sapphires and other stones also have their own stories. When manufacturers provide us these details, it is another piece of valuable information that helps us give confidence to our consumers. It is well within the rights of the consumers in wanting to know more information about the stone they are buying.”

The million-dollar question

With increasing awareness and exposure to information on these precious stones, consumers should be asking the right questions to their jewellers. Elaborating on this trend Saumya adds, “Nowadays, consumers are extremely aware as they visit several retailers before deciding on one particular purchase, and sometimes they end up giving us information. So, when you have more information, it definitely adds a lot of value and impact and helps build a stronger relationship with our clients. Diamonds and gemstones need to have their own stories; they need to have certification and origin reports. All jewellers should make the effort to give consumers the right information and make themselves as transparent and genuine as possible.”

However, in the city of Nizams, this trend is almost non-existent. Consumers prefer trusted jewellers who they have been patronizing for decades and are unaware of terms like gemstone origin or tracing. Abhishek Chanda of Hyderabad based Kalasha Fine Jewels says, “In our jewellery segment, diamond jewellery forms 40-45per cent and gold and jadau jewellery forms the rest. When our consumers purchase diamond jewellery from us, they are not too concerned with origin rather they are price sensitive and concerned with hallmarking of gold andbuy back policy. However, they are interested in certification from reputed institutes like IGI or SGL. In recent times, Forevermark diamonds have gained popularity. Consumers do have some idea that these diamonds are responsibly sourced and are highly priced, so the trust level does increase when these diamonds are used in jewellery pieces. As far as gemstones are concerned, South India does not like to spend too much money on them. They use semi precious stones for their pieces and avoid the pricier options like carved emeralds or Burmese rubies which command high prices.”

Metropolis Matters

The national capital has a similar trend, as consumer awareness is quite low in Delhi. However, jewellers are conscious about using conflict free and ethically mined diamonds and gemstones. Kartik Khanna,Khanna Jewellers, Delhi comments, “While purchasing a product, the consumer wants to know details like purity of gold, certification of diamonds and where the coloured stones are mined from. With regards to coloured stones, the consumer is aware that gemstones from certain regions are better in quality and accordingly priced higher. But there is little to no awareness about origin as we ourselves as jewellers are not privy to this information. There is not much difference in price of diamonds, which do have origin report and those that do not. We have signed undertaking from our suppliers that all diamonds used have been responsibly sourced and are conflict free. As long as consumers trust the brand, I don’t see the need to provide details .”

In Mumbai, consumers are definitely brand conscious about the jewellery they buy and are aware of concepts like diamond origin and tracing. However with smaller sized diamonds, it becomes difficult for the jeweller to furnish details. Mahesh Jagwani of Mahesh Notandas Fine Jewellery shares, “Smaller diamonds are mostly produced in India itself but bigger sizes can be imported from Belgium or Hong Kong. Earlier there was a monopoly held by De Beers and DTC, which mined diamonds and distributed to jewellers. So the origin was known. But now there are other mines that have emerged so the source has fanned out to several locations and that information does not make its way to our record. Trends have changed now, and younger generation prefers to buy smaller wearable jewellery that is not very heavy. I cannot say that this trend will increase in future as manmade diamonds have also made a foray into the market so we will have to see how the consumer accepts these changes.”

Taking initiative

One out of ten consumers have knowledge or want information of sourcing of stones in the central region of India. Central Indian consumers operate on the implicit trust they have on their family jeweller. Viraj Sheth of Batukbhai Sons Jewellers, Nagpur maintains that it is important to educate the consumer. “When we are selling any type of jewellery we make it a habit to willingly educate our clients about the gemstones or diamonds used in the pieces. So if we are using emeralds, we tell consumers that it’s the water content in the stone that gives it its rich colour in turn making it more expensive. Consumers themselves are not that aware of terms like origin or mining, but we as a brand feel that if we provide these details, it will increase their trust in us and promote transparency. With the emergence of lab grown diamonds, it will be difficult to provide any origin details as they are created in a lab.”

Survival of the fittest

The jewellery industry is on the cusp of a major transition. Fading demand, high gold prices and increased competition can only result in the survival of the fittest. In order to not just survive, but also thrive, Indian jewellers need to step up and think long term. Details such as origin of diamonds, processing and ethical mining might not seem important today, but they will surely be of grave importance in the next 10-15 years. To arm himself or herself for the future, a jeweller needs to prepare himself now.