The year 2012 has indeed been an eventful one with almost all the trade events concentrating on uplifting the market mood; many important positions in various gem and jewellery bodies witnessing a change of leadership, many big brands going public. The international trade fairs, jewellery shows, meets and conferences were held as usual to help industry stay afloat and to keep up the hope in a sinking environ of fluctuating prices and ever-dipping sale figures. The industry also witnessed a gloomy period with a national conflict being reported due to increase and then dramatic roll back of excise duty. Issues like undisclosed sale of synthetic diamonds, conflict diamond, and dull market due to price fluctuation and so on. We also take a look at various trend setters those were here to change the game completely.%% No matter how turbulent the year is tagged as, a closer look reveals it has proved to be a good time for the industry that got smarter, more practical and well-equipped. So we bring you a gist of what 2012 taught to the industry and how it helped tone itself.%% {{Bachraj Bamalwa, President, GJF:}} We expect a growth in 2013 and the reason is 2014 is an election year. Equity is expected to go up thus pushing the sentiments in the market thus increasing sale. We may see some better jewellery sale. Light weight jewellery will be more in demand in coming season for reasons like customers choice. Last year the government did not think about the industry. We are still not in a position to deal with any more taxes or duties. Good news for both customer and jewellers is that the trend of rising gold prices may see a check in 2013. This will help jewellers to increase sale volume and also generate employment.%% {{Vipul Shah, President, GJEPC:}} After suffering in 2012, we now need to bring a change and not look at yearly performances. Rather we should set short term goal and gauge industry’s performance quarter-to-quarter. I expect 2013 to be a better year than the last one, as the U S market is improving and we may see improved sale figures in the U S. I expect growth in the first quarter. Price point jewellery will be the focus, as the US market will be the key market now. Also we have Chinese New Year will also encourage sale. Post the frist quarter picture will be clearer. %%

{{Shockwaves }} %% The industry was on its smooth sail with a few high and low tides when the news of sale of undisclosed diamonds was made public by International Gemological Institute (IGI). What followed was a panic wave among both the industry insiders and the consumers. It shook the foundation stone of the industry, which is aptly named, ‘trust’. Another cause of concern was the definition of conflict diamonds and approach towards the conflict diamond producing areas.%% {{Synthetic diamond Issue:}} After encountering a huge lot of diamond for certification turned out to be synthetic diamonds in May, 2012, International Gemological Institute (IGI) raised a trade alert and informed labs in Mumbai and Antwerp. However, the matter was already out and it sent panic waves in the market. The IGI also stated that it’s not possible for dealers or customers to make out difference between a natural diamond and a CVD synthetic diamond due to a high-level of technological interference involved. While the diamond industry was grappling with the dampening market already, the news of undisclosed synthetic diamonds already being in the market was no less than a blow to the businesses. The event witnessed a lot of reaction from the industry that not only condemned the act but also expressed their solidarity towards fighting against such acts that hamper the image of the industry. The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) adopted a zero tolerance towards this. The GJEPC also conducted workshops and seminars to create awareness among its members, where they discussed the long-run consequences of the undisclosed lab-grown diamonds in the market. The news created a huge stir in the market and many labs across the world started training their staff and equipping themselves with latest machinery. The whole chaos brought in negativity in the market, the good part was that it led to designing of handy tools to check the authenticity of the diamonds.%% {{Conflict Diamonds:}} Yet another issue, which kept the think tanks of the industry merging their brows and discussing the problem at length. The latest was when during the 35th World Diamond Conference (WDC), K P Chair announced the proposal to bring some changes in the definition of Conflict Diamonds through a common consensus. The changes suggested by K P Chair included that instead of punishing the countries that was tagged for producing ‘conflict diamonds’, the world organizations must help them eliminate the conflict and bring them to the mainstream market. There was also a lot of discussion whether ‘violation of human rights’ can be a key factor in declaring a diamond as a ‘conflict diamond’. This had a dominos effect and the industry, though unanimous, went into a serious discussion on the same. The case study of banning of Zimbabwe diamonds in the U S was among the most discussed in the forum. "As I see it, as Chair, in cases where there is concern that a conflict is diamond-related, the goal would be to objectively assess the situation in conjunction with the relevant country. If the conflict does not fit the definition the issue would be closed. If the conflict does fit the definition, the approach would be to assist and resolve, not punish, and the KP would seek to help the country to rectify the situation. Only if these efforts are exhausted and the problem persists would a limitation on the right to issue a KP certificate for rough diamonds originating at the concerned site be considered. The purpose is not to punish or exclude, but first to help a country with a problem to find solutions to fix that problem and only as a last resort move towards limitations on the issuance of KP certificates. All along, we ensure that it is the stakeholders in the diamond sector, from producing countries to manufacturing countries to all elements of industry and civil society, who are focused on making the decisions that affect the KP and the rough diamond supply chain," the US Ambassador Gillian Milovanovic, Chair of the Kimberley Process stated.%%

{{Tax and duties}} %% The year also witnessed government bringing a lot of matter for the gem and jewellery industry to brood on, react to and to rejoice as well. The beginning of the year witnessed the Union budget announcing two important issues—Foreign Direct Investment, and one per cent excise duty on branded and unbranded jewellery. While the union government played the bad cop, the Karnataka government proved to be the good cop for the state jewellers by reducing the VAT to one per cent. %% {{Roll back of Excise duty:}} The nation witnessed a frenzied action from government and an equally frenzied reaction from the jeweller fraternity. The issue was announcement of imposition of one per cent Excise duty on branded and unbranded jewellery during the Union Budget 2012. Post announcement, strikes were called and shops remained closed for a few days that extended to a total of 21 days staring from March 16, 2012. Despite being a government body, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) also supported the move by the jewellers. After a lot of representation, petitions, protests and requests, in a dramatic move, the Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee announced the roll back of the Excise duty, much to the relief of the jewellers. The decision was taken after a debate on the bill in the Parliament. There was occasional opening up of the market as festivals like Gudi Padva and Akshay Tritiya, however the shut down show went on till the Finmin hinted at roll back of the duty. %% {{Foreign Direct Investment:}} Though other business, especially FMCG retail, registered a dramatic reaction on the FDI policy suggested by the UPA Govt in the Union Budget, jewelllery industry did not budge much. Apparently, the reason was that the gem and jewellery industry was already enjoying almost 100 per cent FDI in few categories. Shantibhai Patel, President, Gem and Jewellery Trade Council of India, observed, “Unless the 100 per cent FDI translates into workforce and develops an interpretation like buying foreign made machines to replace artisans in Indian jewellery industry, it is not making much of difference. The gem and jewellery industry in any country already functions on two platforms-local and international due to lot of export and imports involved in the business at manufacturing level, so government’s decision of easing out the FDI was not making much of a difference to Indian manufacturers.” Though it did not bring too much of difference, an uneasiness among a few traders could not be ruled out. %% {{Karnataka Govt reduced VAT: }}In the testing times when the union government was sending one shockwave after another, the Karnataka government brought some relief to the state jewellers by reducing the VAT to one percent. The event took place in month of March. The VAT was increased to two per cent in the year 011, and the jeweller associations of the state were continuously trying to convince the government for the roll back citing reasons of dull market, fluctuating price of diamond and gold. The Karnataka State Budget 012 brought the much needed relief to the jewellers of the state, who already predicted a tough year ahead. %%

{{Events}} %% As mentioned earlier, the good part about the year 2012 was that all kind of efforts were made at all level to infuse positive sentiments in the market which was experiencing a bout of depression due to various important factors. One such effort was evident as all the scheduled shows and trade fairs went on as the torch bearer of hope. Most of the shows garnered mixed response from both the participants and the visitors. What remained common in all the local or international fairs, shows and meets was—optimism. %% {{World Diamond Congress:}} The latest and one of the most important events of the year was the 35thWorld Diamond Congress (WDC) that witnessed huge and active participation from delegates from across the world. The WDC was organised for the first time in India in the month of October and was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan. The event proved to be a mega one with an array of activities, seminars, discussions happening on all days. The event witnessed serious and fruitful discussions on subjects and issues pertaining to jewellery industry. Some of the widely discussed issues were sale of undisclosed synthetic diamonds, redefinition of conflict diamonds and various inputs and approaches of people. But the most talked about topic was lack of generalised promotion. The industry expressed grave concern on the issue and said that generic promotion body of diamond traders/businessman is an immediate requirement. As the market is replete with options for people, in order to maintain its charm and also to increases its demand, diamond needs some generic promotion. Apart from discussions the event also had cultural programmes based on history of diamonds in India.%% {{India International Jewellery Show: }}One of the most awaited international trade fairs was strategically and timely scheduled in the mid of the year, where people can bring in required changes in their business strategy and plan their purchase and publicity accordingly. The IIJS proved to be a good platform for many manufacturers, retailers and traders from across the globe. The event was inaugurated by Anand Sharma, Commerce, Industry and Textile minister and was a well-attended one. The hosts, GJEPC, expressed hope that the show would restore positive sentiments in the market, which it did to a certain extent. But overall the participants gave a mixed response. While some were happy with the select crowd, ready-to-buy customers and good number of footfalls and enquiries, others complained of not-so-good response. The event also had a series of seminars and workshops that dealt with various topics concerning the gem and jewellery industry.%% {{IJ Directory Launch: }}It was a much needed endeavour on the part of the International Journal House to help the industry with a ready database of names and contact details of prominent jewellers. The directory will be updated every year and new inclusion will also be done. Compiling of the information included personal visit for detail verification, a nationwide e-mailer campaign and much more and the result was an organized directory for an unorganised sector. The objective was obvious—to help jewellers focus more on business and spend as little time possible in unproductive work like data mining for contacts. %%

{{Hong Kong Gem and Jewellery Fair: }}The show, planned two times in a year saw a lot of hoped pinned to it. However, it could not do much to help the market. The September show as well registered mixed response from the participants and the overall performance of the show was not satisfactory. However it did a good job in keeping the optimism level intact in the market. The show was declared not a successful one by many participating jewellers as it missed on Asian buyers. Moreover, the participants also complained of more of window shoppers in the show and lack of serious buyers. Both the jewellery and the diamond segments expressed their dissatisfaction with the show’s performance. %% {{Bangkok Gem and Jewellery Fair: }}It was the Golden Jubilee for the Bangkok Gem and Jewellery Fair and it did everything possible to uplift the mood and celebrate the occasion. To a certain extent the efforts paid off as the show was defined as the one with a silver lining. The event witnessed important decisions like signing of MoU between ASEAN members to increases regional cooperation. The Prime Minister of Thailand, Yingluck Shinawatra, inaugurated the fair. The highlight of the fair was the launch of first ASEAN Gems and Jewellery President’s Summit.%% {{GJEPC Indo-Russian Buyer Seller Meet: }}To foster good business relations and to provide a platform to Indian manufacturer understand the requirement of Russian buyers, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) an Indo-Russian Buyer-Seller Meet. The meet proved to be a good platform where Indian manufacturer got to understand the market needs and trend in Russian jewellery market. Though language was still a barrier and most of them needed interpreters to put their views across, however, both the parties are hopeful that in future they will be able to overcome this hurdle too and have excellent business relations. %% {{India International Jewellery Week:}} Yet another attempt by the Gem and Jewellery Export promotion Council (GJEPC). Glamour and oomph oozed out of the event stunning looking as models walked ramped with equally stunning jewellery pieces on. The show has its bit of drama and glamour as film and television fraternity made their presence felt as guests and show stoppers. The show went on to define trend in second half of 2012 and for 2013 as well. The show was inaugurated by Bollywood Dreamgirl {{Hema Malini.}} And it had many innovative breathtaking designs by both brands and independent designers. Right from reputed designers to the new ones, the platform proved to be a good one for one and all and gave opportunity to both to showcase their creativity to the chosen guest list. %% {{Jaipur Jewellery Show: }}The 10th Jaipur Jewellery Show kick started on December 22, 2012 and went on till December 25. Three days dedicated to the business of gem and jewellery that too in its hub, Jaipur. The Executive Director of London-based Gemfields Plc, Sean Gilbertson, was the Chief Guest and he inaugurated the event, which was organised at the Hotel Rajmahal Palace. This year the show focused on promoting diamonds while adhering to their tradition of choosing one precious stone per year for promotion.%% {{IJ Awards: }}The most awaited events that every jewellery designer and brand looked forwards to was held on December 22 at The Marriot, Jaipur. The occasion also marked the second anniversary of Indian Jeweller magazine published by International Journal House. The voting-format of the contest witnessed a close competition in every category and helped the best design win. The voters were the registered retailer of India, who chose the best of many in categories like best gold jewellery, best coloured stone jewellery, best kundan-meenakari jewellery, best CZ jewellery and so on. The categories were also divided on the basis of price range. %%

{{People}} %% While the market changed, the trends changed and some of the world’s biggest economies underwent huge changes, the gem and jewellery industry too witnessed some change of leadership in some of the important national and international bodies. While there are a lot to be informed off, we bring a couple of important news that might prove to be a game-changer. %% {{GJEPC committee:}} The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council underwent a change of leadership in the year 2012. Vipul Shah, CEO and MD of Asian Star, was sworn in as the new President, while Pankaj Parekh, former chairman of eastern region of GJEPC, will now hold the position of vice-chairman of the GJEPC. During a press meet held to announce the new committee, they not only interacted with media but also announced their agenda and plan for their tenure. Shah said that the council would organise more buyer-seller meet to penetrate into new markets and promote India as a design destination. The highlight of the agenda was the fact that the council had realised the importance and lack of generic promotion of diamonds and hence has allotted a fund for the same. Among other plans was standardisation of labs in the country and to have a world class convention centre for shows like IIJS. Parekh also mentioned that IIJW has registered huge success and the council will make efforts to take the event to other Indian cities and international destinations. %% {{International Diamond Manufacturers Association:}} During the 35th World Diamond Congress, the IDMA introduced its new President, Maxim Shadov. The outgogin President of the organization, Moti Ganz, along with the new President urged producers to help manufacturers with strong backing, as lack of this may push diamond cutters to produce synthetic diamonds. Incumbent Secretary General Ronnie Vander Linden and incumbent Treasurer Stephane Fischler were both re-elected for another term in office. Three incumbent Vice-Presidents-- Vasant Mehta of India, Ronny Friedman of the USA and Eduard Denckens of Belgium were also re-elected. In addition, David de Toledo of Israel and Edward Asscher of the Netherlands were elected to serve as Vice-Presidents. Secretary General Vander Linden said that the outcome of the elections demonstrated the need for greater and wider involvement of IDMA members in leading the diamond manufacturing industry through an ever more complex maze of challenges it is engaging. %% {{World Federation of Diamond Bourses: }}The WFDB got Earnest Blom as its new President. During the 35th WDC which took place in India, both WFDB and IDMA introduced their newly elected leadership. Both the organisation took a collective stand in resolving various crisis that plagues the world diamond industry in present. The WFDB also announced a new partnership initiative, World Diamond Mark, which is a non-profit organisation that would look after the marketing of diamond and diamond jewellery industry. The WFDB represents 28 affiliated diamond bourses worldwide. Throwing light on the newly formed organisation, Blom said, “This is a not-for-profit organisation that will operate out of Hong Kong. For World Diamond Mark, we have a global strategy and action plan based on three fundamental principles: education, confidence and generic marketing to generate the best-sustained returns for the industry. This would bring direct benefits to members and make diamonds and jewellery synonymous with the world’s most desirable luxury items. This initiative will be launched with the new slogan ‘When the world loves, we are here’.” %%

{{Showrooms}} %% We also had some recessions-defying moves in the industry that forced the think tanks to think twice before they announced the year a tough one. One reason that India gave was unchecked expansion of various brands. The year saw many brands making a foray into retail, many expanding from one region to another, many shifting from independent store format to multiple store format and many brands revamping their flagship store to mark a new beginning. %% {{D Kushalbhai Jewellers: }}Though not an old player, the brand has established itself as a renowned name in the field of gem and jewellery trade. Proving the fact is their new showroom opened in Surat, the diamond hub of India. The new showroom that houses best and most exquisite designs of the season is spread across three floors each with approx area of 5,000 sq ft. The showroom flaunts an Indo-western interior and has exclusive zones like—Children’s room, Bridal Lounge, NRI Area and so on. While the rich Indian tradition of courteousness is at its best, the brand offers best of Indian and western designs. Run by Dipak Chokshi and Viren Chokshi, the showroom is also well-equipped with modern day machineries—like, Karatometer—to ensure a fair deal. The floors are segregated according to the collections and variety—while the ground floor is dedicated to gold jewellery, first floor talks in terms of diamonds only and the top floor has men’s jewellery and one-gramme gold jewellery. %% {{Kama Schachter: }}After being a big deal in the field of manufacturing, Kama Schachter marked its foray into retail with a plush showroom in Andheri, Mumbai. Going by their name, love and passion is the bottom lline behind everything what meets the eye—the décor, the lighting, colour scheme and of course jewellery deisgns. So the idea is clear that the owners wanted to project and promote the store as a ‘Love Destination Store’. Founder and Managing Director of the brand Colin Shah, said that while the market offers jewellery for all occasions, we wanted to offer something for ‘love’ which is the base of all emotions. Talking about the most sspeacila feature of his store, Shah said, “We have a lounge area where we can set stage say for the ‘first date’ or to ‘Pop the Question’ or just to ‘celebrate a special milestone’ that the couple wishes to.” %% {{P P Jewellers: }}The brand refined opulence and luxury with its new flagship store in Karol Bagh, Delhi. Calling the edifice that spread itself across four floors a store was an understatement. Chairman and Managing Director of the brand, Kamal Gupta, was an overwhelmed and satisfied soul as he proudly shows one around the store and confesses his pride and awe. The idea, Gupta says, was to make it as royal as possible. The showroom was built over 1.200 sq yards of area and was coloured in pristine white with delicate gold filigree and to top it all was the ceiling in gold embedded with multi-coloured stones in intricate motifs, to add to the opulence. Gupta made it clear that the grandeur does not signifies that they are here only to cater to the high-end clients, as they have a wide range of jewellery beginning with Rs 4,000 (the then rate). Talk designs and there is an endless list of variety that ensures that the customer would be spoilt for choices. They have further plans to open more showrooms across North India. %% {{Sri Jagdamba Pearls: }}Not failing to surprise their customers with their exquisite, classic jewellery deigns, Sri Jagdamba Pearls is always ready with more surprises. With their new store in Secundrabad’s M G Road, the brand is all set take the customers on a dream walk. Apart from a wide range of gold, diamond, kundan and colour-stone jewellery, the store has many unique feature that gives it an edge over its competitors in the vicinity. Sharing details of some unique features of the store, Avanish Aggarwal, owner of the brand, said, “The store has a ‘timeline wall’ that has details of history of pearls, its origin, properties and more. This makes an interesting feature, as people get to know about what they are purchasing. Another interesting feature is that they also allow their customers to pose and click pictures with some exclusive pieces that the customer may not buy. However, the most intriguing facility is the ‘Experinece Zone’ where customer can see the entire processing of pearl till it gets embedded in a jewellery piece.”%% {{Kalyan Jewellers: }}Under their expansion spree programmme, the brand opened two new stores in Gujarat-Ahmedabad and Vadodara. Both the inaugurations were high profile with celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as chief guests. The brand has already made a mark in South India and the two news showrroms also marked its foray into the Western Indian market. Owner of the brand T S Kalyanraman said that the new store in Ahmedabad is an attempt to bring international jewellery shopping experience for people of Gujarat in their home town. The store is spread in an area of 20,000 sq ft and is well divided in three floors. They plan to have around 100 stores across the globe by the end of next financial year. The store boasts of a huge collection of jewellery, which are segmented in various categories according to design themes and metal or stones used. While the store in Ahmedabad was its 38th one, the one in Vadodara was the 39th, thus gradually taking the brand to greater heights. %%

{{Companies}} %% The industry is growing and one parameter that supported the claim was the acquiring the status of ‘Public Limited’ by many Indian companies. In the year 2012, three big jewellery brands went public- P C Jewellers, Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri and Tara Jewels. All three companies already enjoyed a good status in the market as leading brands and witnessed decent start at the BSE. %% {{P C Jewellers:}}The company got listed on December 27 and witnessed a good start as a public limited company. Owner of P C Jewellers, Balram Garg, said, “Going public was always there on our mind. This was a natural decision after tasting success as a chain store business.” The brand witnessed a decent beginning with Rs 137 on BSE and Rs 135.50 at NSE, while the issue price was Rs 135. “The company generated more than Rs 600 crores and was subscribed seven times. We intend to use the money to open around 20 new showrooms by end of coming financial year,” added Garg.%% {{Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri:}} After ruling in the jewellery market from decades, the company finally got listed in May 2012. Though the company now enjoys a good status, it could not register a very good start at BSE and NSE. Against the fixed issue price, which was fixed at a lower limit of Rs 120 to Rs 126 per share, the shares traded at Rs 111.05 on BSE. The company also witnessed a poor subscription (1.15 times). The jewellery brand also intends to use the money to expand the business and invest in the capital.%% {{Tara Jewels: }}For the brand that has its presence in retail, manufacturing and export market, the response at the stock exchange was not a grand one. But the good news was that it did not plunge below the issued price. While the issue price was Rs 230 per share at BSE, the brand was listed at a price of Rs 242, which was 5.2 per cent more than the issue price. The brand has witnessed a high of Rs 245 and a lowest of Rs 238. The processed collected totaled to Rs 180 crore through IPO and the company plans to use it to open new showrooms and clear debts and loans. %%

{{Trend}} %% The year witnessed design getting its due importance, as the manufacturers went out of their way to experiment and bring something innovative in the market. However, due to dull market, not much could be achieved. But it has definitely set a trend that will continue in the New Year. The most talked about trends, which are expected to rule the market in the New Year, are some bold expression and experiments of the creative minds. The coming time would witness some out-of-box designs finding its takers. %% {{Gold: }}The most important change that the market witnessed was that growing acceptance of 18k, 9k gold by the masses. Reason could vary from soaring prices of gold, formal jewellery with little less bling, 18k gold hold diamond better etc. But this doesn’t signify that 24k and 22k gold are out. Gold ruled and will continue to do so. The change is in its treatment and designs. Market survey shows that there has been a surge in demand for rose gold, both solo and in combination with normal 22k gold. Bold, big and matt finish gold jewellery will also be in vogue. %% {{Platinum: }}With a strong and best marketing strategy of promoting itself as a symbol of love, platinum is all set to enjoy a huge market in coming times. The rich man’s gold is also fairly popular among the youth (the target audience for the makers) and has come up as the classiest solution for the segment of ‘office jewellery’. New age woman, who wants it all- a little shimmer of diamonds sans that golden bling, a sophisticated jewellery pieces that would go well with her indo-western outfit and not make her feel out of place in the professional environ—platinum trinket jewellery is the perfect choice. The precious metal forayed into the segment of Indian wedding jewellery with bangles and now it has been a preferred choice of many brides, who want to stand out in the crowd. %% {{Diamonds: }}The upheavels in the market did give some jitters, but the overall image of diamonds still remains unchanged. The New Year will witness newer avatars of diamonds like—coloured diamonds and uncut diamonds. Though both have been there since long, but there has been an increase in the popularity and demand of coloured diamonds and usage of uncut diamonds in jewellery. Huge uncut rocks are all set to woo the bold and beautiful, who love to flaunt their love and faith in nature. Coloured gemstones: It was a pleasant surprise to see the grand comeback of the coloured gemstones. Not only in the colourful culture of India, but western countries too announced their love for colours without hesitation. Some of the big events across the world saw celebrities flaunting emeralds and sapphires. People are seen looking for a hint of colour in their all gold or all diamond jewellery. Popular source of inspiration like nature, peacock, woman etc cannot be expressed without colours. %%

The year 2012 has indeed been an eventful one with almost all the trade events concentrating on uplifting the market mood; many important positions in various gem and jewellery bodies witnessing a change of leadership, many big brands going public. The international trade fairs, jewellery shows, meets and conferences were held as usual to help industry stay afloat and to keep up the hope in a sinking environ of fluctuating prices and ever-dipping sale figures. The industry also witnessed a gloomy period with a national conflict being reported due to increase and then dramatic roll back of excise duty. Issues like undisclosed sale of synthetic diamonds, conflict diamond, and dull market due to price fluctuation and so on. We also take a look at various trend setters those were here to change the game completely.%% No matter how turbulent the year is tagged as, a closer look reveals it has proved to be a good time for the industry that got smarter, more practical and well-equipped. So we bring you a gist of what 2012 taught to the industry and how it helped tone itself.%% {{Bachraj Bamalwa, President, GJF:}} We expect a growth in 2013 and the reason is 2014 is an election year. Equity is expected to go up thus pushing the sentiments in the market thus increasing sale. We may see some better jewellery sale. Light weight jewellery will be more in demand in coming season for reasons like customers choice. Last year the government did not think about the industry. We are still not in a position to deal with any more taxes or duties. Good news for both customer and jewellers is that the trend of rising gold prices may see a check in 2013. This will help jewellers to increase sale volume and also generate employment.%% {{Vipul Shah, President, GJEPC:}} After suffering in 2012, we now need to bring a change and not look at yearly performances. Rather we should set short term goal and gauge industry’s performance quarter-to-quarter. I expect 2013 to be a better year than the last one, as the U S market is improving and we may see improved sale figures in the U S. I expect growth in the first quarter. Price point jewellery will be the focus, as the US market will be the key market now. Also we have Chinese New Year will also encourage sale. Post the frist quarter picture will be clearer. %%

{{Shockwaves }} %% The industry was on its smooth sail with a few high and low tides when the news of sale of undisclosed diamonds was made public by International Gemological Institute (IGI). What followed was a panic wave among both the industry insiders and the consumers. It shook the foundation stone of the industry, which is aptly named, ‘trust’. Another cause of concern was the definition of conflict diamonds and approach towards the conflict diamond producing areas.%% {{Synthetic diamond Issue:}} After encountering a huge lot of diamond for certification turned out to be synthetic diamonds in May, 2012, International Gemological Institute (IGI) raised a trade alert and informed labs in Mumbai and Antwerp. However, the matter was already out and it sent panic waves in the market. The IGI also stated that it’s not possible for dealers or customers to make out difference between a natural diamond and a CVD synthetic diamond due to a high-level of technological interference involved. While the diamond industry was grappling with the dampening market already, the news of undisclosed synthetic diamonds already being in the market was no less than a blow to the businesses. The event witnessed a lot of reaction from the industry that not only condemned the act but also expressed their solidarity towards fighting against such acts that hamper the image of the industry. The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) adopted a zero tolerance towards this. The GJEPC also conducted workshops and seminars to create awareness among its members, where they discussed the long-run consequences of the undisclosed lab-grown diamonds in the market. The news created a huge stir in the market and many labs across the world started training their staff and equipping themselves with latest machinery. The whole chaos brought in negativity in the market, the good part was that it led to designing of handy tools to check the authenticity of the diamonds.%% {{Conflict Diamonds:}} Yet another issue, which kept the think tanks of the industry merging their brows and discussing the problem at length. The latest was when during the 35th World Diamond Conference (WDC), K P Chair announced the proposal to bring some changes in the definition of Conflict Diamonds through a common consensus. The changes suggested by K P Chair included that instead of punishing the countries that was tagged for producing ‘conflict diamonds’, the world organizations must help them eliminate the conflict and bring them to the mainstream market. There was also a lot of discussion whether ‘violation of human rights’ can be a key factor in declaring a diamond as a ‘conflict diamond’. This had a dominos effect and the industry, though unanimous, went into a serious discussion on the same. The case study of banning of Zimbabwe diamonds in the U S was among the most discussed in the forum. "As I see it, as Chair, in cases where there is concern that a conflict is diamond-related, the goal would be to objectively assess the situation in conjunction with the relevant country. If the conflict does not fit the definition the issue would be closed. If the conflict does fit the definition, the approach would be to assist and resolve, not punish, and the KP would seek to help the country to rectify the situation. Only if these efforts are exhausted and the problem persists would a limitation on the right to issue a KP certificate for rough diamonds originating at the concerned site be considered. The purpose is not to punish or exclude, but first to help a country with a problem to find solutions to fix that problem and only as a last resort move towards limitations on the issuance of KP certificates. All along, we ensure that it is the stakeholders in the diamond sector, from producing countries to manufacturing countries to all elements of industry and civil society, who are focused on making the decisions that affect the KP and the rough diamond supply chain," the US Ambassador Gillian Milovanovic, Chair of the Kimberley Process stated.%%

{{Tax and duties}} %% The year also witnessed government bringing a lot of matter for the gem and jewellery industry to brood on, react to and to rejoice as well. The beginning of the year witnessed the Union budget announcing two important issues—Foreign Direct Investment, and one per cent excise duty on branded and unbranded jewellery. While the union government played the bad cop, the Karnataka government proved to be the good cop for the state jewellers by reducing the VAT to one per cent. %% {{Roll back of Excise duty:}} The nation witnessed a frenzied action from government and an equally frenzied reaction from the jeweller fraternity. The issue was announcement of imposition of one per cent Excise duty on branded and unbranded jewellery during the Union Budget 2012. Post announcement, strikes were called and shops remained closed for a few days that extended to a total of 21 days staring from March 16, 2012. Despite being a government body, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) also supported the move by the jewellers. After a lot of representation, petitions, protests and requests, in a dramatic move, the Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee announced the roll back of the Excise duty, much to the relief of the jewellers. The decision was taken after a debate on the bill in the Parliament. There was occasional opening up of the market as festivals like Gudi Padva and Akshay Tritiya, however the shut down show went on till the Finmin hinted at roll back of the duty. %% {{Foreign Direct Investment:}} Though other business, especially FMCG retail, registered a dramatic reaction on the FDI policy suggested by the UPA Govt in the Union Budget, jewelllery industry did not budge much. Apparently, the reason was that the gem and jewellery industry was already enjoying almost 100 per cent FDI in few categories. Shantibhai Patel, President, Gem and Jewellery Trade Council of India, observed, “Unless the 100 per cent FDI translates into workforce and develops an interpretation like buying foreign made machines to replace artisans in Indian jewellery industry, it is not making much of difference. The gem and jewellery industry in any country already functions on two platforms-local and international due to lot of export and imports involved in the business at manufacturing level, so government’s decision of easing out the FDI was not making much of a difference to Indian manufacturers.” Though it did not bring too much of difference, an uneasiness among a few traders could not be ruled out. %% {{Karnataka Govt reduced VAT: }}In the testing times when the union government was sending one shockwave after another, the Karnataka government brought some relief to the state jewellers by reducing the VAT to one percent. The event took place in month of March. The VAT was increased to two per cent in the year 011, and the jeweller associations of the state were continuously trying to convince the government for the roll back citing reasons of dull market, fluctuating price of diamond and gold. The Karnataka State Budget 012 brought the much needed relief to the jewellers of the state, who already predicted a tough year ahead. %%

{{Events}} %% As mentioned earlier, the good part about the year 2012 was that all kind of efforts were made at all level to infuse positive sentiments in the market which was experiencing a bout of depression due to various important factors. One such effort was evident as all the scheduled shows and trade fairs went on as the torch bearer of hope. Most of the shows garnered mixed response from both the participants and the visitors. What remained common in all the local or international fairs, shows and meets was—optimism. %% {{World Diamond Congress:}} The latest and one of the most important events of the year was the 35thWorld Diamond Congress (WDC) that witnessed huge and active participation from delegates from across the world. The WDC was organised for the first time in India in the month of October and was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan. The event proved to be a mega one with an array of activities, seminars, discussions happening on all days. The event witnessed serious and fruitful discussions on subjects and issues pertaining to jewellery industry. Some of the widely discussed issues were sale of undisclosed synthetic diamonds, redefinition of conflict diamonds and various inputs and approaches of people. But the most talked about topic was lack of generalised promotion. The industry expressed grave concern on the issue and said that generic promotion body of diamond traders/businessman is an immediate requirement. As the market is replete with options for people, in order to maintain its charm and also to increases its demand, diamond needs some generic promotion. Apart from discussions the event also had cultural programmes based on history of diamonds in India.%% {{India International Jewellery Show: }}One of the most awaited international trade fairs was strategically and timely scheduled in the mid of the year, where people can bring in required changes in their business strategy and plan their purchase and publicity accordingly. The IIJS proved to be a good platform for many manufacturers, retailers and traders from across the globe. The event was inaugurated by Anand Sharma, Commerce, Industry and Textile minister and was a well-attended one. The hosts, GJEPC, expressed hope that the show would restore positive sentiments in the market, which it did to a certain extent. But overall the participants gave a mixed response. While some were happy with the select crowd, ready-to-buy customers and good number of footfalls and enquiries, others complained of not-so-good response. The event also had a series of seminars and workshops that dealt with various topics concerning the gem and jewellery industry.%% {{IJ Directory Launch: }}It was a much needed endeavour on the part of the International Journal House to help the industry with a ready database of names and contact details of prominent jewellers. The directory will be updated every year and new inclusion will also be done. Compiling of the information included personal visit for detail verification, a nationwide e-mailer campaign and much more and the result was an organized directory for an unorganised sector. The objective was obvious—to help jewellers focus more on business and spend as little time possible in unproductive work like data mining for contacts. %%

{{Hong Kong Gem and Jewellery Fair: }}The show, planned two times in a year saw a lot of hoped pinned to it. However, it could not do much to help the market. The September show as well registered mixed response from the participants and the overall performance of the show was not satisfactory. However it did a good job in keeping the optimism level intact in the market. The show was declared not a successful one by many participating jewellers as it missed on Asian buyers. Moreover, the participants also complained of more of window shoppers in the show and lack of serious buyers. Both the jewellery and the diamond segments expressed their dissatisfaction with the show’s performance. %% {{Bangkok Gem and Jewellery Fair: }}It was the Golden Jubilee for the Bangkok Gem and Jewellery Fair and it did everything possible to uplift the mood and celebrate the occasion. To a certain extent the efforts paid off as the show was defined as the one with a silver lining. The event witnessed important decisions like signing of MoU between ASEAN members to increases regional cooperation. The Prime Minister of Thailand, Yingluck Shinawatra, inaugurated the fair. The highlight of the fair was the launch of first ASEAN Gems and Jewellery President’s Summit.%% {{GJEPC Indo-Russian Buyer Seller Meet: }}To foster good business relations and to provide a platform to Indian manufacturer understand the requirement of Russian buyers, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) an Indo-Russian Buyer-Seller Meet. The meet proved to be a good platform where Indian manufacturer got to understand the market needs and trend in Russian jewellery market. Though language was still a barrier and most of them needed interpreters to put their views across, however, both the parties are hopeful that in future they will be able to overcome this hurdle too and have excellent business relations. %% {{India International Jewellery Week:}} Yet another attempt by the Gem and Jewellery Export promotion Council (GJEPC). Glamour and oomph oozed out of the event stunning looking as models walked ramped with equally stunning jewellery pieces on. The show has its bit of drama and glamour as film and television fraternity made their presence felt as guests and show stoppers. The show went on to define trend in second half of 2012 and for 2013 as well. The show was inaugurated by Bollywood Dreamgirl {{Hema Malini.}} And it had many innovative breathtaking designs by both brands and independent designers. Right from reputed designers to the new ones, the platform proved to be a good one for one and all and gave opportunity to both to showcase their creativity to the chosen guest list. %% {{Jaipur Jewellery Show: }}The 10th Jaipur Jewellery Show kick started on December 22, 2012 and went on till December 25. Three days dedicated to the business of gem and jewellery that too in its hub, Jaipur. The Executive Director of London-based Gemfields Plc, Sean Gilbertson, was the Chief Guest and he inaugurated the event, which was organised at the Hotel Rajmahal Palace. This year the show focused on promoting diamonds while adhering to their tradition of choosing one precious stone per year for promotion.%% {{IJ Awards: }}The most awaited events that every jewellery designer and brand looked forwards to was held on December 22 at The Marriot, Jaipur. The occasion also marked the second anniversary of Indian Jeweller magazine published by International Journal House. The voting-format of the contest witnessed a close competition in every category and helped the best design win. The voters were the registered retailer of India, who chose the best of many in categories like best gold jewellery, best coloured stone jewellery, best kundan-meenakari jewellery, best CZ jewellery and so on. The categories were also divided on the basis of price range. %%

{{People}} %% While the market changed, the trends changed and some of the world’s biggest economies underwent huge changes, the gem and jewellery industry too witnessed some change of leadership in some of the important national and international bodies. While there are a lot to be informed off, we bring a couple of important news that might prove to be a game-changer. %% {{GJEPC committee:}} The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council underwent a change of leadership in the year 2012. Vipul Shah, CEO and MD of Asian Star, was sworn in as the new President, while Pankaj Parekh, former chairman of eastern region of GJEPC, will now hold the position of vice-chairman of the GJEPC. During a press meet held to announce the new committee, they not only interacted with media but also announced their agenda and plan for their tenure. Shah said that the council would organise more buyer-seller meet to penetrate into new markets and promote India as a design destination. The highlight of the agenda was the fact that the council had realised the importance and lack of generic promotion of diamonds and hence has allotted a fund for the same. Among other plans was standardisation of labs in the country and to have a world class convention centre for shows like IIJS. Parekh also mentioned that IIJW has registered huge success and the council will make efforts to take the event to other Indian cities and international destinations. %% {{International Diamond Manufacturers Association:}} During the 35th World Diamond Congress, the IDMA introduced its new President, Maxim Shadov. The outgogin President of the organization, Moti Ganz, along with the new President urged producers to help manufacturers with strong backing, as lack of this may push diamond cutters to produce synthetic diamonds. Incumbent Secretary General Ronnie Vander Linden and incumbent Treasurer Stephane Fischler were both re-elected for another term in office. Three incumbent Vice-Presidents-- Vasant Mehta of India, Ronny Friedman of the USA and Eduard Denckens of Belgium were also re-elected. In addition, David de Toledo of Israel and Edward Asscher of the Netherlands were elected to serve as Vice-Presidents. Secretary General Vander Linden said that the outcome of the elections demonstrated the need for greater and wider involvement of IDMA members in leading the diamond manufacturing industry through an ever more complex maze of challenges it is engaging. %% {{World Federation of Diamond Bourses: }}The WFDB got Earnest Blom as its new President. During the 35th WDC which took place in India, both WFDB and IDMA introduced their newly elected leadership. Both the organisation took a collective stand in resolving various crisis that plagues the world diamond industry in present. The WFDB also announced a new partnership initiative, World Diamond Mark, which is a non-profit organisation that would look after the marketing of diamond and diamond jewellery industry. The WFDB represents 28 affiliated diamond bourses worldwide. Throwing light on the newly formed organisation, Blom said, “This is a not-for-profit organisation that will operate out of Hong Kong. For World Diamond Mark, we have a global strategy and action plan based on three fundamental principles: education, confidence and generic marketing to generate the best-sustained returns for the industry. This would bring direct benefits to members and make diamonds and jewellery synonymous with the world’s most desirable luxury items. This initiative will be launched with the new slogan ‘When the world loves, we are here’.” %%

{{Showrooms}} %% We also had some recessions-defying moves in the industry that forced the think tanks to think twice before they announced the year a tough one. One reason that India gave was unchecked expansion of various brands. The year saw many brands making a foray into retail, many expanding from one region to another, many shifting from independent store format to multiple store format and many brands revamping their flagship store to mark a new beginning. %% {{D Kushalbhai Jewellers: }}Though not an old player, the brand has established itself as a renowned name in the field of gem and jewellery trade. Proving the fact is their new showroom opened in Surat, the diamond hub of India. The new showroom that houses best and most exquisite designs of the season is spread across three floors each with approx area of 5,000 sq ft. The showroom flaunts an Indo-western interior and has exclusive zones like—Children’s room, Bridal Lounge, NRI Area and so on. While the rich Indian tradition of courteousness is at its best, the brand offers best of Indian and western designs. Run by Dipak Chokshi and Viren Chokshi, the showroom is also well-equipped with modern day machineries—like, Karatometer—to ensure a fair deal. The floors are segregated according to the collections and variety—while the ground floor is dedicated to gold jewellery, first floor talks in terms of diamonds only and the top floor has men’s jewellery and one-gramme gold jewellery. %% {{Kama Schachter: }}After being a big deal in the field of manufacturing, Kama Schachter marked its foray into retail with a plush showroom in Andheri, Mumbai. Going by their name, love and passion is the bottom lline behind everything what meets the eye—the décor, the lighting, colour scheme and of course jewellery deisgns. So the idea is clear that the owners wanted to project and promote the store as a ‘Love Destination Store’. Founder and Managing Director of the brand Colin Shah, said that while the market offers jewellery for all occasions, we wanted to offer something for ‘love’ which is the base of all emotions. Talking about the most sspeacila feature of his store, Shah said, “We have a lounge area where we can set stage say for the ‘first date’ or to ‘Pop the Question’ or just to ‘celebrate a special milestone’ that the couple wishes to.” %% {{P P Jewellers: }}The brand refined opulence and luxury with its new flagship store in Karol Bagh, Delhi. Calling the edifice that spread itself across four floors a store was an understatement. Chairman and Managing Director of the brand, Kamal Gupta, was an overwhelmed and satisfied soul as he proudly shows one around the store and confesses his pride and awe. The idea, Gupta says, was to make it as royal as possible. The showroom was built over 1.200 sq yards of area and was coloured in pristine white with delicate gold filigree and to top it all was the ceiling in gold embedded with multi-coloured stones in intricate motifs, to add to the opulence. Gupta made it clear that the grandeur does not signifies that they are here only to cater to the high-end clients, as they have a wide range of jewellery beginning with Rs 4,000 (the then rate). Talk designs and there is an endless list of variety that ensures that the customer would be spoilt for choices. They have further plans to open more showrooms across North India. %% {{Sri Jagdamba Pearls: }}Not failing to surprise their customers with their exquisite, classic jewellery deigns, Sri Jagdamba Pearls is always ready with more surprises. With their new store in Secundrabad’s M G Road, the brand is all set take the customers on a dream walk. Apart from a wide range of gold, diamond, kundan and colour-stone jewellery, the store has many unique feature that gives it an edge over its competitors in the vicinity. Sharing details of some unique features of the store, Avanish Aggarwal, owner of the brand, said, “The store has a ‘timeline wall’ that has details of history of pearls, its origin, properties and more. This makes an interesting feature, as people get to know about what they are purchasing. Another interesting feature is that they also allow their customers to pose and click pictures with some exclusive pieces that the customer may not buy. However, the most intriguing facility is the ‘Experinece Zone’ where customer can see the entire processing of pearl till it gets embedded in a jewellery piece.”%% {{Kalyan Jewellers: }}Under their expansion spree programmme, the brand opened two new stores in Gujarat-Ahmedabad and Vadodara. Both the inaugurations were high profile with celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as chief guests. The brand has already made a mark in South India and the two news showrroms also marked its foray into the Western Indian market. Owner of the brand T S Kalyanraman said that the new store in Ahmedabad is an attempt to bring international jewellery shopping experience for people of Gujarat in their home town. The store is spread in an area of 20,000 sq ft and is well divided in three floors. They plan to have around 100 stores across the globe by the end of next financial year. The store boasts of a huge collection of jewellery, which are segmented in various categories according to design themes and metal or stones used. While the store in Ahmedabad was its 38th one, the one in Vadodara was the 39th, thus gradually taking the brand to greater heights. %%

{{Companies}} %% The industry is growing and one parameter that supported the claim was the acquiring the status of ‘Public Limited’ by many Indian companies. In the year 2012, three big jewellery brands went public- P C Jewellers, Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri and Tara Jewels. All three companies already enjoyed a good status in the market as leading brands and witnessed decent start at the BSE. %% {{P C Jewellers:}}The company got listed on December 27 and witnessed a good start as a public limited company. Owner of P C Jewellers, Balram Garg, said, “Going public was always there on our mind. This was a natural decision after tasting success as a chain store business.” The brand witnessed a decent beginning with Rs 137 on BSE and Rs 135.50 at NSE, while the issue price was Rs 135. “The company generated more than Rs 600 crores and was subscribed seven times. We intend to use the money to open around 20 new showrooms by end of coming financial year,” added Garg.%% {{Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri:}} After ruling in the jewellery market from decades, the company finally got listed in May 2012. Though the company now enjoys a good status, it could not register a very good start at BSE and NSE. Against the fixed issue price, which was fixed at a lower limit of Rs 120 to Rs 126 per share, the shares traded at Rs 111.05 on BSE. The company also witnessed a poor subscription (1.15 times). The jewellery brand also intends to use the money to expand the business and invest in the capital.%% {{Tara Jewels: }}For the brand that has its presence in retail, manufacturing and export market, the response at the stock exchange was not a grand one. But the good news was that it did not plunge below the issued price. While the issue price was Rs 230 per share at BSE, the brand was listed at a price of Rs 242, which was 5.2 per cent more than the issue price. The brand has witnessed a high of Rs 245 and a lowest of Rs 238. The processed collected totaled to Rs 180 crore through IPO and the company plans to use it to open new showrooms and clear debts and loans. %%

{{Trend}} %% The year witnessed design getting its due importance, as the manufacturers went out of their way to experiment and bring something innovative in the market. However, due to dull market, not much could be achieved. But it has definitely set a trend that will continue in the New Year. The most talked about trends, which are expected to rule the market in the New Year, are some bold expression and experiments of the creative minds. The coming time would witness some out-of-box designs finding its takers. %% {{Gold: }}The most important change that the market witnessed was that growing acceptance of 18k, 9k gold by the masses. Reason could vary from soaring prices of gold, formal jewellery with little less bling, 18k gold hold diamond better etc. But this doesn’t signify that 24k and 22k gold are out. Gold ruled and will continue to do so. The change is in its treatment and designs. Market survey shows that there has been a surge in demand for rose gold, both solo and in combination with normal 22k gold. Bold, big and matt finish gold jewellery will also be in vogue. %% {{Platinum: }}With a strong and best marketing strategy of promoting itself as a symbol of love, platinum is all set to enjoy a huge market in coming times. The rich man’s gold is also fairly popular among the youth (the target audience for the makers) and has come up as the classiest solution for the segment of ‘office jewellery’. New age woman, who wants it all- a little shimmer of diamonds sans that golden bling, a sophisticated jewellery pieces that would go well with her indo-western outfit and not make her feel out of place in the professional environ—platinum trinket jewellery is the perfect choice. The precious metal forayed into the segment of Indian wedding jewellery with bangles and now it has been a preferred choice of many brides, who want to stand out in the crowd. %% {{Diamonds: }}The upheavels in the market did give some jitters, but the overall image of diamonds still remains unchanged. The New Year will witness newer avatars of diamonds like—coloured diamonds and uncut diamonds. Though both have been there since long, but there has been an increase in the popularity and demand of coloured diamonds and usage of uncut diamonds in jewellery. Huge uncut rocks are all set to woo the bold and beautiful, who love to flaunt their love and faith in nature. Coloured gemstones: It was a pleasant surprise to see the grand comeback of the coloured gemstones. Not only in the colourful culture of India, but western countries too announced their love for colours without hesitation. Some of the big events across the world saw celebrities flaunting emeralds and sapphires. People are seen looking for a hint of colour in their all gold or all diamond jewellery. Popular source of inspiration like nature, peacock, woman etc cannot be expressed without colours. %%

The year 2012 has indeed been an eventful one with almost all the trade events concentrating on uplifting the market mood; many important positions in various gem and jewellery bodies witnessing a change of leadership, many big brands going public. The international trade fairs, jewellery shows, meets and conferences were held as usual to help industry stay afloat and to keep up the hope in a sinking environ of fluctuating prices and ever-dipping sale figures. The industry also witnessed a gloomy period with a national conflict being reported due to increase and then dramatic roll back of excise duty. Issues like undisclosed sale of synthetic diamonds, conflict diamond, and dull market due to price fluctuation and so on. We also take a look at various trend setters those were here to change the game completely.%% No matter how turbulent the year is tagged as, a closer look reveals it has proved to be a good time for the industry that got smarter, more practical and well-equipped. So we bring you a gist of what 2012 taught to the industry and how it helped tone itself.%% {{Bachraj Bamalwa, President, GJF:}} We expect a growth in 2013 and the reason is 2014 is an election year. Equity is expected to go up thus pushing the sentiments in the market thus increasing sale. We may see some better jewellery sale. Light weight jewellery will be more in demand in coming season for reasons like customers choice. Last year the government did not think about the industry. We are still not in a position to deal with any more taxes or duties. Good news for both customer and jewellers is that the trend of rising gold prices may see a check in 2013. This will help jewellers to increase sale volume and also generate employment.%% {{Vipul Shah, President, GJEPC:}} After suffering in 2012, we now need to bring a change and not look at yearly performances. Rather we should set short term goal and gauge industry’s performance quarter-to-quarter. I expect 2013 to be a better year than the last one, as the U S market is improving and we may see improved sale figures in the U S. I expect growth in the first quarter. Price point jewellery will be the focus, as the US market will be the key market now. Also we have Chinese New Year will also encourage sale. Post the frist quarter picture will be clearer. %%

{{Shockwaves }} %% The industry was on its smooth sail with a few high and low tides when the news of sale of undisclosed diamonds was made public by International Gemological Institute (IGI). What followed was a panic wave among both the industry insiders and the consumers. It shook the foundation stone of the industry, which is aptly named, ‘trust’. Another cause of concern was the definition of conflict diamonds and approach towards the conflict diamond producing areas.%% {{Synthetic diamond Issue:}} After encountering a huge lot of diamond for certification turned out to be synthetic diamonds in May, 2012, International Gemological Institute (IGI) raised a trade alert and informed labs in Mumbai and Antwerp. However, the matter was already out and it sent panic waves in the market. The IGI also stated that it’s not possible for dealers or customers to make out difference between a natural diamond and a CVD synthetic diamond due to a high-level of technological interference involved. While the diamond industry was grappling with the dampening market already, the news of undisclosed synthetic diamonds already being in the market was no less than a blow to the businesses. The event witnessed a lot of reaction from the industry that not only condemned the act but also expressed their solidarity towards fighting against such acts that hamper the image of the industry. The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) adopted a zero tolerance towards this. The GJEPC also conducted workshops and seminars to create awareness among its members, where they discussed the long-run consequences of the undisclosed lab-grown diamonds in the market. The news created a huge stir in the market and many labs across the world started training their staff and equipping themselves with latest machinery. The whole chaos brought in negativity in the market, the good part was that it led to designing of handy tools to check the authenticity of the diamonds.%% {{Conflict Diamonds:}} Yet another issue, which kept the think tanks of the industry merging their brows and discussing the problem at length. The latest was when during the 35th World Diamond Conference (WDC), K P Chair announced the proposal to bring some changes in the definition of Conflict Diamonds through a common consensus. The changes suggested by K P Chair included that instead of punishing the countries that was tagged for producing ‘conflict diamonds’, the world organizations must help them eliminate the conflict and bring them to the mainstream market. There was also a lot of discussion whether ‘violation of human rights’ can be a key factor in declaring a diamond as a ‘conflict diamond’. This had a dominos effect and the industry, though unanimous, went into a serious discussion on the same. The case study of banning of Zimbabwe diamonds in the U S was among the most discussed in the forum. "As I see it, as Chair, in cases where there is concern that a conflict is diamond-related, the goal would be to objectively assess the situation in conjunction with the relevant country. If the conflict does not fit the definition the issue would be closed. If the conflict does fit the definition, the approach would be to assist and resolve, not punish, and the KP would seek to help the country to rectify the situation. Only if these efforts are exhausted and the problem persists would a limitation on the right to issue a KP certificate for rough diamonds originating at the concerned site be considered. The purpose is not to punish or exclude, but first to help a country with a problem to find solutions to fix that problem and only as a last resort move towards limitations on the issuance of KP certificates. All along, we ensure that it is the stakeholders in the diamond sector, from producing countries to manufacturing countries to all elements of industry and civil society, who are focused on making the decisions that affect the KP and the rough diamond supply chain," the US Ambassador Gillian Milovanovic, Chair of the Kimberley Process stated.%%

{{Tax and duties}} %% The year also witnessed government bringing a lot of matter for the gem and jewellery industry to brood on, react to and to rejoice as well. The beginning of the year witnessed the Union budget announcing two important issues—Foreign Direct Investment, and one per cent excise duty on branded and unbranded jewellery. While the union government played the bad cop, the Karnataka government proved to be the good cop for the state jewellers by reducing the VAT to one per cent. %% {{Roll back of Excise duty:}} The nation witnessed a frenzied action from government and an equally frenzied reaction from the jeweller fraternity. The issue was announcement of imposition of one per cent Excise duty on branded and unbranded jewellery during the Union Budget 2012. Post announcement, strikes were called and shops remained closed for a few days that extended to a total of 21 days staring from March 16, 2012. Despite being a government body, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) also supported the move by the jewellers. After a lot of representation, petitions, protests and requests, in a dramatic move, the Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee announced the roll back of the Excise duty, much to the relief of the jewellers. The decision was taken after a debate on the bill in the Parliament. There was occasional opening up of the market as festivals like Gudi Padva and Akshay Tritiya, however the shut down show went on till the Finmin hinted at roll back of the duty. %% {{Foreign Direct Investment:}} Though other business, especially FMCG retail, registered a dramatic reaction on the FDI policy suggested by the UPA Govt in the Union Budget, jewelllery industry did not budge much. Apparently, the reason was that the gem and jewellery industry was already enjoying almost 100 per cent FDI in few categories. Shantibhai Patel, President, Gem and Jewellery Trade Council of India, observed, “Unless the 100 per cent FDI translates into workforce and develops an interpretation like buying foreign made machines to replace artisans in Indian jewellery industry, it is not making much of difference. The gem and jewellery industry in any country already functions on two platforms-local and international due to lot of export and imports involved in the business at manufacturing level, so government’s decision of easing out the FDI was not making much of a difference to Indian manufacturers.” Though it did not bring too much of difference, an uneasiness among a few traders could not be ruled out. %% {{Karnataka Govt reduced VAT: }}In the testing times when the union government was sending one shockwave after another, the Karnataka government brought some relief to the state jewellers by reducing the VAT to one percent. The event took place in month of March. The VAT was increased to two per cent in the year 011, and the jeweller associations of the state were continuously trying to convince the government for the roll back citing reasons of dull market, fluctuating price of diamond and gold. The Karnataka State Budget 012 brought the much needed relief to the jewellers of the state, who already predicted a tough year ahead. %%

{{Events}} %% As mentioned earlier, the good part about the year 2012 was that all kind of efforts were made at all level to infuse positive sentiments in the market which was experiencing a bout of depression due to various important factors. One such effort was evident as all the scheduled shows and trade fairs went on as the torch bearer of hope. Most of the shows garnered mixed response from both the participants and the visitors. What remained common in all the local or international fairs, shows and meets was—optimism. %% {{World Diamond Congress:}} The latest and one of the most important events of the year was the 35thWorld Diamond Congress (WDC) that witnessed huge and active participation from delegates from across the world. The WDC was organised for the first time in India in the month of October and was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan. The event proved to be a mega one with an array of activities, seminars, discussions happening on all days. The event witnessed serious and fruitful discussions on subjects and issues pertaining to jewellery industry. Some of the widely discussed issues were sale of undisclosed synthetic diamonds, redefinition of conflict diamonds and various inputs and approaches of people. But the most talked about topic was lack of generalised promotion. The industry expressed grave concern on the issue and said that generic promotion body of diamond traders/businessman is an immediate requirement. As the market is replete with options for people, in order to maintain its charm and also to increases its demand, diamond needs some generic promotion. Apart from discussions the event also had cultural programmes based on history of diamonds in India.%% {{India International Jewellery Show: }}One of the most awaited international trade fairs was strategically and timely scheduled in the mid of the year, where people can bring in required changes in their business strategy and plan their purchase and publicity accordingly. The IIJS proved to be a good platform for many manufacturers, retailers and traders from across the globe. The event was inaugurated by Anand Sharma, Commerce, Industry and Textile minister and was a well-attended one. The hosts, GJEPC, expressed hope that the show would restore positive sentiments in the market, which it did to a certain extent. But overall the participants gave a mixed response. While some were happy with the select crowd, ready-to-buy customers and good number of footfalls and enquiries, others complained of not-so-good response. The event also had a series of seminars and workshops that dealt with various topics concerning the gem and jewellery industry.%% {{IJ Directory Launch: }}It was a much needed endeavour on the part of the International Journal House to help the industry with a ready database of names and contact details of prominent jewellers. The directory will be updated every year and new inclusion will also be done. Compiling of the information included personal visit for detail verification, a nationwide e-mailer campaign and much more and the result was an organized directory for an unorganised sector. The objective was obvious—to help jewellers focus more on business and spend as little time possible in unproductive work like data mining for contacts. %%

{{Hong Kong Gem and Jewellery Fair: }}The show, planned two times in a year saw a lot of hoped pinned to it. However, it could not do much to help the market. The September show as well registered mixed response from the participants and the overall performance of the show was not satisfactory. However it did a good job in keeping the optimism level intact in the market. The show was declared not a successful one by many participating jewellers as it missed on Asian buyers. Moreover, the participants also complained of more of window shoppers in the show and lack of serious buyers. Both the jewellery and the diamond segments expressed their dissatisfaction with the show’s performance. %% {{Bangkok Gem and Jewellery Fair: }}It was the Golden Jubilee for the Bangkok Gem and Jewellery Fair and it did everything possible to uplift the mood and celebrate the occasion. To a certain extent the efforts paid off as the show was defined as the one with a silver lining. The event witnessed important decisions like signing of MoU between ASEAN members to increases regional cooperation. The Prime Minister of Thailand, Yingluck Shinawatra, inaugurated the fair. The highlight of the fair was the launch of first ASEAN Gems and Jewellery President’s Summit.%% {{GJEPC Indo-Russian Buyer Seller Meet: }}To foster good business relations and to provide a platform to Indian manufacturer understand the requirement of Russian buyers, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) an Indo-Russian Buyer-Seller Meet. The meet proved to be a good platform where Indian manufacturer got to understand the market needs and trend in Russian jewellery market. Though language was still a barrier and most of them needed interpreters to put their views across, however, both the parties are hopeful that in future they will be able to overcome this hurdle too and have excellent business relations. %% {{India International Jewellery Week:}} Yet another attempt by the Gem and Jewellery Export promotion Council (GJEPC). Glamour and oomph oozed out of the event stunning looking as models walked ramped with equally stunning jewellery pieces on. The show has its bit of drama and glamour as film and television fraternity made their presence felt as guests and show stoppers. The show went on to define trend in second half of 2012 and for 2013 as well. The show was inaugurated by Bollywood Dreamgirl {{Hema Malini.}} And it had many innovative breathtaking designs by both brands and independent designers. Right from reputed designers to the new ones, the platform proved to be a good one for one and all and gave opportunity to both to showcase their creativity to the chosen guest list. %% {{Jaipur Jewellery Show: }}The 10th Jaipur Jewellery Show kick started on December 22, 2012 and went on till December 25. Three days dedicated to the business of gem and jewellery that too in its hub, Jaipur. The Executive Director of London-based Gemfields Plc, Sean Gilbertson, was the Chief Guest and he inaugurated the event, which was organised at the Hotel Rajmahal Palace. This year the show focused on promoting diamonds while adhering to their tradition of choosing one precious stone per year for promotion.%% {{IJ Awards: }}The most awaited events that every jewellery designer and brand looked forwards to was held on December 22 at The Marriot, Jaipur. The occasion also marked the second anniversary of Indian Jeweller magazine published by International Journal House. The voting-format of the contest witnessed a close competition in every category and helped the best design win. The voters were the registered retailer of India, who chose the best of many in categories like best gold jewellery, best coloured stone jewellery, best kundan-meenakari jewellery, best CZ jewellery and so on. The categories were also divided on the basis of price range. %%

{{People}} %% While the market changed, the trends changed and some of the world’s biggest economies underwent huge changes, the gem and jewellery industry too witnessed some change of leadership in some of the important national and international bodies. While there are a lot to be informed off, we bring a couple of important news that might prove to be a game-changer. %% {{GJEPC committee:}} The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council underwent a change of leadership in the year 2012. Vipul Shah, CEO and MD of Asian Star, was sworn in as the new President, while Pankaj Parekh, former chairman of eastern region of GJEPC, will now hold the position of vice-chairman of the GJEPC. During a press meet held to announce the new committee, they not only interacted with media but also announced their agenda and plan for their tenure. Shah said that the council would organise more buyer-seller meet to penetrate into new markets and promote India as a design destination. The highlight of the agenda was the fact that the council had realised the importance and lack of generic promotion of diamonds and hence has allotted a fund for the same. Among other plans was standardisation of labs in the country and to have a world class convention centre for shows like IIJS. Parekh also mentioned that IIJW has registered huge success and the council will make efforts to take the event to other Indian cities and international destinations. %% {{International Diamond Manufacturers Association:}} During the 35th World Diamond Congress, the IDMA introduced its new President, Maxim Shadov. The outgogin President of the organization, Moti Ganz, along with the new President urged producers to help manufacturers with strong backing, as lack of this may push diamond cutters to produce synthetic diamonds. Incumbent Secretary General Ronnie Vander Linden and incumbent Treasurer Stephane Fischler were both re-elected for another term in office. Three incumbent Vice-Presidents-- Vasant Mehta of India, Ronny Friedman of the USA and Eduard Denckens of Belgium were also re-elected. In addition, David de Toledo of Israel and Edward Asscher of the Netherlands were elected to serve as Vice-Presidents. Secretary General Vander Linden said that the outcome of the elections demonstrated the need for greater and wider involvement of IDMA members in leading the diamond manufacturing industry through an ever more complex maze of challenges it is engaging. %% {{World Federation of Diamond Bourses: }}The WFDB got Earnest Blom as its new President. During the 35th WDC which took place in India, both WFDB and IDMA introduced their newly elected leadership. Both the organisation took a collective stand in resolving various crisis that plagues the world diamond industry in present. The WFDB also announced a new partnership initiative, World Diamond Mark, which is a non-profit organisation that would look after the marketing of diamond and diamond jewellery industry. The WFDB represents 28 affiliated diamond bourses worldwide. Throwing light on the newly formed organisation, Blom said, “This is a not-for-profit organisation that will operate out of Hong Kong. For World Diamond Mark, we have a global strategy and action plan based on three fundamental principles: education, confidence and generic marketing to generate the best-sustained returns for the industry. This would bring direct benefits to members and make diamonds and jewellery synonymous with the world’s most desirable luxury items. This initiative will be launched with the new slogan ‘When the world loves, we are here’.” %%

{{Showrooms}} %% We also had some recessions-defying moves in the industry that forced the think tanks to think twice before they announced the year a tough one. One reason that India gave was unchecked expansion of various brands. The year saw many brands making a foray into retail, many expanding from one region to another, many shifting from independent store format to multiple store format and many brands revamping their flagship store to mark a new beginning. %% {{D Kushalbhai Jewellers: }}Though not an old player, the brand has established itself as a renowned name in the field of gem and jewellery trade. Proving the fact is their new showroom opened in Surat, the diamond hub of India. The new showroom that houses best and most exquisite designs of the season is spread across three floors each with approx area of 5,000 sq ft. The showroom flaunts an Indo-western interior and has exclusive zones like—Children’s room, Bridal Lounge, NRI Area and so on. While the rich Indian tradition of courteousness is at its best, the brand offers best of Indian and western designs. Run by Dipak Chokshi and Viren Chokshi, the showroom is also well-equipped with modern day machineries—like, Karatometer—to ensure a fair deal. The floors are segregated according to the collections and variety—while the ground floor is dedicated to gold jewellery, first floor talks in terms of diamonds only and the top floor has men’s jewellery and one-gramme gold jewellery. %% {{Kama Schachter: }}After being a big deal in the field of manufacturing, Kama Schachter marked its foray into retail with a plush showroom in Andheri, Mumbai. Going by their name, love and passion is the bottom lline behind everything what meets the eye—the décor, the lighting, colour scheme and of course jewellery deisgns. So the idea is clear that the owners wanted to project and promote the store as a ‘Love Destination Store’. Founder and Managing Director of the brand Colin Shah, said that while the market offers jewellery for all occasions, we wanted to offer something for ‘love’ which is the base of all emotions. Talking about the most sspeacila feature of his store, Shah said, “We have a lounge area where we can set stage say for the ‘first date’ or to ‘Pop the Question’ or just to ‘celebrate a special milestone’ that the couple wishes to.” %% {{P P Jewellers: }}The brand refined opulence and luxury with its new flagship store in Karol Bagh, Delhi. Calling the edifice that spread itself across four floors a store was an understatement. Chairman and Managing Director of the brand, Kamal Gupta, was an overwhelmed and satisfied soul as he proudly shows one around the store and confesses his pride and awe. The idea, Gupta says, was to make it as royal as possible. The showroom was built over 1.200 sq yards of area and was coloured in pristine white with delicate gold filigree and to top it all was the ceiling in gold embedded with multi-coloured stones in intricate motifs, to add to the opulence. Gupta made it clear that the grandeur does not signifies that they are here only to cater to the high-end clients, as they have a wide range of jewellery beginning with Rs 4,000 (the then rate). Talk designs and there is an endless list of variety that ensures that the customer would be spoilt for choices. They have further plans to open more showrooms across North India. %% {{Sri Jagdamba Pearls: }}Not failing to surprise their customers with their exquisite, classic jewellery deigns, Sri Jagdamba Pearls is always ready with more surprises. With their new store in Secundrabad’s M G Road, the brand is all set take the customers on a dream walk. Apart from a wide range of gold, diamond, kundan and colour-stone jewellery, the store has many unique feature that gives it an edge over its competitors in the vicinity. Sharing details of some unique features of the store, Avanish Aggarwal, owner of the brand, said, “The store has a ‘timeline wall’ that has details of history of pearls, its origin, properties and more. This makes an interesting feature, as people get to know about what they are purchasing. Another interesting feature is that they also allow their customers to pose and click pictures with some exclusive pieces that the customer may not buy. However, the most intriguing facility is the ‘Experinece Zone’ where customer can see the entire processing of pearl till it gets embedded in a jewellery piece.”%% {{Kalyan Jewellers: }}Under their expansion spree programmme, the brand opened two new stores in Gujarat-Ahmedabad and Vadodara. Both the inaugurations were high profile with celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as chief guests. The brand has already made a mark in South India and the two news showrroms also marked its foray into the Western Indian market. Owner of the brand T S Kalyanraman said that the new store in Ahmedabad is an attempt to bring international jewellery shopping experience for people of Gujarat in their home town. The store is spread in an area of 20,000 sq ft and is well divided in three floors. They plan to have around 100 stores across the globe by the end of next financial year. The store boasts of a huge collection of jewellery, which are segmented in various categories according to design themes and metal or stones used. While the store in Ahmedabad was its 38th one, the one in Vadodara was the 39th, thus gradually taking the brand to greater heights. %%

{{Companies}} %% The industry is growing and one parameter that supported the claim was the acquiring the status of ‘Public Limited’ by many Indian companies. In the year 2012, three big jewellery brands went public- P C Jewellers, Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri and Tara Jewels. All three companies already enjoyed a good status in the market as leading brands and witnessed decent start at the BSE. %% {{P C Jewellers:}}The company got listed on December 27 and witnessed a good start as a public limited company. Owner of P C Jewellers, Balram Garg, said, “Going public was always there on our mind. This was a natural decision after tasting success as a chain store business.” The brand witnessed a decent beginning with Rs 137 on BSE and Rs 135.50 at NSE, while the issue price was Rs 135. “The company generated more than Rs 600 crores and was subscribed seven times. We intend to use the money to open around 20 new showrooms by end of coming financial year,” added Garg.%% {{Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri:}} After ruling in the jewellery market from decades, the company finally got listed in May 2012. Though the company now enjoys a good status, it could not register a very good start at BSE and NSE. Against the fixed issue price, which was fixed at a lower limit of Rs 120 to Rs 126 per share, the shares traded at Rs 111.05 on BSE. The company also witnessed a poor subscription (1.15 times). The jewellery brand also intends to use the money to expand the business and invest in the capital.%% {{Tara Jewels: }}For the brand that has its presence in retail, manufacturing and export market, the response at the stock exchange was not a grand one. But the good news was that it did not plunge below the issued price. While the issue price was Rs 230 per share at BSE, the brand was listed at a price of Rs 242, which was 5.2 per cent more than the issue price. The brand has witnessed a high of Rs 245 and a lowest of Rs 238. The processed collected totaled to Rs 180 crore through IPO and the company plans to use it to open new showrooms and clear debts and loans. %%

{{Trend}} %% The year witnessed design getting its due importance, as the manufacturers went out of their way to experiment and bring something innovative in the market. However, due to dull market, not much could be achieved. But it has definitely set a trend that will continue in the New Year. The most talked about trends, which are expected to rule the market in the New Year, are some bold expression and experiments of the creative minds. The coming time would witness some out-of-box designs finding its takers. %% {{Gold: }}The most important change that the market witnessed was that growing acceptance of 18k, 9k gold by the masses. Reason could vary from soaring prices of gold, formal jewellery with little less bling, 18k gold hold diamond better etc. But this doesn’t signify that 24k and 22k gold are out. Gold ruled and will continue to do so. The change is in its treatment and designs. Market survey shows that there has been a surge in demand for rose gold, both solo and in combination with normal 22k gold. Bold, big and matt finish gold jewellery will also be in vogue. %% {{Platinum: }}With a strong and best marketing strategy of promoting itself as a symbol of love, platinum is all set to enjoy a huge market in coming times. The rich man’s gold is also fairly popular among the youth (the target audience for the makers) and has come up as the classiest solution for the segment of ‘office jewellery’. New age woman, who wants it all- a little shimmer of diamonds sans that golden bling, a sophisticated jewellery pieces that would go well with her indo-western outfit and not make her feel out of place in the professional environ—platinum trinket jewellery is the perfect choice. The precious metal forayed into the segment of Indian wedding jewellery with bangles and now it has been a preferred choice of many brides, who want to stand out in the crowd. %% {{Diamonds: }}The upheavels in the market did give some jitters, but the overall image of diamonds still remains unchanged. The New Year will witness newer avatars of diamonds like—coloured diamonds and uncut diamonds. Though both have been there since long, but there has been an increase in the popularity and demand of coloured diamonds and usage of uncut diamonds in jewellery. Huge uncut rocks are all set to woo the bold and beautiful, who love to flaunt their love and faith in nature. Coloured gemstones: It was a pleasant surprise to see the grand comeback of the coloured gemstones. Not only in the colourful culture of India, but western countries too announced their love for colours without hesitation. Some of the big events across the world saw celebrities flaunting emeralds and sapphires. People are seen looking for a hint of colour in their all gold or all diamond jewellery. Popular source of inspiration like nature, peacock, woman etc cannot be expressed without colours. %%