|*Combine the promise of style with the assurance of security – this is the twin formula behind the success of jewellers in Delhi. As consumers in the largest gold jewellery market in India display a growing penchant for brands and modern, diamond studded ornaments, Indian Jeweller finds that the traditional jewellery sector has weathered the recessionary storm that saw consumption decline in many other parts of the world.*|%% While the world reeled under a recession and markets elsewhere saw dramatic dips in spending, the Indian consumer bucked the trend. Having bought gold jewellery as an ideal investment over the years, she continued her affair with the yellow metal, which also proved to be a safer haven than the volatile stock market. %% Though this is generally true across the country, in larger markets like Delhi, however, the consumer now demands certificates of purity and hallmarked jewellery, and is being increasingly attracted to diamond studded jewellery. Retail jewellers in the capital have over the last few years been strengthening their businesses to better deliver what the customer wants. %% {{Strong Affinity to Gold}}%% Vijay Khanna, President, Delhi Jewellers Association, and owner, Khanna Jewellers, established in the early 1950s, remembers the early days of today’s booming retail trade. “After partition, the gold brought by the Punjabis to Delhi helped them to set up and establish their business. Today, the businesses are successful but the mindset of gold as social security remains. Unlike immoveable property, gold is a dynamic investment in uncertain economic conditions. India, having historically survived invasions, political uncertainties and economic upheavals is no wonder hungry for gold and the demand for gold simply does not quieten. Gold is given to daughters, gifted at weddings, on children’s birthdays and bought for investment. Traditionally, Delhi is a bigger market for gold jewellery than Mumbai.” %% It is this penchant for gold, stemming both from cultural peculiarities and the investment motive, that ensured that in India, demand sustained even during the global downturn, even as world consumption showed a decline. %% Though Indian consumption of gold has dropped from its earlier high of around 700-800 tonnes annually, it still accounts for about 12-15 per cent of the global gold consumption. Nearly 75 per cent goes into making jewellery, a market estimated by a KPMG study of 2006-07 to be worth around US$13.5 billion. Of this diamond and gemstone studded jewellery commands less than 20 per cent. But this share of diamond studded jewellery is slowly but surely increasing. With a little help from corporate brands. %% When investment is the motive, the modern educated customer does not want to be short changed and stridently demands purity. This cry for purity has promoted the popularity of corporate brands and the demand for traditional gold has partly shifted in favour of diamond studded jewellery, though it continues to be the single largest category of jewellery by far.

{{Corporate Brands & Purity}}%% For many jewellers, purity was always a questionable issue. “Many family jewellers initially resisted the introduction of hallmarking and wanted to run their business as usual – on sweet talk, trust and tradition,” says Khanna. %% But the customer was serious and jewellers in Delhi soon began to offer their heavier jewellery for hallmarking. Still, till date, hallmarking is not compulsory. %% “Today, less than 75 per cent of retail jewellers in Delhi have adopted the triangle mark for their gold jewellery,” informs Khanna. “This should be made mandatory,” he adds. %% The question mark on purity has certainly diverted the new generation customers away from traditional jewellers endorsed by the family elders, to modern corporate brands housed in air-conditioned shopping malls. %% Says Kinshuk Sobti, store manager, Tanishq at Gold Souk, “Tanishq, as the leader among the corporate brands, promises purity. We also have an in-house Karatmeter to analyse the purity of gold jewellery brought in by the customers. Customers do not mind paying for purity.” %% Although many players in the industry point to the high making charges at Tanishq, it is true that the brand has a loyal following, even though its jewellery is not hallmarked by the government authorised third parties. %% Having fulfilled the customers need for purity, corporate brands have moved to change customers’ perceptions about diamond studded jewellery. Diamonds are affordable and good for investment too, is the new magic mantra and customers have started to sing a different tune as reflected in their choices. %% “Earlier, we would cater essentially to the business class. Today professionals are also our customers,” says Sobti. %% {{Demand for Diamond Studded Jewellery}}%% Today, Delhi prefers to purchase diamond studded jewellery over traditional gold jewellery and retail jewellers are providing what the customer needs. %% “After the Gold Control Act was abolished in the early 1990s, goldsmiths got together and developed themselves into retail jewellers. Similarly, today small retail jewellers that specialised only in gold jewellery have moved into selling diamond studded jewellery. Even the smallest jeweller of Karol Bagh (a prominent jewellery market in Delhi dominated by family jewellers) has a collection of diamond jewellery,” informs Khanna. %% The gradual shift from traditional gold to diamond studded jewellery has been primarily led by the small corporate segment. %% “Tanishq has also yielded to its customers demands for diamond studded gold jewellery and experienced a much faster rate of growth in studded jewellery as against plain gold jewellery,” says Sobti. %% But there is something more to the popularity of diamond jewellery. “The increasing popularity may be attributed to a concerted move by the small, yet commanding presence of corporate jewellery brands who have promoted diamonds as an emotional, yet powerful purchase” whispers an industry source.

{{Powerful Backing}}%% According to the KPMG report, the gems and jewellery industry supports an estimated 100,000 workshops supplying to over 350,000 retailers, mostly family owned, single shop operations. However, across India, there are about 15,000 big players of which fewer than 80 command net revenues over US $ 5 million. Although, these corporate jewellery brands constitute less than five per cent of the market, it is a powerful lobby that has emerged as an answer to the customer’s demand for purity and also pushed diamonds, which make for better bottomlines. %% {{Profit Margins}}%% Says Amit Bumb, Director Avenue Montaigne, a multi-brand jewellery showroom at Gold Souk, Haryana, “Although corporate earnings are higher than those of family jewellers, annual profit margins are not high considering the heavy investment which is required to sustain the brand. Yet, the profit margin for gold jewellery is less than 3-4 per cent while it is about 10 per cent in diamond jewellery.” %% Agrees Abhishek Johri of B Ram Swarup Johri and Sons, a seventh generation family jeweller in Delhi, “In gold jewellery, profit margins are never more than 2-3 per cent. Diamond jewellery commands better returns.” %% The branded jewellery market, endorsed by quality conscious customers, is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in domestic sales. The growth rate per annum is estimated at around 30 per cent. Driving this growth is the high end jewellery segment. %% {{High End Jewellery}}%% High end diamond jewellery priced above Rs. 5 lakh is a high margin segment for retailers. “Today, customers are going for bridal sets in polki diamonds which are in this high end segment. Customers consider such investment in jewellery worthwhile,” says Johri. %% But customers in this high end segment also insist on exclusive designs and retail jewellers have jumped to this challenge with a variety of designs on offer as well as promotional sales schemes, always irresistible to the average Delhiite. %% {{Designs}}%% Today, there is a clear move away from plain yellow gold jewellery. Says Udit Sehgal, Director Blues Jewellery company. “Customers want maximum mileage out of our multi-faceted pieces. Women want one piece of jewellery which is suitable to wear with sarees as well as western outfits. We offer, for instance, an earring which can be clipped on for western dresses or worn as a dangler on sarees or a necklace which can be worn as a bracelet. We try to offer the customer value for money.” %% Jewellery for men in Delhi offers an insight into another design shift. “Earlier gold bands for men were always yellow gold. Today, understated platinum or white gold is more popular,” informs Johri, adding that this is another growth area. %% “Women still prefer big and beautiful diamond studded jewellery with lots of flash and sparkle,” he adds. %% Nobody speaks of investment, which is still the implied justification for jewellery purchases for many of the consumers.

|*Combine the promise of style with the assurance of security – this is the twin formula behind the success of jewellers in Delhi. As consumers in the largest gold jewellery market in India display a growing penchant for brands and modern, diamond studded ornaments, Indian Jeweller finds that the traditional jewellery sector has weathered the recessionary storm that saw consumption decline in many other parts of the world.*|%% While the world reeled under a recession and markets elsewhere saw dramatic dips in spending, the Indian consumer bucked the trend. Having bought gold jewellery as an ideal investment over the years, she continued her affair with the yellow metal, which also proved to be a safer haven than the volatile stock market. %% Though this is generally true across the country, in larger markets like Delhi, however, the consumer now demands certificates of purity and hallmarked jewellery, and is being increasingly attracted to diamond studded jewellery. Retail jewellers in the capital have over the last few years been strengthening their businesses to better deliver what the customer wants. %% {{Strong Affinity to Gold}}%% Vijay Khanna, President, Delhi Jewellers Association, and owner, Khanna Jewellers, established in the early 1950s, remembers the early days of today’s booming retail trade. “After partition, the gold brought by the Punjabis to Delhi helped them to set up and establish their business. Today, the businesses are successful but the mindset of gold as social security remains. Unlike immoveable property, gold is a dynamic investment in uncertain economic conditions. India, having historically survived invasions, political uncertainties and economic upheavals is no wonder hungry for gold and the demand for gold simply does not quieten. Gold is given to daughters, gifted at weddings, on children’s birthdays and bought for investment. Traditionally, Delhi is a bigger market for gold jewellery than Mumbai.” %% It is this penchant for gold, stemming both from cultural peculiarities and the investment motive, that ensured that in India, demand sustained even during the global downturn, even as world consumption showed a decline. %% Though Indian consumption of gold has dropped from its earlier high of around 700-800 tonnes annually, it still accounts for about 12-15 per cent of the global gold consumption. Nearly 75 per cent goes into making jewellery, a market estimated by a KPMG study of 2006-07 to be worth around US$13.5 billion. Of this diamond and gemstone studded jewellery commands less than 20 per cent. But this share of diamond studded jewellery is slowly but surely increasing. With a little help from corporate brands. %% When investment is the motive, the modern educated customer does not want to be short changed and stridently demands purity. This cry for purity has promoted the popularity of corporate brands and the demand for traditional gold has partly shifted in favour of diamond studded jewellery, though it continues to be the single largest category of jewellery by far.

{{Corporate Brands & Purity}}%% For many jewellers, purity was always a questionable issue. “Many family jewellers initially resisted the introduction of hallmarking and wanted to run their business as usual – on sweet talk, trust and tradition,” says Khanna. %% But the customer was serious and jewellers in Delhi soon began to offer their heavier jewellery for hallmarking. Still, till date, hallmarking is not compulsory. %% “Today, less than 75 per cent of retail jewellers in Delhi have adopted the triangle mark for their gold jewellery,” informs Khanna. “This should be made mandatory,” he adds. %% The question mark on purity has certainly diverted the new generation customers away from traditional jewellers endorsed by the family elders, to modern corporate brands housed in air-conditioned shopping malls. %% Says Kinshuk Sobti, store manager, Tanishq at Gold Souk, “Tanishq, as the leader among the corporate brands, promises purity. We also have an in-house Karatmeter to analyse the purity of gold jewellery brought in by the customers. Customers do not mind paying for purity.” %% Although many players in the industry point to the high making charges at Tanishq, it is true that the brand has a loyal following, even though its jewellery is not hallmarked by the government authorised third parties. %% Having fulfilled the customers need for purity, corporate brands have moved to change customers’ perceptions about diamond studded jewellery. Diamonds are affordable and good for investment too, is the new magic mantra and customers have started to sing a different tune as reflected in their choices. %% “Earlier, we would cater essentially to the business class. Today professionals are also our customers,” says Sobti. %% {{Demand for Diamond Studded Jewellery}}%% Today, Delhi prefers to purchase diamond studded jewellery over traditional gold jewellery and retail jewellers are providing what the customer needs. %% “After the Gold Control Act was abolished in the early 1990s, goldsmiths got together and developed themselves into retail jewellers. Similarly, today small retail jewellers that specialised only in gold jewellery have moved into selling diamond studded jewellery. Even the smallest jeweller of Karol Bagh (a prominent jewellery market in Delhi dominated by family jewellers) has a collection of diamond jewellery,” informs Khanna. %% The gradual shift from traditional gold to diamond studded jewellery has been primarily led by the small corporate segment. %% “Tanishq has also yielded to its customers demands for diamond studded gold jewellery and experienced a much faster rate of growth in studded jewellery as against plain gold jewellery,” says Sobti. %% But there is something more to the popularity of diamond jewellery. “The increasing popularity may be attributed to a concerted move by the small, yet commanding presence of corporate jewellery brands who have promoted diamonds as an emotional, yet powerful purchase” whispers an industry source.

{{Powerful Backing}}%% According to the KPMG report, the gems and jewellery industry supports an estimated 100,000 workshops supplying to over 350,000 retailers, mostly family owned, single shop operations. However, across India, there are about 15,000 big players of which fewer than 80 command net revenues over US $ 5 million. Although, these corporate jewellery brands constitute less than five per cent of the market, it is a powerful lobby that has emerged as an answer to the customer’s demand for purity and also pushed diamonds, which make for better bottomlines. %% {{Profit Margins}}%% Says Amit Bumb, Director Avenue Montaigne, a multi-brand jewellery showroom at Gold Souk, Haryana, “Although corporate earnings are higher than those of family jewellers, annual profit margins are not high considering the heavy investment which is required to sustain the brand. Yet, the profit margin for gold jewellery is less than 3-4 per cent while it is about 10 per cent in diamond jewellery.” %% Agrees Abhishek Johri of B Ram Swarup Johri and Sons, a seventh generation family jeweller in Delhi, “In gold jewellery, profit margins are never more than 2-3 per cent. Diamond jewellery commands better returns.” %% The branded jewellery market, endorsed by quality conscious customers, is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in domestic sales. The growth rate per annum is estimated at around 30 per cent. Driving this growth is the high end jewellery segment. %% {{High End Jewellery}}%% High end diamond jewellery priced above Rs. 5 lakh is a high margin segment for retailers. “Today, customers are going for bridal sets in polki diamonds which are in this high end segment. Customers consider such investment in jewellery worthwhile,” says Johri. %% But customers in this high end segment also insist on exclusive designs and retail jewellers have jumped to this challenge with a variety of designs on offer as well as promotional sales schemes, always irresistible to the average Delhiite. %% {{Designs}}%% Today, there is a clear move away from plain yellow gold jewellery. Says Udit Sehgal, Director Blues Jewellery company. “Customers want maximum mileage out of our multi-faceted pieces. Women want one piece of jewellery which is suitable to wear with sarees as well as western outfits. We offer, for instance, an earring which can be clipped on for western dresses or worn as a dangler on sarees or a necklace which can be worn as a bracelet. We try to offer the customer value for money.” %% Jewellery for men in Delhi offers an insight into another design shift. “Earlier gold bands for men were always yellow gold. Today, understated platinum or white gold is more popular,” informs Johri, adding that this is another growth area. %% “Women still prefer big and beautiful diamond studded jewellery with lots of flash and sparkle,” he adds. %% Nobody speaks of investment, which is still the implied justification for jewellery purchases for many of the consumers.

|*Combine the promise of style with the assurance of security – this is the twin formula behind the success of jewellers in Delhi. As consumers in the largest gold jewellery market in India display a growing penchant for brands and modern, diamond studded ornaments, Indian Jeweller finds that the traditional jewellery sector has weathered the recessionary storm that saw consumption decline in many other parts of the world.*|%% While the world reeled under a recession and markets elsewhere saw dramatic dips in spending, the Indian consumer bucked the trend. Having bought gold jewellery as an ideal investment over the years, she continued her affair with the yellow metal, which also proved to be a safer haven than the volatile stock market. %% Though this is generally true across the country, in larger markets like Delhi, however, the consumer now demands certificates of purity and hallmarked jewellery, and is being increasingly attracted to diamond studded jewellery. Retail jewellers in the capital have over the last few years been strengthening their businesses to better deliver what the customer wants. %% {{Strong Affinity to Gold}}%% Vijay Khanna, President, Delhi Jewellers Association, and owner, Khanna Jewellers, established in the early 1950s, remembers the early days of today’s booming retail trade. “After partition, the gold brought by the Punjabis to Delhi helped them to set up and establish their business. Today, the businesses are successful but the mindset of gold as social security remains. Unlike immoveable property, gold is a dynamic investment in uncertain economic conditions. India, having historically survived invasions, political uncertainties and economic upheavals is no wonder hungry for gold and the demand for gold simply does not quieten. Gold is given to daughters, gifted at weddings, on children’s birthdays and bought for investment. Traditionally, Delhi is a bigger market for gold jewellery than Mumbai.” %% It is this penchant for gold, stemming both from cultural peculiarities and the investment motive, that ensured that in India, demand sustained even during the global downturn, even as world consumption showed a decline. %% Though Indian consumption of gold has dropped from its earlier high of around 700-800 tonnes annually, it still accounts for about 12-15 per cent of the global gold consumption. Nearly 75 per cent goes into making jewellery, a market estimated by a KPMG study of 2006-07 to be worth around US$13.5 billion. Of this diamond and gemstone studded jewellery commands less than 20 per cent. But this share of diamond studded jewellery is slowly but surely increasing. With a little help from corporate brands. %% When investment is the motive, the modern educated customer does not want to be short changed and stridently demands purity. This cry for purity has promoted the popularity of corporate brands and the demand for traditional gold has partly shifted in favour of diamond studded jewellery, though it continues to be the single largest category of jewellery by far.

{{Corporate Brands & Purity}}%% For many jewellers, purity was always a questionable issue. “Many family jewellers initially resisted the introduction of hallmarking and wanted to run their business as usual – on sweet talk, trust and tradition,” says Khanna. %% But the customer was serious and jewellers in Delhi soon began to offer their heavier jewellery for hallmarking. Still, till date, hallmarking is not compulsory. %% “Today, less than 75 per cent of retail jewellers in Delhi have adopted the triangle mark for their gold jewellery,” informs Khanna. “This should be made mandatory,” he adds. %% The question mark on purity has certainly diverted the new generation customers away from traditional jewellers endorsed by the family elders, to modern corporate brands housed in air-conditioned shopping malls. %% Says Kinshuk Sobti, store manager, Tanishq at Gold Souk, “Tanishq, as the leader among the corporate brands, promises purity. We also have an in-house Karatmeter to analyse the purity of gold jewellery brought in by the customers. Customers do not mind paying for purity.” %% Although many players in the industry point to the high making charges at Tanishq, it is true that the brand has a loyal following, even though its jewellery is not hallmarked by the government authorised third parties. %% Having fulfilled the customers need for purity, corporate brands have moved to change customers’ perceptions about diamond studded jewellery. Diamonds are affordable and good for investment too, is the new magic mantra and customers have started to sing a different tune as reflected in their choices. %% “Earlier, we would cater essentially to the business class. Today professionals are also our customers,” says Sobti. %% {{Demand for Diamond Studded Jewellery}}%% Today, Delhi prefers to purchase diamond studded jewellery over traditional gold jewellery and retail jewellers are providing what the customer needs. %% “After the Gold Control Act was abolished in the early 1990s, goldsmiths got together and developed themselves into retail jewellers. Similarly, today small retail jewellers that specialised only in gold jewellery have moved into selling diamond studded jewellery. Even the smallest jeweller of Karol Bagh (a prominent jewellery market in Delhi dominated by family jewellers) has a collection of diamond jewellery,” informs Khanna. %% The gradual shift from traditional gold to diamond studded jewellery has been primarily led by the small corporate segment. %% “Tanishq has also yielded to its customers demands for diamond studded gold jewellery and experienced a much faster rate of growth in studded jewellery as against plain gold jewellery,” says Sobti. %% But there is something more to the popularity of diamond jewellery. “The increasing popularity may be attributed to a concerted move by the small, yet commanding presence of corporate jewellery brands who have promoted diamonds as an emotional, yet powerful purchase” whispers an industry source.

{{Powerful Backing}}%% According to the KPMG report, the gems and jewellery industry supports an estimated 100,000 workshops supplying to over 350,000 retailers, mostly family owned, single shop operations. However, across India, there are about 15,000 big players of which fewer than 80 command net revenues over US $ 5 million. Although, these corporate jewellery brands constitute less than five per cent of the market, it is a powerful lobby that has emerged as an answer to the customer’s demand for purity and also pushed diamonds, which make for better bottomlines. %% {{Profit Margins}}%% Says Amit Bumb, Director Avenue Montaigne, a multi-brand jewellery showroom at Gold Souk, Haryana, “Although corporate earnings are higher than those of family jewellers, annual profit margins are not high considering the heavy investment which is required to sustain the brand. Yet, the profit margin for gold jewellery is less than 3-4 per cent while it is about 10 per cent in diamond jewellery.” %% Agrees Abhishek Johri of B Ram Swarup Johri and Sons, a seventh generation family jeweller in Delhi, “In gold jewellery, profit margins are never more than 2-3 per cent. Diamond jewellery commands better returns.” %% The branded jewellery market, endorsed by quality conscious customers, is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in domestic sales. The growth rate per annum is estimated at around 30 per cent. Driving this growth is the high end jewellery segment. %% {{High End Jewellery}}%% High end diamond jewellery priced above Rs. 5 lakh is a high margin segment for retailers. “Today, customers are going for bridal sets in polki diamonds which are in this high end segment. Customers consider such investment in jewellery worthwhile,” says Johri. %% But customers in this high end segment also insist on exclusive designs and retail jewellers have jumped to this challenge with a variety of designs on offer as well as promotional sales schemes, always irresistible to the average Delhiite. %% {{Designs}}%% Today, there is a clear move away from plain yellow gold jewellery. Says Udit Sehgal, Director Blues Jewellery company. “Customers want maximum mileage out of our multi-faceted pieces. Women want one piece of jewellery which is suitable to wear with sarees as well as western outfits. We offer, for instance, an earring which can be clipped on for western dresses or worn as a dangler on sarees or a necklace which can be worn as a bracelet. We try to offer the customer value for money.” %% Jewellery for men in Delhi offers an insight into another design shift. “Earlier gold bands for men were always yellow gold. Today, understated platinum or white gold is more popular,” informs Johri, adding that this is another growth area. %% “Women still prefer big and beautiful diamond studded jewellery with lots of flash and sparkle,” he adds. %% Nobody speaks of investment, which is still the implied justification for jewellery purchases for many of the consumers.