Leafy gold earrings
studded with natural
fancy colour diamonds.
By Tanya Rastogi for Lala
Jugal Kishore Jewellers
Floral ear cuffs festooned with
white and yellow diamonds.
By Aurelle by Leshna ShahGeometric 18-karat rose
gold earrings lined with
round brilliant diamonds.
By Anmol Jewellers18-karat rose gold ring set
with round brilliant diamonds.
By Anmol Jewellersndia is seeing a major shift in the
diamond jewellery segment,
particularly related to daily wear. The
younger, net-savvy generation is more
open to experimentation and prefers jewellery
that is the mark of individual expression.
Affordable diamond jewellery is increasingly
being seen as a form of casual luxury and people
are choosing to wear it to work, rather than only at
parties or special events. This perception shift has led to a gradual
rise in the demand for diamond jewellery and impelled jewellers
to keep up with the demand.
India’s first omni-channel jewellery brand CaratLane — a
Tanishq partnership conducted a nation-wide survey early this
year and interviewed 800 women to find out new-age preferences
and buying habits. Atul Sinha, senior vice president, marketing ,
CaratLane, notes, “The diamond jewellery market has been
growing rapidly. In a recent annual survey conducted by us we
found that 49.1% women respondents were more likely to buy
diamond jewellery as compared to plain gold jewellery. Women
prefer modern and minimalistic diamond jewellery that can be
worn on a daily basis. Customers are generally opting for IJ colour,
SI clarity diamonds, less than 1 carat in terms of weight.”
Various factors such as age-group, style and taste influence the
buying pattern of customers across India. Vaibhav Saraf, director,
Aisshpra Gems and Jewels, Gorakhpur, states, “Lightweight
pendants, earrings and rings set with round brilliant, marquise
and pear-cut diamonds between 0.01 and 0.03-carat starting from
R5,000 draw our buyers. Customers mostly
prefer the micro-setting in rhodium-plated
gold as it lends more shine to the piece of
jewellery.”
W hile jewellers agree that white to near
colourless diamonds have been eternal
favourites, natural fancy colour diamonds, too,
are being preferred. Although round brilliants,
princess, pear, emerald, and marquise cuts are used
to articulate India-inspired motifs, consumers are warming up
to geometrical shapes, and therefore, baguettes, portrait cuts,
trillion cuts, hexagon cuts among others are finding takers.
Clearly, the market has become more mature and consumers
are willing to don jewellery that has global appeal. According
to Saurabh Gadgil, chairman and managing director, PNG
Jewellers, “Consumers are now wearing diamond jewellery
in varying carat sizes to office and for other casual occasions.
Innovation in the design aspect is a top priority for us jewellers
these days as consumers are getting more experimental in the
way they dress and accessorise.
“Rose cuts, pear and baguette shapes are ruling the scene,
while blue, red and green natural fancy colour diamonds are
absolute favourites. Other than rose gold and rhodium-plated
gold, platinum is the popular choice for diamond settings.”
Gadgil feels that it is a good time for the industry as more
and more customers are buying from jewellers who sell certified
diamond jewellery and have a good buyback policy. “This will
be a win-win situation for both jewellers and customers sinceRETAIL VIEWSOLITAIRE INTERNATIONAL JULY 2018 51