Drop in diamond demand: Assocham survey

The survey found that 65 percent of jewellers in the unorganised market are shifting to traditional pure play gold and silver ornaments over diamond jewellery

GN Bureau | March 19, 2018


#Diamond   #Nirav Modi   #Assocham   #PNB   #Punjab National Bank  
Pixabay
Pixabay

The PNB fraud involving Nirav Modi seems to have shaken the confidence of diamond jewellery buyers, especially from the unorganised jewellers, on purity concerns, resulting in drop in business in the trade, according to an Assocham survey.

While the well-known branded jewellery makers issue certificates of purity, bulk of the trade is still concentrated in the unorganised market, based on mutual faith between consumers and jewellers.

"This has been shaken and the consumers are not willing to take chances following a massive adverse publicity about the sector. Besides, the branded show rooms issuing certificates of purity are largely restricted in big cities; while there is enough purchasing power in the smaller cities as well," said a press release.

The survey done in major cities, found that 65 percent of jewellers in the unorganised market, (barring the big time corporates and big brand companies) are shifting to traditional pure play gold and silver ornaments over diamond jewellery as consumers face the crisis of confidence in its purity.

Most of the jewellers said that there is an increase in the number enquiries from customers for getting their pre-purchased jewellery re-checked for quality and authenticity of gold and diamonds. Jewellers also say that gold demand has taken a lead.

The overall share of diamond based jewellery in the market is expected to take on a significant share of the gold jewellery sales in the near future, reports say. The demand for diamond jewellery seems to have decreased by 10-15 percent within two months, Assocham said.

The jewellery makers using gold jewellery and investing heavily with new designs, reflecting changing consumer taste as consumers have become cautious about purity of gold and are holding back their purchases. Even antique designs are being done in this segment, the survey noted.

The recent incident has created a fear among customers who are enquiring about the quality of jewellery, especially diamonds. The consumers are shifting from diamond-studded jewellery to plain gold jewellery and appear to be wary of purchasing diamond jewellery, the Assocham survey revealed.

The survey covered 350 jewellery-makers based in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Ahemdabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Dehradun. Assocham also interacted with about 500 working and non-working women in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR and Mumbai to gauge their shopping habits.
 

Comments

 

Other News

India’s forest cover increases by 5,516 sq km in four years

The Dehradun-based Forest Survey of India (FSI), an organization under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, carries out the assessment of forest cover biennially since 1987 and the findings are published in the India State of Forest Report (ISFR). As per the latest ISFR 2021, there is a

Steps taken to meet higher power demand of April-May

While the average growth of energy requirement in the country for 2023-24 viz-a-viz 2022-23 has been estimated as 4.9%, the months of April and May have been projected as high demand period. During the current year, the peak demand is expected to be around 229 GW during the summer period. The government ha

Millets to make comeback in army ration after half a century

As the UN has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets, the Indian Army has steered introduction of millets flour in the rations of soldiers. This landmark decision will ensure troops are supplied with native and traditional grains after over half a century, when these were discontinued in favour

Central Bank Digital Currency has game-changing potential

When discussing digital currency, you might think of one or two well-known varieties. There is the digital representation of currency that you access with mobile and online banking services. This currency is the liability of a commercial bank. There is also cryptocurrency, a digital medium of exchange issu

An Insider’s Account of the Zail Singh Years: The Endgame

The Indian President: An Insider’s Account of the Zail Singh Years By K.C. Singh HarperCollins, 312 pages, Rs.699  

‘My Father Was a Simple Man’: Remembering Gen. Rawat

Bipin: The Man Behind the Uniform By Rachna Bisht Rawat Penguin, 207 pages, Rs 599 On the morning of 8 December 202

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook    Twitter    Google Plus    Linkedin    Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter