It is believed that diamonds were first discovered in India, going by the stone being mentioned in mythologies as well. The love for diamond jewellery in the country has been recorded since ages and still continues showing no sign of abating...
If you compare the demand for diamond jewellery from even in the recent past to the present, one can notice a huge change across the country. In the past century, diamond jewellery was owned by the royals, wealthy elites. But, only the top quality, flawless, big stones were in demand. Nothing else found buyers in the bygone days ...
But not anymore, as diamond and jewellery production has also undergone immense change with sophisticated technology, offering the consumers different sizes, cuts, quality, etc., as per their choice.
In the past, diamond jewellery buying was a family event when the Patriarch took his wife and family along to the jeweller. Today, the scene is different. Major changes have come about in the purchasing patterns as well as purchasing power. The diamond jewellery market in the country is seeing a changing as well as a very volatile consumer landscape. Buyers come in all different categories... wealthy, middle-class, young, middle-aged, millennials, working women and so on ---- with the emerging women buyers forming a major percentage of the customers. Gone are the days when the men took decisions on the important purchase of diamond jewellery.
In India, diamond jewellery is purchased throughout the year ... during festivals, wedding seasons, gifts for birthdays and other events and so on. The size and price come into play mostly when high-end pieces are purchased. Bigger stones, flawless (Fl) and of good quality (VVS1, VVS2), are bought during weddings as the jewellery are seen as investment as well. Smaller stones like stars and melees (in entry-level and everyday jewellery pieces) are bought by women for love and desire to own and enjoy the pieces ... mostly self-purchased by them on a whim.
The Indian women's role in the erstwhile orthodox society has also undergone a significant shift due to several reasons. You can see a much higher degree of self-purchase among Indian women than in the earlier years due to more spending power than in previous generations. The modern woman has emerged and the Indian jewellery sector is going all out to serve her whims and fancies...
Not surprising that the Indian diamond sector was quick to see the apparent opportunities available due to the economic influence and social empowerment of women and responded with making changes in their manufacturing of diamond jewellery. Designs, quality of diamonds, colour, size etc saw enormous changes in the jewellery offered to capitalise on the modern women's desire to own diamonds. Today, among Indian young women and millennials self-purchasing is done on an impulse for no specific occasion without any prior research, especially in the entry-level category of diamond jewellery, whether at a store or online.
Meanwhile, the high-end diamond jewellery in India is purchased across the country for occasions like a wedding or some extraordinary event in the lives of the women in the family. This is a trend across the country, irrespective of the region but some regional differences can be seen in the South Indian States and the Eastern States of West Bengal and Orissa where demand for Gold jewellery is high.
In recent years, however, demand for diamond jewellery in Southern India has increased, revealing possibilities of a major increase in the years to come. It should be noted here that the Southern States of India prefer high-quality diamonds FL & IF and VVS1, VVS2 in their high-end jewellery, especially with interest in ethnic designs. And such high-value heavy diamond jewellery pieces are purchased only in popular branded stores for security and trust on the jeweller. Southern Indian being more orthodox, all matters are taken into consideration like the quality of diamonds, gold, design, certification and so on. However, the every-day diamond jewellery has also made inroads here because of the youngsters who prefer modern designs; and which are self-purchased on an impulse ... online as well as at a store. The quality of the diamonds is also not as important here as the focus is on the modern designs to suit the millennials taste.
In the Northern part of India, while the landscape of the purchasers is same as in other parts of the country, the designs that are in demand are more flamboyant, chunky large pieces which make a statement. Women here may not give much importance to the quality of the diamonds (like VS1 and VS2 are good enough for them) or the cost but the size is important. In fact, coloured diamonds like brown coloured diamonds have been seeing good demand in the North as against the Southern part where white, flawless is in great demand.
Researchers indicate that the Metro cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai etc see the maximum sale of high-end diamond jewellery where the wealthy elites reside. Of course, the rural rich, too, travel to such cities to make their wedding diamond jewellery. The demand from these buyers would naturally be good quality, large stones studded jewellery as the price is not a constraint. Branded jewellery is preferred, especially from well-known high-end jewellers as it is presumed that quality, price, certification, etc., can be trusted as against smaller stores with no reputation.
In India currently, the demand for everyday diamond jewellery has picked up momentum in recent years with buyers (both families as well as impulsive single women buyers) opting for visiting 'brick & mortar' stores as well going online to buy their jewellery. When jewellers went online customers were hesitant , but it has disappeared now as 'return offer' is available. Also, many online companies offer ' try-at-home' facilities where one can see a variety of designs/sizes etc at home before ordering for a jewellery piece of your choice, thus removing the need to visit a store for a 'touch-feel' before purchasing the jewellery. So, with all these facilities offered, buyers are happy to buy online as well as it is presumed the price could be a little lesser than the store price.
The Indian women, known for their love for jewellery for ages, are on constant lookout for newer jewellery pieces in even VS1, VS2, and SI1, SI2 quality diamonds for their daily use. Therefore, to satiate women's love for jewellery, diamond jewellery manufacturers in India leave no stone unturned to manufacture all designs, ethnic as well as modern, in all qualities and prices to give them a wider choice while purchasing diamond jewellery for themselves. Diamonds and coloured stone studded jewellery have also become a hit in India. Emeralds, rubies and other precious coloured stones are used to complement the diamonds to manufacture stunning jewellery designs. Though the demand in India for diamond studded jewellery was sluggish in tandem with the global slowdown during 2016 & 2017, a strong pick-up is expected in the near future. With many diamond jewellers focused on popularising their 'brands', even De Beers is pinning its hopes on India, and is seen pushing its brand 'Forevermark' in a big way in India.
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor-in-Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished
