Jignesh Mehta, Founder & Managing Director of Divine Solitaires heads the company’s marketing and branding initiatives. In his career span of 20 years in the diamond industry, Jignesh comes with diverse exposure across various functions that include successful Line Management, Product & Portfolio Management, Marketing, and Strategic Alliances apart from Sales and Distribution. He also happens to be an active member of Gems & Jewellery Federation (GJF) of India. In his interview to Rough&Polished he gave a broad insight into the company’s activity and philosophy regarding diamonds.
Can you tell us about your company and its journey till today?
Divine Solitaires produce and deliver the world’s most magnificent diamonds not only in terms of look and feel but also in terms of value.
We are the first and only solitaire brand in India which provides its consumer with the world’s finest and perfectly crafted solitaire diamonds in an organized and transparent manner. Every Divine Solitaires diamond adheres to the highest standards of craftsmanship and stringent quality measures which go beyond any laboratory certifications. We are the first diamond brand in India to bring the first MRP pricing system in the country by launching the Nationwide Standard & Transparent Price List which guarantees complete transparency and assures our customers to get true value for money. Every Divine Solitaire is equipped with unmatched features like Hearts & Arrow, easy buyback and upgrade option and a free all risk cover insurance and many more. Divine Solitaires consistently strives to provide consumers with a perfectly cut diamond solitaires that have an ethical sourcing, quality certification, investment value and clarity in pricing put together in a state of the art packaging.
Unlike gold, diamond prices are not well understood by a lay person due to the complexities of the many Cs. So, how do you see this change in future?
Customers are usually aware of the 4Cs of diamonds, i.e. cut, colour, clarity and carat. However, there are other important but less known parameters like fluorescence, colour tone and lustre that a customer should know about too. While price of gold are determined on one parameter only where as price and beauty of diamond are determined by around 123 parameters. There are around 123 parameters on which a diamond gets graded, but interestingly only 40 out of these 123 parameters are captured in most lab certificates. Many important parameters like lustre and overtone changes the value of a diamond by 70–80% are missed out on the lab certificate, which affects the value and beauty of the diamond.
Divine Solitaires as a brand goes beyond Lab certificates by guaranteeing that every diamond scores ‘the best’ on all the parameters that influences the beauty and value of the diamond to give complete confidence to the end consumer. In time, and through education, people will eventually learn more about diamonds and understand its nuances.
People prefer gold as an investment vehicle as it’s easy to convert to ready cash in the event of an emergency. Can diamond do the same... does it have good resale value?
Traditionally, gold has been the preferred mode of investment in India mainly due to the high value offered by the yellow metal. Of late, diamonds are increasingly becoming an attractive investment option. Investors are increasingly realising the sparkling potential of diamond as jewellery as well as an investment option. In India, the crystal has always been seen as the status symbol. With prices of the precious stone soaring, the symbol of status is also proving to be a sound investment.
And yes, people can buyback or resell their diamond for the ready cash if they wish to.
Divine Solitaires has done a wonderful job by pioneering in bringing out the very first organised pricing mechanism. Through a regular & thorough analysis of the industry trends Divine Solitaires issues a very competitive and fair ‘Nationwide Standard & Transparent Price List’ on the 1st of every month. Diamonds across the country are priced and sold according to this unique MRP pricing system. Not only this, Divine Solitaires also upgrades or buybacks all diamonds on the basis of the same price list across its network which ensures complete transparency to the customers as it gives complete benefit of any price appreciation for their diamond.
Also, many companies offer buy-back for gold jewellery bought from them; offering prices as on selling day. Again, are such offers available in India for diamond jewellery?
We at Divine Solitaires have initiated a buyback scheme in order to improve the investment appeal of diamonds. Divine Solitaires has introduced a Buyback scheme on all diamonds sold under the brand. At any point of time, a customer can sell his diamond back at the 90% of the prevailing rate as per the Divine Solitaires Nationwide Standard and Transparent Price List which ensures complete transparency to the customers, as it gives complete benefit of any price appreciation for their diamond.
Also, selling off Solitaire Diamond jewellery is easy as customers get full value. But in case of small diamond jewellery, customers lose value because of labour charges.
The bigger stones/solitaires/ fancies etc. may appreciate in prices in due course and can be considered as investment tools. What about smaller stones... can they be also looked at as investment options?
Whether big or small, Solitaire or Solitaire jewellery should always be purchased for having an emotional connect with the user with the purpose of using it and at the same time every diamond whether it is big or small always has an asset value.
End of the day, we should not compare diamond with a hard core financial product. It must be bought to indulge in its beauty by using it.
But, historically the prices of Solitaire diamond have always gone up but the prices of small diamonds have not appreciated that much and this trend might continue.
Do you feel diamonds will go scarce in the future, and therefore become high-value leading to the thought that it is good to invest in diamonds for the future?
Demand for diamonds is increasing sharply as the fourth generation prefers diamonds over gold jewellery and at the same time supply is declining. Also, the lifestyle of women, the primary users of diamonds, has changed drastically in India and China, right from housewives to business women and entrepreneurs. They have become career-oriented and prefer opting for light weight jewellery that makes a fashion statement. Demand for diamonds is on the rise and supply is dropping gradually as many diamond mines have dried up in Africa and Australia; and new mines which are in Canada and Russia can be mined for only six months due to the high costs of mining coupled with extreme cold. Factors such as increase in demand, decrease in supply, increase in the cost of mining and inflation (US Dollar vs. Rupee) indicate that investment in diamond is surely going to give better returns than any of the other investment.
Your thoughts on the Indian diamond industry at present...
The total diamond jewellery market in India is estimated at Rs. 46,500 crores. Of this, the market for solitaire diamond jewellery is guesstimated around Rs. 23,000 crores. The market for solitaire diamonds is estimated to increase to Rs. 90,000 crores by 2017.
With the ongoing rough shortage and high prices problems, do you think the current level of rough prices corresponds to polished prices? When do you feel this situation will stabilize in the Indian market?
No, prices of polished diamonds are not corresponding to the rough diamonds. Reason is, industry players are more focused on sourcing rough diamonds, cutting and polishing activity. They should have a customer centric approach and should give value to the customers.
Brand like Divine Solitaires changing the paradigm by focusing on consumer experience and if these things go up then the situation will stabilize and prices of polished diamonds would correspond to the rough diamond prices.
Market analysts are of the opinion that consumers are gradually losing interest towards buying diamond jewellery mainly due to a change in priorities as they prefer gadgets as gifts, trips, etc. Do you feel this will hurt the diamond / jewellery industry on the whole?
Of late, consumers have in fact started realising the value of diamond not only as an investment option but also as a gifting option. Solitaire diamonds are attractive gifts as they are not only high on the fashion quotient but also offer an excellent return on investment. Besides, they are not very high on the price factor as well. Solitaires are timeless and always add glamour to the person who receives them. We are actually witnessing a shift in consumer preferences. An increasing number of consumers are now opting to gift diamond jewellery on festive occasions like Diwali and Dussehra and also on special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
And most important thing about diamond is that it is very high on emotional value and at the same time it creates a great asset value too whereas gadgets and all have a functional benefit which looses after certain period of time. So, the future of the diamond industry appears quite upbeat in the long run.
Because of rising prices for rough diamonds, many local jewellery manufacturers either go in for lower quality diamonds or just avoid using diamonds in their collections entirely. Do you see this trend catching on?
Yes, in certain cases we can say that when people have started compromising on the diamonds because of the price rise. But at the same here comes the role of a brand like Divine Solitaires who always provide best quality diamonds to its consumers.
Also, jewellery manufactures have the option of using other stones to fight with the price rise, they can offer innovative and trendy items without using diamonds but these things cannot match with the diamond jewellery.
Many jewellers claim that diamond jewellery sales are on the rise. What do you attribute this trend to? Indians are known for their love for gold/ gold jewellery.
Since time immemorial, gold and real estate have been the most preferred investment vehicles, especially in India. Traditionally, gold jewellery has offered high returns on investment, and thus the yellow metal has been the first choice for investors. However, with gold prices now spinning out of control, people have started looking beyond the yellow metal. Of late, the trend seems to have shifted towards solitaire diamonds. Investors have started viewing diamonds as a great inflation hedge and low-maintenance investment. Of all the investment options available today, it has been found that diamonds, particularly solitaire diamonds, have become the next big thing. Solitaire diamond is increasingly being considered as an attractive option for investment since it offers an excellent return and is high on the fashion quotient as well.
As an industry member, what transformations have you seen over the years in terms of diamond / colour stone / gold content, design in jewellery in the Indian market?
The Indian consumers have become more demanding in terms of quality and assortments of products as awareness level of consumers have increased. Now consumers do not want only best product they also want a promise of a lasting relationship between consumer and supplier.
Divine Solitaires always strive to fulfill all the desires of the consumers by offering then finest quality product of unparalleled craftsmanship at the same time monitoring the changing consumer preferences and tailoring our product and services accordingly.
Also by witnessing recent trends, solitaire is playing a significant role as per fashion, luxury and lifestyle is concerned. The use of solitaire and solitaire jewellery are fast becoming the favorite option for fashion conscious, trendy and lifestyle oriented buyer and in future this trend is going to become even bigger.
Aruna Gaitonde, Rough&Polished, Mumbai
