Surely, the Indian gems and jewellery industry is not new to global slowdowns, having witnessed and survived many challenges in the past many years. Resilience is the only factor that has retained the industry upbeat every single time it got hit by the market forces. The recently concluded 10th Edition of Signature IIJS and the 4th edition of IGJME (6th – 9th February 2017 at Bombay Exhibition Centre), once again proved that the industry's 'never say die' attitude was evident and better days will be seen in the near future.
Positivity ruled during the Signature Show as the response was better than what the market expected. The Show unveiled premium jewellery and jump-started the new buying season. Serious buyers thronged the Show, especially at the gold jewellery section given that the Wedding Season was round the corner. This has been a norm in the earlier Shows as well and again the demand for light-weight gold jewellery was high. Jewellers, responding to the trend for chunky, large jewellery pieces by end consumers, were seen placing orders for such range of jewellery to fill in the inventory at their stores.
This year, Signature IIJS's significance was in focus as the Indian gem & jewellery sector, which has faced numerous challenges recently is looking forward to growing its exports. With 500 exhibitors and 1,000 plus stalls, the Show saw more than 15,000 visitors from pan India and more than 55 countries. Delegations from UK, Iran, Russia, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Lebanon, China, Hong Kong, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal were also presented at the Show.
The overall footfalls were good, with retailers from the Northern part of the country crowding the gold section while surprisingly, very few buyers were seen from the Eastern States. Signature IIJS has always been a good platform for attracting serious buyers, given that the Show is smaller and less crowded than the main IIJS.
As in the past, the loose stones section (both precious coloured stones and polished diamonds) had very few visitors this year. The loose diamond exhibitors commanded lesser demand despite the melees & stars exhibitors especially doing their bit to assure buyers that their product was genuine, natural diamonds. Studded jewellery, both precious coloured stones & diamond studded, too saw a subdued demand.Collections of delicately designed diamond jewellery, besides lightweight gold jewellery, were popular from the Northern market, while the southern market stressed on the quality of the diamonds.
Demonetisation and its effects seem to change the jewellers' choices, given the end consumers going in for regular everyday lightweight jewellery more. Barring the wedding collections, there were very few orders for bigger pieces which attracted investors in the past. Could it be because of the reason that financial transactions are being closely monitored after the demonetization program by the Indian government? Possible.
The IGJME, Asia’s largest gem & jewellery technology fair helped manufacturers to learn cutting-edge techniques in production and discover innovative technical know-how. Global companies showcased laser machines, advanced bruiting lathes, diamond impregnated Scaife, computerised yield planning machines while the Industry members got an opportunity to interact with leading them. This section of the show saw a good number of visitors with good demand for screening and testing machines.
According to The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council of India (GJEPC), the organiser of the Show, the general mood was positive with serious business done across product segments during the four days. In an attempt to align with the vision of Digital India, GJEPC launched its new Mobile App at the inauguration of Signature IIJS and IGJME.The App will not only provide News and Updates but also be an interface between members and the Council as well as between international buyers and the Indian industry.
The Indian industry also looks forward to Shri Manoj Dwivedi, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Commerce's announcement during the inauguration of Signature IIJS that the Indian government will help the GJEPC to create its own one-stop exhibition & convention centre to keep pace with the industry's rapid expansion and growing popularity ear on year of Signature and the IIJS events.
This year the GJEPC's seminar, Design Inspirations, an annual event held close to the Signature IIJS show focussed on the Millennials.
GJEPC has also planned to set up jewellery training facilities across the country... in line with the Skill India campaign of the government. The presentations of most of the speakers focussed on understanding the Millennials... the generation that includes those born between 1981-2000 roughly.
While the Millennials' ideas, thoughts, self-expressions, influenced by the digital world, what they look for, and the best way to catch their attention etc was discussed, speakers also stressed the importance of story-telling and creating jewellery on the basis of inspirations. It was also stressed that in addition to designing for the millennials, it was important to design for the Millennium as the Millennial generation was yet to reach its peak spending power. Finally, it was concluded that 'design' holds the key for the jewellery industry to attain the pinnacle of its growth in the coming years.
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor-in-Chief of Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished
