The Eighth Edition of SIGNATURE-IIJS 2015 held recently in Mumbai, had all the trappings of a Premium Show. Conceived by the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council of India (GJEPC) to showcase the Best of India’s fine jewellery, the Show attracted the best of jewellery manufacturers who offered top end jewellery of the country.
The SIGNATURE was initially conceived by the GJEPC as a Premium Show solely for couture/high end fine jewellery, but later ‘loose stones’ were included on popular request. However, the Show has retained its core essence, offering the best of India-made jewellery in terms of quality and innovative design. Today, it is looked at as the ‘Premium Show’ that India offers year after year, showcasing exclusively designed and manufactured collections, especially for the Show.
This year, as in previous years, the Show saw over 580 Exhibitors, 1,100 booths, 8 International Exhibitors and more than 7,000 buyers converge to the venue to make the Show a grand success. All roads led to the venue at the Bombay Exhibition Centre (NSE Complex) in Mumbai where the exhibitors’ booths spread over the 30,000 sq. m venue, with the Show running through 20 to 23 Feb, 2015. This year, India hosted eight international exhibitors from USA, Japan, Belgium, UAE and Thailand and had international Delegations from Russia, UK, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Hungary, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, Egypt, Iran & Bangladesh at the Show.
During the four-day event, some of the best names in the jewellery business showcased their latest exclusive jewellery sets. Simpler jewellery pieces were also presented that showed latest designs for today’s women. The jewellery section on the whole seemed to attract more buyers, especially gold jewellery of all categories in design and size were in big demand. Light gold jewellery as usual drew many buyers from the South of the country. The studded jewellery section too saw numerous visitors, while at loose diamond and colour stone sections were slower than expected. However, despite the sluggish market, SIGNATURE 2015 witnessed a 15 per cent increase in visitors’ traffic, which is more than expected.
While most jewellery exhibitors were pleased with the turnout, some felt the timing was not right with back to back jewellery shows like Bangkok, Hong Kong in coming days that restricted visitors coming to India. Nevertheless, the response, according to most, was that they did get some serious enquiries which they are sure of developing into good contacts in the future.
Many feel SIGNATURE was a good place to conduct business as it was not as crowded and rushed; and though the buyers were limited, they were serious buyers. While many jewellers showcased their special modern jewellery exquisite collections at the Show, some presented their antique ethnic collection with intricate kundan and high-end collections based on a theme.
Not surprisingly, business was slower in the loose diamonds and gemstone section as it has been even in the past. Many, who were not happy with fewer footfalls, felt the ‘timing’ of the Show could be shifted to mid January or even to the last week, for better response from buyers. Slow demand and liquidity problems were seen as other reasons for low demand.
Exhibitors claim that there was a change in choice of loose diamonds this year. While the Southern part of the country, from where high end goods and quality/better colour goods were in demand till now, are seen going in for lesser quality goods due to high prices. Besides price, another reason could be due to change in buyer profiles. The younger buyers too being the decision makers in purchases these days, they prefer variety in design and jewellery that use low end good of stars and melees, especially for daily wear diamond jewellery. Demand from the North of the country, which was earlier more on lower end goods due to variety of designs by fashion conscious buyers, are now looking for high-end caraters of rounds as well as princess cuts. This is attributed to high income and increase in purchasing power besides increase in interest in diamond as an ‘investing vehicle’. Some exhibitors of high- end caraters were happy on receiving serious enquiries from overseas buyers for 5 to 6 caraters and up to 15 caraters.
Pearls made a splash during the Show, registering good demand overall, with many varieties/colours being offered.
This year, the SIGNATURE IIJS 2015 was inaugurated by Chief Guest, Andrey Polyakov, Vice President, ALROSA (Russia) with Guests of Honour Ms. Shaina NC - Social Worker, Kirtilal Doshi, industry Stalwart, along with Vipul Shah, Chairman, GJEPC, Pankaj Parekh, Vice Chairman, GJEPC, Nirav Bhansali, Convener – Exhibitions Sub Committee (National), GJEPC, other eminent members of the trade.
Andrey Polyakov expressed his pleasure to be part of the event and said, “The relationship between Russian rough diamond industry and Indian polished diamond industry is rapidly growing. At the World diamond conference that happened last year, the two leaders from both the countries expressed their support for this industry. We signed long term direct sourcing agreements with 12 Indian polishing companies.” With the Indian industry and Russia’s ALROSA partnership getting stronger, Polyakov added, “We are here for new opportunities. The challenges that we face are generic diamond marketing, synthetic diamonds, banking and many other policies. We want to keep this industry as attractive as the diamond itself.”
Vipul Shah, Chairman, GJEPC was bullish about the Indian Gem & Jewellery industry and the Show as well and said, “There is widespread optimism that good times are ahead. The government has shown foresight and vision in supporting our industry with plans for a special diamond import and trading zone. We must use the opportunity to ensure that India truly becomes a global hub for gems and jewellery. A show like
Signature, not only supports the growth of the gems and jewellery industry, but also elevates it to higher levels of sophistication.”
Guest of Honour Ms. Shaina NC believed that ‘jewellery sector’ is one of the most innovative sectors in India and said ”This gem and jewellery sector is a true representation of the ‘Make in India’ project of the government. We are proud of the growing jewellery industry talent in India. We hope that there are bigger and better exhibitions with each passing year and have an exhibition soon in Delhi.”
The GJEPC‘s gala event ‘The Artisan Awards’ at Grand Hyatt in Mumbai on the night of Day One of the SIGNATURE-IIJS was organised to celebrate the best designers in the country. 100 years of Indian cinema was the inspiration for the designers creations.
A total of 800 entries, 40 finalists & 12 winners ... some of the industry’s outstanding and innovative jewellery designers were honoured at India’s most coveted jewellery design awards. Organised by GJEPC, ‘The Artisan Awards’ provided a platform to jewellery designers to push their creativity and design aesthetics to showcase world-class jewellery.
Indian industry’s veteran such as noted Indian jeweller, Viren Bhagat received the award for ‘Most Accomplished Artisan of Our Time.’ Also, renowned jeweller, Suhani Pittie received the ‘Emerging Jewellery Designer of the Year’ and leading Indian jeweller Ganjam was awarded the ‘Most Accomplished Retailer in Design Excellence.’
Amongst the 12 winners announced, candidates who topped each of the 4 categories were - Swati Kadam, Meghna Bag, Subhankar Bhowmick and Shrutika Patankar.
The glitterati event was hosted by the Indian actress, model, VJ and television presenter - Malaika Arora Khan while Bollywood style icon and GJEPC’s brand ambassador – Ms. Sonam Kapoor felicitated the winners with the awards. The Chief Guest of the evening was Social Worker Ms. Shaina NC along with the Guest of Honour – Mr. B P Pandey, IAS, Addl. Secretary & Financial Adviser, Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
Commenting on the occasion, Vipul Shah, Chairman, GJEPC, said, “Artisan Awards” is a culmination of designs, creativity, jewellery and glamour to showcase a fitting tribute to Indian cinema. It is recognition of excellence in the gem and jewellery sector industry and sets a benchmark for the industry in terms of its overall performance. I extend my congratulations to all the award winners for their salutary performance and hope they propel the jewellery industry to even greater heights in the years to come.”
Brand ambassador Sonam Kapoor commented, “Being a self-confessed film buff and having a penchant for jewellery it was a treat to see intricate designs as part of wearable jewellery. From the exquisite detailing of the jewellery designs, you can tell that the candidates have put their heart and soul into showcasing pieces that are representative of Bollywood films through various eras. My heartiest congratulations to all the award winners who I know will raise the bar of the industry even higher.”
Guests were privy to an evening of entertainment with musical performances by The Bartender - which belted out renditions of Bollywood songs from each era. With '100 years of Indian cinema' as the inspiration behind the creations, the evening celebrated winners from the iconic eras – Monochromatic Magic (black and white era), Golden Glory (golden era), Colorama (masala films era) and Avant-Garde (global era).
The winners of the Artisans’ Award will have the opportunity to intern with the prestigious international jewellery houses – Roberto Coin and Swarovski. In addition, winners will win a fully paid trip to visit the Bazel Jewellery and Watch Fair 2015 wherein their designs will be displayed in the India Palace Pavilion at Bazel, besides winning a handsome cash prize.
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Indian Bureau, Rough&Polished
