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India
By Zainab Morbiwala
Despite demonetization woes and the mandatory PAN card submission for purchase of jewelry above 200,000 rupees— approximately $3,060 — the trend to purchase jewelry as an investment remains more or less unaffected. What has changed, however, is that people are investing in less expensive jewelry, including bridal jewelry. Sharing his views on the trend regarding the purchase of bridal diamond jewelry, Ashok Minawala, partner, Danabhai Jewellers & Sons, explained, “The domestic market has started picking up and we are witnessing very good response on lower-value jewelry. The bridal lines are moving gradually. The need of the hour is to focus on introducing lower-ticket jewelry.” In an effort to support bridal jewelry sales, Kalpesh Vaghani from Kapu Gems, a company that deals with loose diamonds, remarked, “Our business model focuses on loose diamonds and we are connected to major retailers and dealers across the globe, which consists of around 65 percent retailers. We have a wide product range, so exclusive matched pair collections and designer layouts mostly focus attention toward bridal jewelry.”
Elaborating on the kind of diamonds moving, Sanjay Shah, director, Gold Star Diamond Pvt. Ltd, noted, “In India, the market is improving and sales are picking up, although based on what I observe jewelry under 300,000 rupees — approximately $4,600 — is more in demand. In polished, there is good demand for -2 and -6.5 in better goods —D through G, VVS through VS — and +6.5 – 1/5 in H through J, and SI through I1. Mostly small pendant sets are selling well.” As for the U.S. market, Shah went on to say, “Business has been slow. In bridal jewelry, mainly center stones from size .25 carat through 40 carat are selling well. Things are slower than what we saw in December 2016.”
Sentiments were positive at the recent Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show, considered to be one of the important shows for the gems and jewelry industry. Vaghani pointed out, “Overall, the mood of all the manufacturers during the show was positive and stable.” He noted that there was no distress selling of goods during the show. Movement of rounds and fancy diamonds both were equally encouraging. Regarding the response to jewelery, Shah said, “During these shows, confirmed orders come in post- show, so I cannot comment on the orders received as of now. Though we had clients selecting more of price-point items.”
Based on the response being received from different regions, according to Vaghani, VVS collection goods were moving well in the Asia-Pacific region. He pointed to the “positive” side for VS and VVS goods in the U.S. market. “Customers are showing interest in matched pair diamonds, which are used for earrings, and for bracelets and necklaces. In loose diamonds, fancy shapes are moving in emerald, pear, oval and rounds. VVS in certain articles still moving better and VS-SI across sizes is positive. As far as the national market is concerned, mainly low color and high purity goods are fast moving.” According to Minawala,“The diamond market is going through a major change. It is important for the players to develop unique designs because there is demand in the market. That is what would drive the diamond jewelry sales. The loose diamond market needs to keep prices low so that the manufacturers of jewelry can buy diamonds at a good rate and increase their production.”
During the month of February, the export of gold jewelry, both studded and plain, declined by 46 percent to $418.99 million from $784.8 million a year earlier, based on data released by the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). Overall exports from the gem and jewelry sector during February 2017 stood at $3.91 billion, an increase of 1.8 percent over the $3.84 billion exported in the same month in 2016.Article from the Rapaport Magazine - April 2017. To subscribe click here.
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