Indian Jewelry Retail - What It's Worth Matters Most

Jewelry in India isn’t just about beauty and adornment. In fact, its prime functions are financial. It is required to act as a storehouse of value, a hedge against inflation and a vehicle for the transmission of wealth. It has to do all this and still look good on a woman – while also making a social statement about her economic wellbeing.

This complex matrix of requirements also means that way jewelry is designed and fabricated in India is very different from the rest of the world. It also means that the way branded jewelry is perceived and marketed in the country is unlike the rest of the world. A brand may be assigned very high value in terms of trust and belief in its quality assurance, but it is ascribed comparatively little value when it comes to the price the consumer is willing to pay. Here the intrinsic value of the jewelry is given the most importance.

It follows, then, that even the way jewelry is acquired by the Indian consumer is different. The bridal market is the single largest sales driver for jewelry sales in the country. Jewelry is the vehicle used to transmit economic assurance to the bride as she leaves home. Following weddings, festivals are the next big drivers of jewelry sales. Jewelry acquisition during festivals is about a family securing its own economic assurance.

Despite these traditional factors, and driven by the growing popularity of diamond jewelry, a wind of change is sweeping through Indian jewelry retail. Fashion, the relationships between men and women and gifting are all gaining importance as sales drivers. Indian jewelry retail today stands on the threshold of transformative changes in its very make up.

Read on to find out more.