Buyers put their money on rock as gold prices peak

New Delhi: India's largest jewellery chain Tanishq's CEO Ajoy Chawla said solitaires in smaller stone sizes are seeing a 'whopping' increase in customer demand. At an overall level, studded jewellery buyers are outpacing those choosing gold. "Not now, but the last two quarters, and it carries on into this month (May). April has also been that way," Chawla said during an earnings call of parent Titan Company on May 8.

He later told ET that penetration of diamond jewellery among Indian customers is currently in single digits, or at best, 10-11%. The total size of the Indian jewellery industry is about ₹5.5-₹6.4 lakh crore while the diamond industry is at ₹70,000-₹75,000 crore, Chawla said.

"And, therefore, certainly we want higher growth. How much higher growth, we have not put a number to it. We have our goals. And there is an expectation that the diamond-studded jewellery market will grow at a faster rate," said Chawla.

With gold prices scaling the ₹1 lakh mark, diamond-studded jewellery, particularly one carat solitaires, are being increasingly preferred in the ongoing wedding season that started in April and will run till June-end, with jewellers indicating a 20% jump in offtake compared to last summer wedding season.



A carat of good-quality diamond is priced at ₹2.5-₹3.5 lakh, depending on the cut and clarity. "The purchasing power of Indians have increased, and they are now looking at diamonds for wedding purposes. India is witnessing a double-digit growth in diamond demand," said Amit Pratihari, managing director at De Beers India.

Jewellery retail stores are also pushing diamond jewellery as they earn more incentives for diamond sales. Ramesh Kalyanaraman, executive director at Kalyan Jewellers, said the company's sales team has been incentivised to sell more studded jewellery. "When the gold price is high, conversion to studded jewellery becomes much easier," Kalyanaraman said.

This month, overall prices of polished natural diamonds have remained stable, with a slight upward movement. "There's no sharp spike like we saw in April, but there's a tendency for prices to rise gradually," said Jignesh Mehta, managing director at Mumbai-based Divine Solitaires.

"Consumers are showing continued interest in solitaires, and that's reflected in steady movement at the higher end. On the other hand, smaller goods and lower-quality diamonds are not performing as well. In fact, prices in those categories are quite flat or under pressure. So, it's clear-good quality diamonds, especially solitaires, are the ones holding value and showing upward momentum," Mehta said.