Mozambican masterpieces by FURA

Rubies are rarer by far than diamonds — and some of the finest rubies today come from Mozambique. Mindful of the opportunities, FURA Gems, a fast-moving young mining company, is resolute in expanding the ruby market even as it gets ready to hold its inaugural ruby auctions in Jaipur this month.

HUID: India's quest for GOLD PURITY EXCELLENCE

The Indian gold jewellery sector’s journey towards hallmarking has been long, slow and bumpy. Although voluntary hallmarking became available in April 2000, compromised gold was still widely sold in the market — a fact of which neither public nor government was ignorant. In June 2021, however, hallmarking became mandatory. Manufacturers, jewellers and consumers now must quickly come to grips with the new purity norms, which juxtapose a unique six-digit ID for each item with the utterly inadequate state of India’s hallmarking infrastructure. The Retail Jeweller weighs the pros and cons of this sharp turn in the current, mid pandemic moment, when the gems and jewellery industry is more dependent than ever on gold sales.

INTERVIEW - SACHIN JAIN

De Beers is undergoing an unprecedented transformation by returning to the root and adding its tag of assurance to develop a fortified position for its partners and indisputable trust for consumers in years to come. Ahead of the De Beers Forevermark annual Forum 2021, Soma Bhatta speaks to Sachin Jain, MD, Forevermark India, about the massive internal and external changes that the organization is undergoing and what it means for De Beers’ Indian stakeholders.

INTERVIEW - SHAILESH SANGANI

IIJS 2021 has surprised the trade for many reasons: the highest number of exhibitors ever in the history of the show; forty percent larger show space and shifting base to Bengaluru after a three-decade plus unbeaten stint in Mumbai. Shailesh Sangani, convener, national exhibitions, GJEPC, speaks to Soma Bhatta about the key highlights, trade expectations and why retailers should brave the odds to visit the upcoming show.

From the earth, for the earth: How natural diamond miners are rehabilitating nature

Diamond is in a very eventful phase in its global trade history. There are discoveries such as the 1,098 carat diamond by Debswana, a joint venture between De Beers and the Botswana government. Natural diamonds no longer adorn a woman with its beauty only, the members of Natural Diamond Council are giving their all to conserve the environment with better technology. And this is exactly where Natural Diamond Council is making a difference inimitable in scale and heart. Let’s understand better.

Crowning Glory

Shobha Shringar Jeweller partners with the prestigious and aspirational Femina Miss India 2020; gives strong thrust to its image as an urban and millennial ready jeweller

COLLABORATION WITH OTHER BRANDS THE SUREFIRE WAY TO GET BRAND RECOGNITION

ARSHDEEP KHURANA, CEO, Sham Jewellers, Chandigarh, has played a key role in shaking off the Covid pandemic-related blues, and helping her family business get back on track. A graduate in English Literature, she was in the middle of the post-graduate course in Advertising and Marketing Communication, when she decided to join the family-run jewellery business. She hopped on board in 2018 as part of the marketing team, and slowly took charge of the department, playing important roles in marketing campaigns, branding initiatives, and schemes and offers, including the famous Diwali Shopping Festival

Industry gives mixed response to IIJS Virtual 2.0

Fresh from the success of the inaugural edition of the virtual India International Jewellery Show (IIJS), held in October, the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) held the second such event, titled ‘IIJS Virtual 2.0’ in 8-12 January 2021. The five-day-long event was an upgraded version of the October show, with new and advanced features to enhance the buyer-seller experience.

TWO PEAS IN A POD: The allied sector builds a strong foundation for jewellery biz to sparkle

A pandemic and a distressful year later, the jewellery industry continues to navigate troubled waters with an able compass — the allied sector

A thrust to change with the times

Mayank Gupta, director of Kanpur’s Lala Purushottam Das Jewellers was not too inclined to join the family business as a kid. With an aspiration to become a scientist or a soldier with the Air Force, his thoughts started aligning with the jewellery sector as he completed school.

A Diamond's Journey: The Natural Diamond Council's Year Begins With A Lessons on History and Love

NDC ushers in the new year by promoting the desirability of natural diamonds — this time with their knowledge folder of how Indian diamonds, their history and the month of love that looks like the best way to kick-start a year

Novel Ways To Make Internal Customers Happy

Ratnalaya Jewellers started fun activities to make sure that the new employees quickly fit into the organization and mesh with the existing team

RATNALAYA JEWELLERS Makes Luxury Jewellery Affordable, Fashionable & Accessible!

The customers will find deluxe, desirable, value-added and effortlessly reachable jewellery at affordable price points under one roof at the RATNALAYA JEWELLERS‘ New Jewellery Store at Kankarbagh, Patna, Bihar

Rapping up Gold's Plan: C Krishnaiah Chetty's money is on the young racehorse

When innovation became the order of the day, C KRISHNAIAH CHETTY JEWELLERS did their best through a new youth-centric ad campaign. Tapping the populist rap culture, the brand touched the newest customer pool by piquing their interest in gold investments

Post-Covid DESIGNING becomes a ‘force majeure' in the jewellery sector

The times are changing and so are jewellery designs. Trying to worm its way out of the devastation that Covid-19 has impaled on us, the design sector is adapting like never before. The Retail Jeweller looks through the closed chapters and the booming way ahead.

Sparking a new age of DIAMONDS, creating a meaningful tomorrow

The first ever digital version of the Forevermark Forum was an astounding success, thanks to the futuristic tech-enabled tools used by the diamond magnate to bring all its stakeholders together. Not only did the partners and retailers learn a lot about the future of the jeweller sector, but it gave a new lease of life to the diamond business ahead of the festive season. The Retail Jeweller brings you the key insights into the future of the diamond industry and key highlights of Forevermark Forum 2020

Natural Diamond Council Introduces Their Latest Campaign to Continue Making natural diamonds aspirational

‘For Moments Like No Other’ fronted by actress Ana de Armas highlights moments to be celebrated with natural diamonds

A hopeful ‘reflection': Her Story's new campaign speaks of light at the end of the tunnel

A campaign that promises better times with a message of hope, Reflections by HER STORY is a beautiful visual saga for the introspecting woman of today.

Constant training and daily learning is the key to deal with the post-Covid world

The pandemic has not only changed how companies view business, but has also given them a lot more time in hand to train their employees better. SHAH VIRCHAND GOVANJI JEWELLERS has made the most of this opportunity by turning to online training for a comprehensive confidence-building exercise, which aims at dealing with the customer and prevailing situations in the post-Covid world.

A heartfelt ‘thank you' Reliance Jewel's new digital campaign wins over the common man

RELIANCE JEWELS unveiled a heart-warming multimedia campaign inspired by moments and experiences the brand shares with its customers

PERSONAL OPINION

Once markets open up, we will need to study trends coming up across retail, buying patterns of consumers across categories. Old style of business as you knew it doesn’t exist anymore.

Reflections of bride and bridesmaids

The recent campaign of RK JEWELLERS focuses on the emotions of a bride and her extended friends and family, brining attention to the rising importance of the large group of buyers looking for coordinated jewellery designs.

Training to be the best

In an age where competition is cut-throat and customer expectations are sky-high, retailers are shifting focus from product skills to customer service skills. KRISHNA KRISHNA JEWELLERS finds an innovative solution to train his staff to deliver ultimate five-star experiences.

SUSTAINING & SCALING FUTURE BUSINESS

The 7th edition the SGL & Ithra Dubai Retail Jeweller India Forum 2020 once again explored out-of-the-box strategies and case studies as ways to boost the business of all participating retailers at the one –day learning event. Sustaining & Scaling future business was the central theme of the forum and the discussion centred on 10 curated topics across the realms of technology, building and game-changing new ideas to capture the next generation of buyers. In the following pages The Retail Jeweller presents, session by session, the highlights of RJIF 2020.

Striking Gold with Old Jewellery

Bhuvan Goel, a first-generation jeweller and owner of SKA Diamonds in New Delhi, always wanted to do something on his own.

DEEPENING HUES

Fura is a daring and well-founded new entrant to the global mining industry. Specialised in colour gemstones and moving quickly to corner major sources of the world’s supply of emeralds, rubies and sapphires, Fura is poised to launch its evocative products onto world markets, with a special focus on India, this year. Soma Bhatta spoke with Fura’s president and CEO Dev Shetty.

FOSTERING TALENT FOR THE TRADE

To address the emerging need of talent in the retail and manufacturing sector, GJEPC builds a new platform for industry and academia dialogue.

CHALLENGED MARKET OR VEILED OPPORTUNITY

With India and much of the world in lockdown thanks to the novel coronavirus, the gems and jewellery industry is under severe pressure. Eventually, the showrooms will reopen, but it may not be business as usual for some time to come. What are jewellers thinking, what do they expect — and where are the bright spots to be found? The Retail Jeweller samples opinion and action from across this vast, people-centred industry, and fi nds deep concern balanced by resilience and altruism.

Technology aids trust in natural diamonds

The increased affordability of and accessibility to technology has encouraged jewellery retailers to make testing a part of the natural diamond buying experience, building greater confidence in natural diamonds as well as their brand.

Tech enables Loyalty, Learning & commitment

Managing a loyalty programme for 1.5 million customers, capturing their post-purchase dissonance or contentment, finding out why some have left the company’s stores empty-handed — Saurabh Gadgil, MD and CEO, PNG Jewellers tells The Retail Jeweller how he has put tech on the task, with the goal of pleasing every patron.