INTERVIEW - AJOY CHAWLA

As long ago as the early 2000’s, Tanishq, the preeminent brand in organised jewellery retail, made known that gold purity standard in India is questionable. It equated purity with trust, winning over millions of customers. Will mandatory hallmarking erode that lead? Not so, Ajoy Chawla, CEO, Jewellery Division, Titan Company Limited, tells Soma Bhatta - trust is an edifice of many levels, and purity is only the first one.

- Soma Bhatta

Soma Bhatta (SB): What is Tanishq’s take on mandatory hallmarking?

Ajoy Chawla (AC): Tanishq welcomes mandatory hallmarking. It is a necessary regulation. At Tanishq we have had stringent purity-standard checks for over two and a half decades. Finally, the industry as a whole has to meet the same standards. It’s high time the consumers got assured purity, got what they are paying for. Mandatory hallmarking will be good for the industry.

SB: Will it change the dynamics of the business on the ground?

AC: The dynamics of the market will change, to a significant extent. My sense is, those who were compromising on purity under the garb of reduced making charges will now find themselves holding the short end of the stick. Now they will need to factor in the increased purity cost, by way of increasing the making charges.

[As a consequence,] consumers will now be able to [see the reasons for] the perceived premium of branded jewellers such as Tanishq. It will increase the value perception of the organised trade.

SB: Tanishq has done landmark campaigns such as the pure–impure campaign and the ‘check your gold purity’ campaign, as long ago as in early 2000’s. They increased customer trust in Tanishq. Over the years, as a side effect, however, they triggered misgivings in the consumer mind even about family jewellers who sold hallmarked jewellery. With purity and caratage standardised under the new rules, will the family jeweller now gain an edge?

AC: Trust has various planks. We are not worried about losing the plank of purity, as there are several other dimensions of trust; purity is the basic level.