The inside story of Platinum – India’s Fastest Growing Jewelry Segment

Platinum jewelry is growing by leaps and bounds, year after year in India. A segment that was initially targeted at the most affluent and urban population, is now doing quite well even in the tier 2 and tier 3 cities. It is a good alternative to traditional jewelry and is bought for couple gifting and personal milestone achievements.

Decades ago, platinum jewelry was introduced in the Indian market with intense thinking and a clear aim. The idea was to target the young consumers as they are most open to new things and can provide a sustainable path for future growth. From the industry perspective it was an initiative to create incremental business opportunities.

Initially platinum jewelry was made available only at few select stores in the most posh and urban localities. But due to rising success, jewelers made the basic line comprising of platinum jewelry bands and rings available at all their stores. With a lower entry threshold of just Rs. 15 – 20K the metal has broken geographical and economic barriers successfully.

Selling platinum jewelry is all about creating a meaningful connect with the buyer. It is significantly different from all other jewelry segments. All platinum jewelry lines and ranges are branded and offer a narrative to the buyer. Right from the promotional material to the store display, everything tells the same story. The store staff is also kept informed as they are the ultimate influencers for the final sale.

All this resonates with the target audience. Today’s youth is well-read, opinionated and extremely conscious. They have traditional roots with a contemporary outlook. They want to make statements and stand out of the crowd. The rarity, uniqueness, higher value and finally the meaningful stories behind every range creates a connect and talks to them.

Platinum jewelry is all about emotions and experience. It is not just selling a commodity. People buying the metal are not worried about the calculations but interested to know all aspects of the piece in focus. They buy platinum due to its emotional significance and because it reflects their modernity.

Many renowned jewelers have experienced multifold growth in the last few years and envision a positive future despite the pandemic. In many stores post re-opening, 60 – 65% sales have already returned. Platinum jewelry line for men have done phenomenally well in the past year and they want to replicate the same growth in the female jewelry segment now.

In fact, leaders have opined that Covid led lockdown has actually given consumers time to introspect their spends in recent past – weighing high cost lifestyle spends against buying jewelry that has an intrinsic return value. They believe, the current slowdown is temporary, and the jewelry sector including platinum is all set for a very positive year and decade going forward.

Views expressed above have been excerpted from ET BJwelled panel discussion titled “The World of Platinum” participated by Darpan Anand, Managing Director, Punjab Jewels Jithendra Vummidi, Director, Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers Rajesh Kalyanaraman, Executive Director, Kalyan Jewellers Vaishali Banerjee, Managing Director, Platinum Guild India. Session Chair: Deepak Bhatia, VP, Heera Zhaveraat Media Group.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ET Edge Insights, its management, or its members

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