India’s gold jewellers adapt to changing trends

Indian gold jewellers are trying to adapt to changing trends which have turned jewelry from a traditional middle-class hedge against inflation into a fashion accessory.

They are getting help from the World Gold Council, which has prepared a plan to make them catch up with the latest in consumer tastes. Pedro Bertran, area manager of the council for India and the Middle East, said the scheme was intended to make the jewelry industry more efficient and competitive, as well as boost exports.

“We will offer a total package for the Indian gold jewelry industry — technical assistance, product design and advice, marketing expertise and promotional support,” he told Agence France Presse here.

Beginning in October, a series of technical conferences and consultancies will be held all over India to take “new skills and technologies in casting and alloying to even the smallest jewelry fabricator,” Bertran said. The council, which is setting up offices here and in Madras and Calcutta, is releasing a “gold jewelry design trend book” to acquaint Indian jewellers with current and future trends in fashion.

Bertran said Indian jewellers put too much stock by traditional designs. “The industry here is not responding to evolving consumer needs,” he said. The offerings in terms of design remain extremely traditional. The quality is also poor.

“There has to be evolution from tradition,” he said. “We are not saying you must copy designs from Italy or Germany, but you cannot avoid modernizing.” Market surveys have shown a switch in gold consumption patterns over recent years in India, where buying gold jewelry was once seen as a safe investment and the metal was hoarded as a middle-class hedge against inflation. Now, jewelry is bought less as an investment and more for “design and wearability,” Bertran said.