Kohinoor Jewellers absorbs migrant artisans as part of Made in India campaign

Craftsmanship is at the heart of handcrafted jewellery and all retail brands would agree that the community of skilled artisans are a depleting resource nowadays. Although the Indian gem and jewellery industry helps over 4.5 million professionals survive, little has been done to support artisans at all levels. However, Kohinoor Diamonds is making a huge change with their Made in India campaign.

Milind Mathur, partner of Kohinoor Jewellers, Agra, said how pandemic presented an unusual opportunity for the brand to absorb skilled artisans. During the first and second waves, several manufacturing centers in Mumbai and Surat had to shut shop fearing uncontained infection rates. This directly affected livelihoods of artisans who started migrating to their hometowns in Uttar Pradesh. Kohinoor Jewellers absorbed them in various capacities and are training them to operate state-of-the-art manufacturing machinery.

“From CAD/CAM, casting to product finishing, we now have an integrated manufacturing center in Agra where we create our jewellery from scratch. We had started production in 2019, but most of the operations were outsourced back then. This opportunity aligns us with the vocal for local and Make in India campaigns as spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” said Mathur.

Certainly, sourcing raw material and supplying finished product is now localized, said the jeweller, who was initially delivering jewellery abroad, but had to devise another plan after the pandemic put a hold on international delivery of Indian products. As a result, the brand is getting a phenomenal product with the skilled craftsmanship and its retail partners are doing away with excess logistical cost, thus earning healthy margins.

Before the pandemic, Kohinoor Jewellers had its focus more in the North Indian markets with their lightweight diamond jewellery. This is because retailers are focusing on keeping items with quicker turnaround ability. With IIJS 2021 now being held in Bengaluru, the brand hopes to explore options in South India with enameled diamond jewellery, polki and kids ranges. On the social media front, the brand is segmenting its promotion based on regional market behavior to accurately influence retailers and end-consumers. 

Written by Shubham Dasgupta

RJ exclusive