Lightweight diamond jewellery, trend referencing by customers help retailers capture the market on V-Day

Jewellers say customers veered more towards affordable diamond jewellery, driving up sales by up to 50%, even as they remained on top of trends from Bollywood and global design powerhouses while making a purchase 

Mumbai: Valentine’s Day 2024 had jewellers across the country woo lovebirds with new ranges that were pocket-friendly yet aspirational, and many took a cue from Bollywood and global design powerhouses at the behest of customers to come up with stylish designs. While Mia by Tanishq came up with the ‘Cupid Edit’ and Kalyan Jewellers came up with its ‘Season of Love’, independent jewellers set the trend with interesting activities around Valentine’s Day.

Hira Panna Jewellers from Patna focused on a variety of chains and lockets as their Valentine’s Day collection. While the movement of products was not as high as other occasions when people buy artefacts and idols of gold and silver, diamond jewellery performed better for the retailer, compared to gold, in the week before Valentine’s Day. “Even though people used to prefer 22Kt gold earlier, the same demand has now shifted a bit towards 18kt gold and diamonds. Buy-back policies and exchange at 100% have provided an edge over competition. Younger married consumers purchasing gifts during Valentine’s Day also saw diamonds as an investment,” said Shradha Keshri, Director of Operations, Hira Panna Jewellers, Patna. She said the brand launched a range of easy, ready-to-wear diamond jewellery in earrings, danglers, studs, and pendant sets for women in the 40–50 year age bracket.

Sakshi Gupta, Director of Lala Purshottam Das Jewellers from Kanpur encouraged each customer to go for customized gifting on February 14, including special notes for their beloved. 

Swarnaganga Jewellers from Mumbai had its grand diamond festival from January 15 to February 15. The lightweight collection that they launched consisted of diamond rings, pendants and mangalsutras. “Performance marketing campaigns on social media, along with a contest on the Swarnaganga Jewellers pages brought us a lot of traction. We gave away one diamond ring to the winner. The contest began just a week prior to Valentine’s Day and ended on February 14. In terms of diamond jewellery, sales rose about 40-50%,” said Anil Bafna, Proprietor, Swarnaganga Jewellers, Mumbai.   

Mahendra Jewellers from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, also launched its millennial collection of diamond mangalsutras, which led to a healthy 20% rise in diamond jewellery sale during the Valentine’s week, as compared to regular business days. “There was a lot more interest in lightweight diamond jewellery, as we launched rings, bracelets, and mangalsutra pendants in our millennial collection that ticked all the boxes for casual wear and office wear. The collection was launched in January-end to tap the market for Valentine’s Day,” said Mehul Oswal, Managing Director, Mahendra Jewellers, Kolhapur. 

Did discounts help?

It turns out they did, as Hira Panna Jewellers gave a flat 20% off on all diamond values. Besides the initiative performing well, discounts and offers also helped the brand sell a lot more diamond products during the Valentine’s Day week as compared to 2-3 week before that. “We extended a generous 14% discount on all diamond jewellery for Feb 14. The discount appealed to a lot of consumers, most of whom bought rings and earrings,” said Sakshi Gupta.

What consumers liked

Hira Panna Jewellers observed an uptick in demand for 18Kt and 14Kt diamond jewellery which is more pocket-friendly, and suit the styles of today. “Even if the diamonds are of 0.05-0.5 cents range, young customers are opting for them. That is a very surprising trend in Patna, where the consumer is particularly focused on yellow gold. Young customers are buying 18 karat jewellery while people above 40 years of age are still going for 22 kt yellow gold,” said Keshri.

The wedding rush during Valentine’s week made business all the more profitable as gifting and bridal shopping complemented self-purchases. “Nowadays, people don’t spend a long time on random designs, bargain and go. They are trend-savvy and really aware of grammage, making charges and HUID, which help in retail conversion,” said Gupta. Oswal also seconded the trend on weddings, saying that engagements and weddings taking place during the four days leading to V-day increased sales as there was a simultaneous dip in gold rate, sometimes as much as Rs 1,300. 

Design played a big factor, said Oswal, as consumers hooked to social media remain on top of trends from Bollywood and look up to global designs from the Cartiers and Bulgaris of the world. “They demand similar designs and that influences sales. Keeping that kind of jewellery in Kolhapur gives a natural benefit to us, thanks to parallel trend referencing from social media and consequent enquiries,” Oswal concluded.

Retail Jeweller India Exclusive