All styles for all brides by Panchratna Jewellers

Intro: A pathbreaking new series of bridal design events gather a rich sampling of India’s many wedding jewellery traditions under one roof. Panchratna Jewellers’ Bridal Stories does not stint on ambience or expert assistance — and leaves its customers eager for more.

–Manoj Chakraborty

Modern brides have more choice than ever when it comes to their wedding shopping — and they are exercising it freely. The bridal jewellery market is no longer circumscribed by cultural and communitarian preferences. “The trend has changed,” says Archit Zinzuwadia, director, Panchratna Jewellers, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, “and we need to go with the latest trends.”

Today, he says, a South Indian bride is as likely to show interest in polki as a Punjabi bride is in temple jewellery. His company has developed a unique way of contributing to and benefiting from this widening perspective among its customers. Bridal Stories is Panchratna Jewellers’ series of shows of new bridal designs from multiple jewellery traditions.

Before every Bridal Stories event, Zinzuwadia researches the market carefully, to select the designs that will be showcased. What sets Bridal Stories apart from other bridal shows is the variety of jewellery traditions on display, side by side. In gold, for instance, no less than 18 traditions shared the limelight at the latest event held in Rajkot, including Bikaner meenakari, South Indian designs and jadau work from Gujarat.

Studying the latest trends helps us gather our collection each time,” he says. “To fine-tune the selection, I take tips from brides-to-be about their likes and dislikes.”

Consumers may be open to new designs, but this does not mean they are well-informed. His customers in Gujarat, Zinzuwadia points out, like jewellery buyers anywhere else in India, remain largely unaware of the great range of wedding jewellery that their country harbours. Bridal Stories events bring this wealth to their attention, presenting them with designs from a number of traditions, at one time and place.

“Bridal Stories is not the typical wedding jewellery exhibition,” Zinzuwadia says. “It is much more than that. It is an experience show, where the audience is informed and educated about the latest in wedding jewellery. Our merchandising brings out the full beauty of the pieces. Each necklace has its matching accessories laid out around it. This helps our clients make their selection.”

Unlike regular sales staff, at each event, jewellery designers and stylists were at hand to explain the features of each piece and the story behind it, thus helping customers make their purchase decisions. For those customers who prefer contemporary styles, the jeweller’s in-house design team creates exclusive, wearable pieces that give the traditional a modern flourish.

In a market leaning towards lightweight pieces, one of the successes of Bridal Stories is in convincing customers to invest in heavy designs. These highly decorative pieces for the main wedding include detachable necklaces suitable for more everyday occasions.

The typical jewellery exhibition, unlike Bridal Stories, offers a mix of jewellery for all occasions. Bridal Stories focuses on wedding jewellery, defined as jewellery intended to be worn at wedding-related ceremonies and occasions. No attendee could mistake the intention behind the show, because décor and ambience both call to mind a wedding pandal — down to the elaborate floral decorations at the entrance.

The first Bridal Stories event was organised last year, to an enormous response from the clientele. According to Zinzuwadia, that event boosted his brand’s wedding jewellery sales by as much as 20–25 per cent.

“This year we held two exhibitions as part of Bridal Stories,” he says. “One in Rajkot, the second in Ahmedabad. The Rajkot show was grand, as we invited the target audience for the launch, and followed it up with musical night and dinner. The Ahmedabad exhibition was an in-store event.”

Panchratna Jewellers tied up with a few preferred manufacturers for Bridal Stories events.

Vigorously promoted in social media, in print, and on outdoor hoardings, every Bridal Stories show gains a substantial footfall. “2019 Bridal Stories was a successful campaign for us, as we reached our targets in sales and brand positioning,” says Zinzuwadia. “Our customers tell us that they eagerly await each new Bridal Stories event.”