Antique, the new love interest for young jewellery buyers’ traditional finesse

An ethereal mix of age and glory comes to mind when thought of antique jewellery. Indeed, we associate heritage a lot with this category. Of late, youngsters have taken a strong liking to this segment. Influencers or not, youngsters are proud of imbibing the historic persona of their communities and capturing the moments for social media. Select manufacturers known for their antique jewellery highlight the reasons why.

Rajubhai Zaveri, director, RBZ Jewellers Pvt. Ltd., feels that the antique polish is appealing the young generation. “In antique jewellery, young buyers are looking for heritage designs. So, such designs are flying off the shelves across retail space because the target audience wants to strike a connection with their roots,” he said.

Agreeing with Zaveri is Deepak Seth, partner, S K Seth Jewellers, who feel that besides the design element, fashion preferences of the older generation are also influencing youngsters, who are looking for image-breaking appearances. “Teenagers and young adults admire the dressing choices and jewellery preference of their parents and grandparents. They aspire to look as elegant and traditional as their parents are, in family functions and traditional festivals. Thus, antique is their best choice to suit the demand,” said Seth.

In the last decade, the demand for antique jewellery has seen quite a radical shift. According to Zaveri, the vertical has never lost its demand from affluent families wherein aged buyers opt for antique because of the quality and history attached to such pieces. When it comes to the mass buyers, youngsters are showing interest in antique because of the grandeur of time these pieces showcase with their design elements. To add to the excitement, the huge scope of infusing colour gemstones in this segment works as cherry on the top for the fashion-forward youth.

There is a huge scope of design in antique jewellery, feels Sneh Soni, director, Soni Nanalal Bechardas Jewellers. “We can fuse contemporary and traditional designs in antique. Black antique, geru antique are very popular forms of this segment because of the highlight of colour that they provide on gold,” he says. Due to the rise in price of gold, consumers looking for safer investment options are investing in antique jewellery because of the dash of colour it adds,” he added.

That is also a reason behind the rising demand of antique jewellery in bridal, believes Seth. Weddings across the country are pushing brides-to-be to choose antique jewellery for marriage ceremonies. Almost 80-90% of weddings in urban areas involve antique jewellery, says Soni, because any buyer looking for design diversity instead of the look of plain gold is choosing antique. “In the coming five years, demand for antique jewellery will go three to fourfold,” feels Seth.

Written by Shubham Dasgupta

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