Deep conversations throughout the day brought out market insights and future strategies for the buzzing jewellery market of South India
Bengaluru: The third edition of the Retail Jeweller South Forum, held in Bengaluru on March 20, 2026, brought together industry leaders for a day of deep conversations to glean market insights and future strategies for the buzzing jewellery market of South India.
The forum focused on the evolving retail landscape in the South market, highlighting changing consumer behaviour in the backdrop of high gold prices and the need for growth strategies that include digital integration and building on the natural diamond opportunity.
The forum began with the spark session ‘From Counter to Confidence’, presented by Amit Pratihari, Managing Director of Gemological Institute of America (GIA) India. Calling for standardization in the diamond industry, Pratihari referred to two new services that the GIA has come up with – the finished jewellery report and most recently, the pearl report. He also spoke of GIA’s career centre through which it is partnering retailers to find the right kind of people who can support and take their business forward.
This was followed by the panel ‘Conversions From Clicks: Engaging the Always-Online Shoppers & Analysing Jewellery Retail’s Digital Pulse’. The panel highlighted that digital platforms now drive discovery, but conversions still depend on how effectively retailers connect that journey to the store. With Gen Z shaping demand, content has shifted towards short-form video, story-telling, and self-expression, replacing static product-led communication. Social media, particularly Instagram, is enabling targeted reach through concept-driven content, while data from online behaviour is helping refine inventory and even support made-to-order models. The panel noted that strong follow-ups and personalized engagement remain critical in converting digital interest into actual store sales.
The focus then shifted to natural diamonds with the spark session ‘INDRA: Driving India’s Rise as the World’s Second Largest Natural Diamond Jewellery Market’, presented by Toranj Mehta, Vice President-Marketing, De Beers Group (India). She outlined a structured approach to growing the natural diamond category and highlighted three priorities: defending the category, differentiating from lab-grown diamonds, and building aspiration. Mehta pointed to the huge potential in India to sell diamonds due to low penetration levels compared to global markets, and highlighted the need to create new jewellery-buying occasions.
This set the context for the panel ‘Building a Natural Diamond Strategy in a Gold-First Market’. The discussion highlighted that while South India remains traditionally gold-driven, rising gold prices and evolving consumer preferences are gradually shifting demand towards diamonds. Retailers are actively positioning natural diamonds as both aspirational and value-driven purchases, with a focus on mid-ticket, price-sensitive products rather than large sets. The panel noted that consistent in-store education, supported by trained sales teams and incentive structures, is critical in converting gold buyers to diamond jewellery, with many retailers already seeing diamond contribution rise from low single digits to nearly 15–18% in recent years.
The spark session, ‘Reimagining Jewellery Retail Execution with AI’ presented by Kamal Dutta, Chief Executive Officer of byteEDGE, highlighted the gap between strategy and in-store execution, driven by inconsistent knowledge transfer across frontline teams. He emphasized the need to equip staff with real-time product knowledge and story-telling tools, making consistent, informed interactions critical to conversions.
At the forum, leading manufacturing house Elvee Jewellery Pvt Ltd launched its B2B e-commerce platform for jewellery retailers.
Trust became the context of the next spark session ‘Building Consumer Trust through Transparency and Compliance’, presented by Kaushlendra Sinha, CEO, Indian Association for Gold Excellence and Standards (IAGES). He highlighted that the industry must move beyond metal purity as the only benchmark for gold and focus on transparency, compliance and responsible sourcing as well. He described the IAGES mission to improve the level of compliance, standardization and transparency in the gold business, to create a network of fair industry players, and take this message back to the consumer.
The afternoon panel ‘The Buyer Reset: Decoding the New Jewellery Purchase Pattern in South India’, examined how rising gold prices and evolving lifestyles are reshaping jewellery buying patterns in South India. Panelists noted the importance of retail staff at the counter creating conversations with the consumer, going beyond the transactional aspect. As Gen Z consumers now enter stores well-informed after researching online, especially in the bridal segment, seeking specific designs and customization, retailers must train staff to cater to these demands, and move from simply selling inventory to guiding a personalized purchase journey, the panel stated.
The forum concluded with the panel discussion‘The Global South: Tapping into the Diasporic Market Opportunities’. The panelists highlighted that the Indian diaspora, particularly in the US, UK, UAE, and Australia, presents a significant market opportunity due to strong cultural and traditional connections, and discussed how Indian jewellers are entering international markets. Panelists noted the importance of private shows hosted in customers’ homes, adapting product portfolios for global tastes, ensuring efficient after-sales service, and maintaining a culturally rooted brand identity as key drivers for sustained growth in overseas markets.
The third Retail Jeweller South Forum was presented by the Indian Natural Diamond Retailer Alliance (INDRA), the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the Indian Association for Gold Excellence and Standards (IAGES), and powered by Elvee Jewellers Pvt Ltd, Laxmi Diamonds, DVM Aqua Gold and The Jewellers Association, Bengaluru.
The day concluded with a bridal fashion showcase ‘The Bridal Trendsetters’ and ‘The Retail Jeweller Circle of Excellence’, where leading jewellery retailers of South India were felicitated for their outstanding market performance.
Retail Jeweller India Exclusive
(Inputs from Aparna Bhowmick and Achal Chaubey)
