#RJIF2024: Consumers seek purpose and provenance, says Amit Pratihari of De Beers Forevermark

The VP of De Beers Forevermark discussed how consumers are moving away from a product category to a brand, as they build lasting relationships with luxury industries. He also spoke of De Beers Education, which trains retail employees on how to outperform their diamond story

Mumbai: The journey of natural diamonds from mine to market never ceases to amaze. It has to be narrated correctly, and Amit Pratihari, Vice President, De Beers Forevermark, discussed certain inspirational ways by which the miner is telling the right story and arming retail partners with the necessary know-how to position diamonds. 

Speaking at the Retail Jeweller India Forum 2024 and citing a Morgan Stanley report that accredits the 21^st century to India’s growth, Pratihari talked of how companies are adapting to trends in today’s world of digital communication to create and market better content. “India has already become a $ 4 trillion economy in 2023 and is slated to grow to $ 7.9 trillion by 2030. Our per capita income is $ 2,200, which is expected to grow to $ 5000 by the same time. This will happen because of the following key indicators such as average age, which is 29 years, rapid urbanization, and a pro-savings mentality,” said Pratihari. 

Jewellery is booming in e-commerce and has grown by 2-4 times as a category, as compared to FY19 levels. “With smartphone integration of most omnichannel or digital-first brands, the task at hand for jewellers is to multiply content across platforms in order to stay relevant for the same customers. The domestic consumption of the gems and jewellery category today is close to $ 79 billion and will soon reach $ 130 billion by 2030. Market highlights have Aditya Birla investing $ 600 million to work on the blueprint of Novel Jewels. Tanishq with a topline of $ 4.5 billion is aiming for a market cap of $ 33 billion,” Pratihari said.

Talking about big shifts in the retail landscape, he said that consumers are looking for brands that give them experience and assurance. They are also moving away from a product category to a brand. They are shifting from being a consumer of goods to a client of heirloom jewellery. In doing so, CRM and loyalty programmes help develop lasting relationships with customers, especially for brands with a purpose beyond business growth. 

“As De Beers Forevermark’s Institute of Diamonds, we have state-of-the-art laboratories for the De Beers Origin story, grading services for super-luxury brand De Beers Jewellers, and De Beers Forevermark. It also provides melee screening services primarily used by big brands, and an education programme to empower sales staff with technical knowledge,” said Pratihari. 

Then, he led the audience to the De Beers Origin site, which informs about the diamond journey, the character of diamonds, the impact of diamonds, and the diamond wallet. As the origin story walked one through the 3.5 billion years of the formation of diamonds, from the rough to the polished stage, the character segment introduced the rarity score which, beyond cut, colour, clarity, and caratage, becomes the fifth metric of assurance for customers. 

Powered by Tracr, the blockchain technology, De Beers Origin talks of De Beers’ source of diamonds. Pratihari also discussed Falcon, De Beers Forevermark’s automated clarity grading machine, and Eagle, their automated colour grading machine. “De Beers Education provides an online co-certification course with the partnering retail brand, which the staff can undertake during their recess time or after office hours. The programme trains retail staff on how to outperform their diamond story,” he concluded.

Written by Ashwin Bose

Retail Jeweller India Exclusive