#RJIF2024: FURA Celebration Sapphires all set to change the face of India’s coloured gemstone market

The session by Rupak Sen, CMO, FURA Gems, also addressed by Dev Shetty, Founder and CEO of FURA Gems, unveiled the Celebration Sapphires campaign by FURA, and highlighted their pink sapphire collection with Jawhara Jewellery in the Middle East, as well as collaboration, plans with Indian jewellers 

Mumbai: Coloured gemstones have, since time immemorial, been the heartthrob of Indian royalty, and Rupak Sen, Chief Marketing Officer of FURA Gems, unravelled their glory anew in his presentation titled ‘Discover the new profit centre for your showroom: Colour gemstones jewellery’ at the Retail Jeweller India Forum 2024 on January 3.

Talking about Celebration Sapphires, FURA Gems’ line of dainty pink sapphires, Sen put forward data from a pan-India survey done in 2023. The research was carried out in 10 Indian cities with about 1,000 consumers and also involved discussions with 100 potential trade members to explore the future of sapphires in this country. 

“A total of 72% of the respondents were aware of sapphires and 76% would like to buy sapphires in the next two years, stated the report. This shows that India has a lot of love for coloured gemstones, but unfortunately, the category took a backseat in the last three decades, for dearth of an industry leader promoting this category and inadequate supply into the market,” said Sen, adding that the last decade witnessed significant efforts by the trade to organize this industry. 

The research summarized that with high overall curiosity, there also is a lack of familiarity among the audience regarding coloured gemstones and diamonds. Unlike diamonds, there is no grading mechanism for coloured gemstones, as no two such gemstones are identical. Such gemstones evoke individuality and their resultant desirability has been extremely high, said Sen, bringing the focus on Celebration Sapphires, meant to excite the discerning tastes of millennial and Gen Z customers having a major share of voice in the market now. Showcasing the brilliant sapphire jewellery that FURA’s manufacturing partners in Australia have been selling in the country, Sen exhibited designs such as stacked rings consisting of blue, green, yellow, and teal sapphires, and lately, elegant pink sapphires which stand for love, elegance, compassion and have a strong emotional connect with consumers. 

“This upcoming Valentine season, we are working with nine leading Indian manufacturers for pink sapphire jewellery, and assuring the entire traceability from mine to market. We aim at contemporary designs targeted at the young generation. The authorized manufacturers are KGK, Jewelex, Caara, Kama, Midas Diamonds Pvt Ltd, Laxmi Diamond, Sanghi and Priority Jewels,” said Sen, as he unveiled the ‘Pink is the New Black’ campaign featuring model-influencer Jessica Kahawaty. 

Dev Shetty, Founder & CEO, FURA Gems took to the stage to recollect how the market had warmly welcomed FURA’s Australian sapphires at the JCK show last year. “We collaborate with leading manufacturers in India such as KGK and Laxmi. That’s when we decided that when there is so much acceptance of sapphires in the Western world, we should get back to the home of colour, i.e., India. The case study ensued and that’s how we planned to target Indian manufacturers and the market,” said Shetty, talking about the quick turnaround time of six months starting from June 2023, when FURA launched a pink sapphire collection with Jawhara, to working with Indian manufacturers. He added that FURA Gems will spend close to $2 million on marketing to promote the concept of Celebration Sapphires, starting with pink, and over time, introducing green, yellow, teal, and blue sapphires. 

Leading global brands such as Dior and Tiffany use FURA’s rubies and it made sense to go back to the home of colour, India, to establish a stronger market, said Shetty. “We will start a FURA training academy in Jaipur soon. Coloured gemstones and diamonds can together grow the precious gemstones category in a big way,” declared Shetty.

Addressing concerns of inadequate supply, Shetty said that FURA’s sightholder model for the pink sapphire programme will assure adequate supply to manufacturers, along with provenance and an entire education model with a team that has been training many European brands. 

Written by Ashwin Bose

Retail Jeweller India Exclusive