Forevermark India managing director Sachin Jain on why people have been buying bigger, better and simpler jewellery, and the trends that will continue into this year
Sachin Jain, Managing Director, Forevermark India
Over the last few years, the Indian jewellery sector had been facing stiff competition from the luxury travel and automobile sectors, fighting for a share of HNIs and UHNIs income and spends. But that seems to have changed last year, in the Covid-19 pandemic. As travel has been restricted, the rich have been diverting their income towards buying jewellery, a reliable asset class. In the backdrop of this consumer sentiment, Sachin Jain, managing director of Forevermark India elaborates 2021’s big trends in India’s luxury jewellery category.
Buy better
Historically, the jewellery business behaves differently than other luxury sectors. “When a consumer buys a dress worth Rs 2 lakh or Rs 5 lakh and when the same consumer buys jewellery worth that much, the process and sentiment is very different,” says Jain.
A consumer buying jewellery is largely inclined towards an asset class development as well. “Hence, post the lockdown, we see that high-end jewellery pieces, big solitaires, have vanished,” adds Jain. A big population in India wasn’t financially affected by the Covid-induced lockdown and this class was looking at buying more jewellery. “If a person bought a five-carat diamond last year, they bought a 10-carat diamond this year as they had more money to spend on jewellery,” says Jain.
As this purchase behaviour continues, 2021 should be the strongest year in terms of consumers’ sentiments in buying diamond jewellery.That may not be same with gold jewellery, especially among HNIs and UHNIs, as gold purchases in India cannot be strictly classified as a luxury purchase. It is purely for asset-class build-up. “You don’t have a consumer buying a Rs50 lakh piece and wearing it at a party. It’s mostly for weddings,” says Jain.