Jewelry is almost an essential in Indian culture, regardless of the region in consideration. The value of this market was over three trillion rupees in 2016 and estimated to nearly double by 2021. Gold, silver, and gems including diamonds are used across the country to create different types of jewelry. Apart from being considered auspicious, the value and size of jewelry a woman wears often represents the socio-economic status of her family at social gatherings, specifically weddings.
Influences from 5,000 years of accessorizing
Much like its other aspects, jewelry in India was and continues to be designed to reflect culture, which varies from region to region. Designs, colors, and themes are often developed to compliment an attire. For the women in sarees, jewels and gems adorn the body head to toe, including the hair, nose, neck, hands, waist, and ankles. Gold forms a large part of traditional designs and are often intricately patterned and largely sized. Non-traditional varieties lean more towards a silver and platinum base and tend to be subtler.
Innovation and outlook
Some of the successful players in jewelry retailing were Tanishq, Kalyan Jewellers and TBZ. What all these companies have in common is their creation and sales of bridal jewelry. Each of these leading players have diversified to include more modern brands under their umbrellas that fit into changing lifestyles and rising disposable incomes. In terms of global markets, Indian fine jewelry was estimated to reach 63 billion U.S. dollars by 2018, second after China but overtaking the United States’ overall retail spending in the same year.
