Rising gold prices force buyers to look towards platinum, diamond based jewellery this Diwali

Chennai:
The frequent price fluctuations in gold and silver have drawn attention of jewellery buyers towards platinum and diamond based jewellery, according to a survey by Assocham.

The  ASSOCHAM Survey on "Diamonds and platinum shines as gold loses sheen in Urban cities” which was done ahead of Dhanteras and Diwali festivals revealed that gold jewellery makers have increased their focus on platinum and diamond jewellery, which is likely to gain momentum among young consumer class.

The survey which was conducted by research team that interacted with about 350 jewellery makers based in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Ahemdabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Dehradun revealed that the share of platinum and diamond jewellery in the overall gold jewellery has increased significantly over the past one year and is likely to reach about 30-35 per cent of the total gold jewellery sales in the year 2015.

It states that jewellers in major cities like Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Ahemdabad, Kolkata, Dehradun are looking at unique mix of strategy to sell jewellery in the current fluctuating market conditions.

The survey states that on a year-on-year basis, the demand for diamond jewellery has grown by over 25 per cent this year. There is an equal growth in the high-end diamond jewellery, it added.

The survey states that diamond studded platinum jewellery has more demand as diamond studded gold jewellery in metros.
Interestingly, this also comes in the wake of prices of the yellow metal crossing Rs 32,000 mark during this calendar year. On the other hand, industry experts anticipate gold prices to continue fluctuating for some more time as the rupee remains weak against the US dollar.

The survey reveals that nearly 76 per cent of jewellers are focusing on platinum-based diamond jewellery over the traditional gold and silver jewellery to tap the changing preferences of domestic consumers.