Mumbai: Gemfields, the world’s leading supplier of responsibly sourced coloured gemstones, conducted a research project in collaboration with Drshti Strategic Research Services Pvt. Ltd, in order to understand attitudes towards colour gemstones in India. The research was conducted with SEC A female participants, aged 18 – 64, across eight key markets.
Around 19% of the interview participants own jewellery with natural coloured gemstones. Around 11.5% of the respondents acquired some form of jewellery with gemstones in the last year with Delhi and Hyderabad combined contributing to 62% of the total acquirers.
The total value of the jewellery market across the eight cities is estimated at INR 34-38 bn or USD 540-600 mn. The category is dominated by smaller pieces such as rings (52%) and earrings (14%) which contribute to 70% of the market and 50% of the total value. Around 40% of the rings purchased were for astrological reasons, with the astrological market accounting for approximately 10-15% of the total value.
Addressing the media, Mr. Dev Shetty – COO of Gemfields said, “India has been a key market for Gemfields and will continue to be one of our main focus regions in the coming year. The research was commissioned to better understand the gemstones category in India along and gain further awareness of the size of the market, consumer trends in jewellery buying and the category purchase factors. The report provides comprehensive insights and analysis that will help Gemfields build a branding and communication strategy for coloured gemstones in the Indian market.”
The research also identified how single gemstone designs are the preferred choice across all jewellery categories with ruby seen as the most desired stone. Also, wedding anniversaries have emerged as the most important occasion for the purchase of gemstone jewellery. Family and friends are the key influencers followed by brand and retailer advertisements.
“India is a key market for us and it will continue to be one of our main focus regions in the coming years. At present, we enjoy 20 per cent of the market share of coloured gemstones. We are looking at increasing it to 30 per cent in 3-5 years,” Mr. Shetty told representatives of select media recently.
The London-based company accounts for nearly 60-65 per cent of the world’s coloured gemstone output. It supplies stones like emeralds, rubies and sapphires to Indian jewellery manufacturers and retailers directly and indirectly.
In a bid to enhance liquidity support, London-based Gemfields plc plans to increase the buyback of cut and polished stones from downstream companies, largely in Jaipur.
The company is a leading supplier of rough coloured gemstones such as emerald, ruby and sapphire, with a market share of 20 per cent.
