The Hindu Business Line : Demand for cross-region jewellery on the rise

WIDE RANGE: A jewellery manufacturing firm displaying various designs at its stall at the Gem and Jewellery India International Exhibition in Chennai. — Bijoy Ghosh

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Chennai March 3 Have you ever wanted to own that string of elegant Hyderabadi pearls? Or that Meenakari jewellery set from Jaipur? Not to mention the traditional `kasu malai' from Kerala. But go to your regular jeweller and the odds are that he may not have what you want, or enough varieties for you to choose from. So you often have had to hunt around.

This could, however, change. With customers showing keen interest in a wide range of designs from across India, jewellers are forced to cater to this cross-region demand.

"Demand for cross-region jewellery is increasing. Small jewellers realise that their niche work is in demand but don't know how to reach out across India. Big retailers want to stock specialty jewellery from small players in other regions but don't know how to contact them," says Mr K. Shivram, Vice-President, World Gold Council — India.

This was the driving force that led to the organising of the business-to-business (B2B)trade fair, the Gem and Jewellery India International Exhibition (GJIIE) 2007 in Chennai. With over 150 stalls housing jewellery manufacturers and retailers from Mumbai, Gujarat, Jaipur, Kolkata, Kerala, New Delhi, Agra and Hyderabad, the exhibition is expected to boost cross-region trade significantly.

Not only does this give an opportunity to strengthen distribution channels between jewellers and retailers, it also exposes them to new designs in other markets. In fact, for some jewellers, this is the widest range of designs they have ever seen from other geographies.

Mr Shivram said it could take 4-5 years for a small jeweller to chance upon a new design from another region, by which time the design is outdated and difficult to procure. The four-day event inaugurated on Friday also hosts a special Kerala Pavilion showcasing the works of about 20 jewellers. Mr P.V. Jose, Chief Patron, Jewellery Manufacturers Association (Kerala), told Business Line this was the first Government of Kerala-sponsored jewellery participation.

"Owing to large demand across India for our lightweight and antique jewellery, we are here to tie up with jewellers and also promote Kerala as a jewellery manufacturing base," he said. At present, Kerala manufactures 300-500 kg of gold jewellery a day, a third of which is sold to jewellers outside Kerala.

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