London-listed mining to markets firm Gemfields Plc says the appetite for coloured gems including emerald, ruby and amethyst is growing in India. The company said it is looking to tie up with jewellery designers and retailers to bring out exclusive range. Gemfields, which recently acquired the famed Faberge egg, said it will set up at least one outlet in India to tap the growing luxury market. The highly illustrated and bejewelled Faberge eggs were created first for the Russian imperials as a part of Easter gifting in the nineteenth century. Ian Harebottle, CEO, Gemfields, in an interview with Business Line said while luxury bags and watches have shown tremendous growth, gems stones haven’t shown similar growth traction due to their erratic supply.

Excerpts:

How important is India in the global scheme of things for Gemfields?

Globally, 60 per cent of our gemstones are exported to East (Asia, West Asia) and the balance to West. Of that, over 60 per cent comes to India. Traditionally, India has favoured coloured gemstones. However, over the years, gold and diamonds took over. Coloured gemstones in India have a market share of eight per cent. The demand for coloured gemstones in India has increased by 50 per cent annually over last four years alone. We expect this to further grow in the coming years.

Do rough gemstones come to India for polishing?

Yes. Most of our gemstones are sent to India to be cut and polished. Rubies and emeralds are very popular here. While North and West regions largely consume emeralds for astrological and cosmetic reason, South and East are promising for ruby sales.

What exactly is your mine to market strategy?

Gemfields has mines in Zambia, Mozambique which produces amethysts and emeralds. We have annual auctions where bidders can bid for graded gemstones which were hitherto unavailable. Earlier, stones were not graded. This meant that buyers got different size stones per parcel. However, with grading the stones are uniform in size. We are not present in retail trade. But, we have tied up with jewellery designers and retailers. Mehul Choksi owned Gitanjali Jewels has line of jewellery from Gemfields ethically sourced gemstones.

Are you exploring mining opportunities in India?

There are very few private players in the mining space. We may explore if something significant comes our way.

Will you be introducing brand Faberge in India considering that there is a growing demand for luxury products?

Yes, we are looking for opportunities to bring the brand to India. Globally, Faberge has six stores. We are looking to set up a company owned company operated stores in India by next two years.

bindu.menon@thehindu.co.in

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW