More and more consumers are now going online to learn about gemstones and jewellery prior to visiting a brick-and-mortar retailer. To capture the attention of these millennials, who are intent on quality and value, jewellery retailers are storming the web with their wares, and advertising to a younger demographic of shoppers who regularly utilise social media.

Orsuq, an online souk which makes gold and diamond ornaments, recently launched its operations keeping in mind this demographic. The brain child of Minesh Shah and Mahendra Raju, the company promises a secure gateway to buying jewellery for younger customers and first-time buyers.

Emotion, hesitation

Raju, founder and CEO, Orsuq Solutions, said buying gold in India is a emotion-driven transaction. “However, when it comes to first-time and middle-class buyers, there is a sense of hesitation; there is a lack of trust with respect to prices and quality,” he said.

To eliminate the hassles involved and provide access to expert advice, the company has a made-to-order feature, wherein consumers can go through the profiles of empanelled jewellery designers on the website, select one and meet them to narrow down a design that appeals.

Orsuq has brought on board manufacturers from Surat, Jaipur, Rajkot, Kolkata, Coimbatore, Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

Online jewellery seller BlueStone — which raised ₹200 crore in Series D funding led by IIFL and Accel, with participation from IvyCap Ventures, Kalaari Capital and RB Investments — has decided to invest in building what it terms a “designer ecosystem” by getting more jewellery designers.

Another multi-brand jewellery portal, VelvetCase, recently revamped its website. The company worked on key insights received from consumer research. Abhishek Bhartiya, Director, Marketing, VelvetCase, said: “Being a multi-brand jewellery destination with over 1 lakh products, it was over-whelming for anyone to navigate through the wide product selection.” VelvetCase recently raised close to $2 million in a second round of funding led by Uniqorn Ventures Fund. TV Mohandas Pai and S Somasegar also participated.

3D printing

Similarly, online jewellery start-up Melorra, which raised $5 million in a seed round earlier this year, has been using 3D printing to carry out individual orders in a cost-efficient manner. Around 60 per cent of Melorra designs are now available for under ₹30,000.

Actor Salman Khan’s Being Human Foundation has also ventured into the jewellery segment, with the launch of an independent line of diamond jewellery in collaboration with Style Quotient Jewellery. Other than being retailed at jewellery stores, Being Human Jewellery will be exclusively sold online on Amazon.

Another organisation, The Leading Jewelers of the World — a platform for jewellery brands such as Nakshatra, Gili, Asmi, Nirvana, Sangini, Diya, Gitanjali Jewels and Maya Jewels — recently launched a premium luxury metal. The platform will retail coins and bars in Lumineux Uno metal, which is an amalgamation of gold, platinum, palladium and silver.

Though there has been a dip in demand for jewellery in the first half of this year, an India Ratings and Research report noted that organised jewellery retailers are expected to witness a change in fate over the next three quarters, and record 10-12 per cent top-line growth in FY17. The sector posted a flat revenue growth in FY16, and a low, single-digit growth in the first quarter of FY17.

To counter the festival season onslaught by brick-and-mortar jewellery retail outlets, online jewellers are readying digital and TV advertisements. BlueStone rolled out a campaign, Choose Your Twinkle, promoting the brand as the go-to jeweller for today’s women. Pushkar Jain, Chief Marketing Officer, BlueStone, said the advertisement is indicative of the engaging online experience that appeals to younger and new-age women.

Diamond company De Beers has also announced an India-specific advertising campaign to consolidate and enhance the demand for diamonds in India.

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