Indian Gems andamp; Jewellery Market - Present andamp; Future Outlook

The Gems and Jewelry market in India has a very strong potential due to low production cost and highly skilled labour. Here gold dominates the market accounting for highest demand though in recent years platinum and diamonds are the top fashion symbols. Stones have also taken a place among a different group of people who believe in spiritualism; still this segment is on the development stage. In terms of regional classification, each region accounts for a special type of jewelry or follow a traditional style of jewelry making, like Karnataka is famous for temple jewelry.

The rural jewellery market in India is set to grow strongly despite the global economic meltdown. Overall sales of jewellery dominated by the plain gold variety in India through 2008 rose by 23 percent over 2007.

In the time of economic depression, budgetary pressure is a major constraint, resulting high gold prices. The situation of the Indian jewelry sector is cautious for the next two years (2010-2012) due to high prices and budget constraints. The global demand for precious metals for manufacturing of jewellery has gone down by more than 700 tonnes from 2004 to 2008.

Disposable income is one of the factors influencing demand for diamond jewelry; with growing income level purchasing power of individual is also becoming strong. Overall exports during the period between April 2008 and February 2009 saw gems and jewellery exports at US$~ billion, showing a decline (but a rise of 5.65 percent in rupee terms) as compared to US$~ billion in the same period previous year.

There is a massive demand for hand-made jewellery, especially in ethnic Indian designs, from the sizeable Indian emigrant population in the Middle-East, South-East Asian countries, the US and Canada among others.

In 2010, retail sales for jewellery is expected to reach US$~billion alone in India and further expected to reach US$~ billion by 2015. Despite the economic slowdown, this sector is expected to continue to shine in coming years. In terms of domestic sales, branded jewellery is likely to become the fastest growing segment and is expected to witness a growth of ~% per annum to US$~ billion by 2010.