The Indian Complication: Part II

Jewellery ≠ luxury brand name, but much beyond that!

Indian Jewellery has its own character that dates back to the days of inception of jewellery. Jewellery is not only a decoration article or an ‘ornament’ for the Indians... but much beyond that. It’s about the value of the article and not about the brand...because jewellery in Indian culture itself has its show-off value, and does not need to have a brand.

What do I mean by value beyond just jewellery? Since generations, gold in India has been considered as ‘stri-dhan’ i.e. the wealth of the woman of the household. In Indian weddings, which are huge occasions for luxury consumption, maximum amount of money is spent on jewellery to be gifted to the bride by her parents, to make her financially strong before she leaves their house. And gold in India has always been synonymous with ‘purity’ and ‘savings’. Jewellery is the biggest investment that Indians have traditionally made which is also why they only prefer 22 karat gold jewellery. 18 karat gold jewellery is considered more like ‘fake’ or ‘impure’ since its value does not appreciate the same way as of the 22 karat ‘pure’ gold jewellery. Also, unlike diamonds or other precious stones and metals, gold being the only precious element whose value appreciates constantly, also makes it the best choice for investment.

Hence, unlike the western cultures, where jewellery is considered luxury and a brand name attached with it, makes it more luxurious... In India, jewellery is a cultural necessity and financial security... hence, though there is an emotional motivation to buy jewellery, the decision is usually made keeping all the basic functional aspects in mind. i.e. the purity of gold, the quality, the re-sale value, potential returns on the investment, etc...,things which are usually not the considerations while buying jewellery in the western cultures. While the western cultures focus more on design and the ornamental value of jewellery, Indians focus more on the purity and value of the materials used. It probably comes from the fact that India was the source of all precious stones and pearls centuries ago...hence; the mindset is still such that we look for purity and value... Hence, the brand name does not make that much of a difference.

If you look at the Indian jewellery market, the traditional family jewellers still rule... customisation of jewellery, bespoke and tailor made jewellery are almost like a give-in when it comes to the Indian jewellery market. It’s more about trust associated with these family jewellers over generations, rather than the brand name. In fact, India is one market, which does not trust brand names when it comes to jewellery. Why? It’s because unlike the traditional family jewellers, the brands do not give the split between the costs of materials being used and the cost of the designing and making charges. That itself, acts as a huge mental block for most Indians to buy branded jewellery.

So if that’s the case, why would an Indian buy a Tiffany or Cartier jewellery piece, at ten times the price (price of design and making, not the actual elements) of ‘real’ gold for ‘fake’ (18 karat) gold?