Gold price surge spurs bridal jewellery demand

Antique and jadau jewellery have stolen the show this wedding season among the brides though the families have to shell out more as the prices of gold have gone up. The average budget for gold jewellery in last year’s wedding was Rs 5-7 lakh which has shot up to Rs 10 lakhs, said jewellers from Mumbai’s Zaveri Bazaar.

Saiyam Mehra, chairman of All India Gem & Jewellery Domestic Council, which has nearly 3 lakh jewellers as members said “Reports emerging from our members across the country shows that the demand for heavy jewellery has seen an upswing with brides preferring jadau jewellery.”

Also, designer jewellery, which is manufactured in Kolkata, and is known as Kolkatti jewellery in the gold trade has witnessed good traction this wedding season. Around 3.5 million weddings are expected to be held between November 23 and December 15 of this year.

Mehra, who operates out of Zaveri Bazaar, added that the wedding purchase has stopped on December 13. “Till December 30, there will be less movement in the gold jewellery market,” he said. Gold prices have shot up to Rs 64,000 per 10 gm in the midst of this year’s wedding season.

South India, which is a major gold-consuming market in the country, has witnessed higher consumption of antique jewellery by almost 15 per cent compared to last wedding season. States like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana drive volume-based sales because of their affinity towards plain gold jewellery. Despite gold price rise, the jewellers in these states have been witnessing strong volume-based demand during the wedding season.

“The growing popularity of timelessness of antique and jadau jewellery signals the return to the opulence and regality associated with centuries-old designs. As bridal jewellery has become canvases for self-expression for new-age brides, the trend has led to the emergence of an interplay between tradition and the evolving design sensibilities of the modern era,” said MP Ahammad, chairman of Malabar Gold & Diamonds.

As customers have come to terms with the gold price rise, they usually earmark the budget for bridal jewellery anticipating a rise in gold price. However, there is a trend of pre-booking gold prices emerging which helps customers to neutralize the impact of gold price rise, Mr Ahammad said.

In the price-sensitive eastern India market, families have increased their budgets on gold jewellery by 10 -15 per cent. Suvankar Sen, managing director of Senco Gold & Diamonds said “The budget has increased by 15 per cent but volume-wise there is a drop of 2-5 per cent. However, diamond jewellery for gifting has witnessed good demand.”

(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.