How Can the Diamond Trade Speak Better to a Strong, Independent Female Shopper?

Has the Indian diamond trade kept pace with the rest of the world in capatalising on the self-purchasing trend, where women, who have higher disposable incomes are willing to spend on diamond jewellery? Focusing on style and design rather than diamond jewellery just being an investment, will go a long way finds out Vijetha Rangabashyam

Diamonds. The very word evokes so many emotions. The unearthing of this miracle stone that has been in formation for over a billion years, being cut and polished by experts and then set in jewellery, to lend joy and spark to many lives, is a story worth telling. It’s not a wonder why women love diamonds. Diamonds are special and women like to feel special. This billion dollar industry survives for women and thrives on the happiness they get when they wear diamond jewellery. In India, diamond jewellery is an integral part of festivities; it is also a symbol of aspiration. But over the years, diamonds have also become so niche that buying them has been restricted to a select few occasions. Though women are slowly coming forward to buy jewellery for themselves to celebrate milestones and achievements, the trend still is not as big as it is in the West.

“The Future is Female” trend seems to be the norm in the rest of the world, where demand for diamond jewellery is being slowly driven by the female self purchaser. Being reliant on weddings, special occasions and gifting alone has made diamond an extremely niche product. Should the industry be working towards democratizing diamond jewellery and foster impulse buying, so that more women come forward to buy diamond jewellery even if there is no occasion; if so, how can the industry do this collectively?

The change has to happen from our homes and place of work. Encourage women, value them, empower them – if this becomes a system then it will become an integral part of the industry. “We should work towards bringing woman in the mainstream – this will give them the confidence. It is a long process, but it will happen. In the jewellery industry, we have a lot of women in the sales teams in many retail outlets. Women are trained to become good sales persons – it is because every retail business owner recognizes a woman’s empathy towards female clients and knows they can reach out to one another better,” adds Bhatt.

True empowerment means giving a woman freedom to make her own decisions, recognizing her contributions, and valuing her inputs in social decisions as well. We have many talented women designers in India, they had to work very hard to establish themselves in the industry, but do they receive the same recognition? Acceptance and empowerment has to come from home, workplace, business, industry, society, et al. The industry and workplace should value the woman’s decisions and opinions – only then will women develop the confidence to make decisions on their own Nirupa Bhatt, Consultant, GIA IndiaPrice point dynamics
Buying is defined by price points, however, once people cross the threshold of a certain price point, then they become conservative in their spending. “Self purchase is there in India to some extent and it is not just based on occasion. Self purchase happens say up to Rs 50,000. However, when it is time to buy anything worth say Rs 2, 00,000 or above, people will plan their purchase and it becomes a family affair where all members of the family are present,” says Dheeraj Menda of Studio Rêves.

The perception that people have towards jewellery in India is also different. “Before buying an iPhone you don’t ask your partner whether you can buy it even though it costs over a lakh. That is because it is a standardized product. You don’t go ask the store owner about the cost of the chip inside the iPhone or cost of the body of the phone. You do not go in to find out detailed pricing of each component while buying such an expensive phone – you may even buy a leather cover worth Rs 15,000. Will you ask for a free cover at the Apple Store? But when you go to a jeweller, you will ask the store owner what is the cost of the labour, what is the cost of diamonds, do you have a certificate with it, will you give a fancy box with the jewellery? Jewellers don’t bother fixing these issues, they are happy with their fixed margins ,” says Menda.

Today, when you walk into any luxury store, asking for discount is unacceptable. We inherently believe that a Louis Vuitton must be bought without a discount but we don’t think of the same with jewellery. People want the price of making charges to be slashed. “The difference is with the branding involved. Price points do not make products luxury. It is also the kind of efforts put behind the product. For instance, any of these big chain store brands will not pay more than 600 per gram as labour cost – how will they then get a luxury product made at a low labour cost that they are willing to pay?” asks Menda.

Before buying an iPhone you don’t ask your partner whether you can buy it even though it costs around a lakh. That is because it is a standardized product. You don’t go ask the store owner about the cost of the chip inside the iPhone or cost of the body of the phone.But when you go to a jeweller, you will ask the store owner what is the cost of the labour, what is the cost of diamonds etc. The difference is with the branding involved. Price points do not make products luxury. It is also the kind of efforts put behind the product Dheeraj Menda, Studio RêvesFocus on style and not on investment
Very rarely does a woman walk into a store asking for a 2ct ring, even though she earns handsomely. It has to be still spurred on by the family. “We need to ask ourselves why that is the case. To speak to an independent female shopper, we need to do justice with the product we have at hand. We need to create strong stories around the product. We should be in a position to compare our jewellery with luxury bags or watches. As a jeweller, we are still pushing diamond jewellery or any jewellery for that matter as an occasion based item. We push it as bridal or gifting item, we need to push it as a style-based item and not an investment item. Cars are pushed as a necessity, today, if you have to move ahead in life, you require a car. We have to do something similar for our industry – if a woman achieves a milestone in life, maybe she can graduate from a 1ct solitaire to a 3ct solitaire ,” says Anand Prakash of Abhushan Jewellers, Agra.

We also need to focus on the design and karigari element more. People should want to pay for craftsmanship. “In India even today jewellery is sold as an investment. In America it is not so. The markup system for jewellery is 1:3 in retail markets in the U.S., otherwise they cannot survive. Design is the taste acquired by a particular person. Jewellery is available from Rs 5000 to Rs 5 crore. When you go to a Manish Malhotra store, you will buy Rs 25,00,000 worth lehenga where the actual cost may have been barely Rs 100,000,” adds Menda. It is the perceived brand value that makes people want to buy a Manish Malhotra outfit. We need to work towards creating stronger brands.

Rose Group has been catering to women who are fashion forward and who want jewellery that is stylish but will yet stand the test of time so that it can be enjoyed by the family for generations to come. Every piece that Rose creates whether it be a wedding band or even a mangalsutra needs to be created differently with a Rose twist so as to appeal to our trendy clients who aspire for bespoke pieces regardless of the budget. “To sell luxury, you have to live it and love it first. If you want luxury customers to come to your store, your experience needs to be better than what they get in the comfort of their own palaces. If you want them to purchase your product, you need to create something that is differentiated and has its own story in order for someone who already has everything to desire one of your creations,” adds Karan Vaidya of Rose Group.

To sell luxury, you have to live it and love it first. If you want luxury customers to come to your store, your experience needs to be better than what they get in the comfort of their own palaces. If you want them to purchase your product, you need to create something that is differentiated and has its own story in order for someone who already has everything to desire one of your creations Karan Vaidya, Rose GroupIndia: The land of a promising self-purchase trend
To say that women in India don’t indulge in self-purchase of diamond jewellery would be a fallacy. Over the last few years, more number of women, who have sizeable disposable incomes have come forward to buy diamond jewellery for themselves. “Over the past few years, we have seen a change in the purchasing power of women. Today’s women don’t need a reason to buy diamonds. They celebrate even the small joys of life. Indian women aspire to own an exquisite, priceless piece of diamond jewellery that connects with them at a deeper personal, emotional level,” says Sachin Jain, Managing Director, De Beers India. According to a study by De Beers, the self-purchase segment that has grown by 25 per cent emerging as the fastest growing segment for the diamond jewellery. More number working women are making self-purchases and we have seen a constant 21-30 per cent increase in this segment of buyers since 2013. “The future is female and it’s a reality. Natural Diamonds are elegant and strong, just like the women who wear them. More than the size of the jewellery, women are buying jewellery for themselves to celebrate their goals and achievements. The diamond industry has been promoting the phenomenon of self-purchase for quite some time now through storytelling and branding and it’s just time for us to accelerate. All the jewellers have built trust with this audience and it’s time for us to talk to them for more than one occasion and it’s on us to remind her what diamonds mean to her. Today women are comfortable earning their money and spending on them as well. They lean towards buying things that mean something to them and they can cherish,” says Richa Singh, MD, Natural Diamond Council, India.

The age of women who come forward to buying diamond jewellery is also gradually decreasing. “We do have some women coming forward to buy diamond jewellery. There has been a drastic change – three years back, women in the age group of 45+ would come to buy jewellery. Now younger women in the age group 35+ are coming forward to buy jewellery, without any occasion. The ticket size is around Rs 4-6 lakhs,” adds Anand Prakash. In the past 10 years, we have been witnessing a major shift in the buying pattern. “As women are becoming more independent, they are easily coming forward to buy diamond jewellery for themselves. Diamonds have always been portrayed as a symbol of love and gifting. But now that perception is also changing. For a woman who is working 9 to 5, she can go in for a pair of solitaire studs rather than polki earrings and even she realises this ,” says Nakshatra Mehta of Rare Heritage.

The future is female and it’s a reality. Natural Diamonds are elegant and strong, just like the women who wear them. More than the size of the jewellery, women are buying jewellery for themselves to celebrate their goals and achievements. The diamond industry has been promoting the phenomenon of self-purchase for quite some time now through storytelling and branding and it’s just time for us to accelerate. All the jewellers have built trust with this audience and it’s time for us to talk to them for more than one occasion and it’s on us to remind her what diamonds mean to her Richa Singh, MD, Natural Diamond Council, IndiaMaking everyday an occasion
Till the time we push diamond jewellery as an occasion based jewellery, we won’t be pushing more women towards buying diamonds independently. “We have to celebrate every accomplishment. For example, if my son passes with good marks – I should go out and celebrate – I have to create that occasion. Say if you have completed five years at your workplace—it is an accomplishment and you need to celebrate it. Women have a right to celebrate your success with a jewellery purchase. We need to promote the idea of celebrating their small occasions with buying jewellery. That piece of jewellery will remain as a remembrance of that occasion. Completion of a tough project too can be celebrated by buying jewellery. Women should be told that they should feel satisfied and hence empowered and they should celebrate every such moment,” adds Bhatt.

While jewellery was earlier treated as an asset and didn’t need an occasion, times are changing and our industry is moving towards becoming more occasion centric. “This has affected the business and people’s sentiment has grown negative over the past few years. Instead of looking at the situation pessimistically, I believe it is time for us as an industry to accept the change in the consumer’s spending patterns and adapt. If Hallmark could understand the occasion centric nature of their business and create occasions like Valentine’s Day for people to buy cards more than a century ago, why can’t we as jewelers innovate and create more occasions for people to spend on jewellery?” asks Karan.

Keeping up with changes in society and being aware of what the customer desires, we will enable the industry to evolve and continue to meet the demand for everyday wear diamond jewellery. Not just as a symbol of love and commitment, but also as an expression of financial independence and self-expression Sachin Jain, Managing Director, De Beers IndiaOn the right track
Recently, the NDC with its ‘For Moments Like No Other’ campaign featuring Ana de Armas focuses on celebrating the myriad connections of life where natural diamond jewellery is worn. “The pandemic has shown us that the consumer is not wanting to invest in jewellery that has not only financial but emotional value. They are looking for pieces that become heirlooms and complement their daily wear. Natural diamonds fit all the needs of the consumer as they represent strength and are the ultimate symbol of love. We are highlighting that it is not just the big moments in life that can be celebrated but every kind of moments big or small and we have taken this opportunity to showcase this in our latest campaign ‘For Moments Like No Other’ which celebrates moments that are not limited to being the romantic ones,” adds Richa

Forevermark has also done a fabulous job in promoting diamond jewellery to the strong, independent women. With its ‘Half Carat Diamond’ campaign, under the theme - ‘The Better Half Within Me’ where the film portrays women protagonists pursuing their dreams and passions, the brand tried speaking to the female audience that is capable of making independent choices to celebrate even small milestones. Half-carat diamond represents a sense of achievement. “A brand needs to understand the need and likes of these women from the self-purchasing segment who look for simple and meaningful pieces that can be worn from day to night. Keeping up with changes in society and being aware of what the customer desires, we will enable the industry to evolve and continue to meet the demand for everyday wear diamond jewellery. Not just as a symbol of love and commitment, but also as an expression of financial independence and self-expression,” adds Sachin. Their campaigns are highly recognised by other retailers as well. “Forevermark is doing a great job. They are completely channeling their marketing activities to target these independent, working women. And every campaign is also highly informative. The awareness regarding what to buy is something that is already there when it comes to buying diamond jewellery. We have only high-ticket products. Women don’t mind spending a chunk of their earnings towards maybe a 50 pointer ring or a pair of solitaire studs,” adds Mehta.