Diamond Jewellery Gaining Popularity Down South - Registers a 25% positive growth

Diamond Jewellery Gaining Popularity Down South - Registers a 25% positive growth

Kerala market is known for its affinity for gold, diamond jewellery is becoming increasingly popular with customers in the state.

Industry experts say that sale of diamond jewellery in the state has increased from Rs 400 cr in 2005 to nearly Rs 600 cr in 2008. The state has about 20 diamond dealers and over 50 retail outlets selling diamond jewellery.




"Even though the economic slowdown has affected the consumer market in the state, the sale of gold and diamonds has been registering a positive growth in the last few months," they said.

As per a report of De Beers Diamond Trading Company, the top city for retail diamond jewellery sale in the country is Hyderabad, followed by Kochi. "While the national sale figure of diamond jewellery has fallen nearly 70 percent from last year's sale figure in the last four to five months, in Kerala the sale figure shows a growth rate of about 25 percent," said Sunny Diamonds chairman and managing director P T Sunny.

He said that the diamond market in the state was an established one compared to that of gold. "It took nearly five to seven years for diamond merchants in the state to attract people. Rather than considering it a luxury item, people have started to opt for diamonds because of their value for money and as a pledging option with various banks," said Sunny adding that the rising price of gold was yet another reason for people to opt for diamond jewellery.

"They fear that the price of gold may fall drastically at some point," he said. Cochin Stock Exchange Ltd director Varghese Mathew said that both gold and diamond jewellery have been attracting customers for the last several months.

"The highly volatile nature of the stock market in the last few months has forced people in the state to look for alternative segments like diamonds as an investment option," he said.