https://www.miningweekly.com
Design|Gold|Manufacturing|Technology|Manufacturing |Operations
Design|Gold|Manufacturing|Technology|Manufacturing |Operations
design|gold|manufacturing|technology|manufacturing-industry-term|operations

Indians opt for lighter, lower carat jewellery as gold prices soar

Gold jewellery

Photo by Bloomberg

18th December 2024

By: Reuters

  

Font size: - +

Soaring gold prices have led many Indian families to opt for lightweight and lower-carat jewellery to stay within their budgets, industry officials said.

"I wanted to gift my daughter 80 g of gold, but I was forced to scale it down to 50 g because of price increase in the past two years," said Mumbai-based Shubhangi More, choosing a necklace with a traditional design for her daughter's wedding.

Gold prices MAUc1 in the world's second biggest buyer of the precious metal have surged 22% so far this year, after rising 15% in 2023.

Most Indian buyers prefer traditional jewellery, but now they want it crafted in lightweight designs to fit their budgets, said Bachhraj Bamalwa, partner at jewellery retailer Nemichand Bamalwa & Sons.

"Recognising this preference, we are stocking more lightweight jewellery sets while scaling down our inventory of heavier designs," Bamalwa said.

Advances in manufacturing technology have enabled jewellery makers to craft traditional designs in lighter weights, said Sachin Jain, CEO of the World Gold Council's Indian operations.

Buyers are also switching to lower carat jewellery to reduce costs, jewellers said.

Guddi Devi, a teacher from Jamalpur in the northern state of Bihar, bought 18-karat jewellery for her daughter's wedding instead of 22-karat.

"I preferred the 18 carats of jewellery because it was cheaper compared to the 22 carats and is much stronger than it," she said.

Indians traditionally prefer jewellery made in 22-carat gold, which contains 91.7% pure gold, while 18-karat gold contains 75% pure gold and 25% other metals. The price of 18-carat gold is nearly a fifth lower than that of 22-carat gold.

"Lower prices and greater durability are making 18-karat jewellery increasingly popular. Its share in total sales has risen to over 15%, compared to just 5% to 7% two years ago," said Surendra Mehta, secretary at the India Bullion and Jewellers Association.

Edited by Reuters

Comments

Showroom

Flameblock
Flameblock

FlameBlock is a proudly South African company that engineers, manufactures and supplies fire intumescent and retardant products to the fire...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Multotec
Multotec

Multotec, recognised industry leaders in metallurgy and process engineering help mining houses across the world process minerals more efficiently,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.09 0.117s - 129pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now