Tanishq, De Beers collaborate to push sale of natural diamonds in India
Currently, Tanishq sees 30 per cent of its sales come from the sale of studded jewellery, Ajoy Chawla, chief executive officer, jewellery division, Titan Company, told Business Standard.
India’s largest jeweller, Tanishq from the Tata Group, and De Beers Group, a global diamond company, announced a three-year strategic collaboration to push the sale of natural diamonds in the country.
Through this collaboration, both entities intend to educate the Indian consumer about the preciousness of natural diamonds. This comes at a time when lab-grown diamonds have started to gain traction.
“With a vibrant economy, a growing middle class, and discerning consumers who seek jewellery with enduring value, demand for natural diamond jewellery from Indian consumers has surged recently and now represents 11 per cent of global demand,” both companies said in their release.
This has also caused India to replace China as the second-largest market in the world for natural diamond jewellery.
“With diamond acquisition rates in India well below those in mature markets such as the US, this provides a significant opportunity to catalyse further growth for natural diamond jewellery in India,” the release added.
The collaboration will focus on building consumer outreach, deepening the capabilities of Tanishq’s retail staff to communicate about natural diamonds, educating consumers about authenticity, and shaping customer experiences. This collaboration will also be supported by a 360-degree marketing campaign to build awareness and target expanding the customer base in the country, including first-time buyers.
The two parties are also in talks regarding opportunities to collaborate on traceability, how Tanishq’s diamond supply needs can best be met, and further opportunities to use De Beers’ proprietary technologies to support pipeline integrity, the release said.
Currently, Tanishq sees 30 per cent of its sales come from the sale of studded jewellery, Ajoy Chawla, chief executive officer, jewellery division, Titan Company, told Business Standard.
He, however, added that the Indian shift to lab-grown diamonds is negligible and the narrative is bigger than the reality. “There are quite a few players which have sprung in… there is a certain amount of noise in the market, and we have not seen that shift,” Chawla said.
“Synthetics and natural are very different stones… What we see is that there is a strong demand for synthetics in the industrial space. As far as the consumer is concerned in this country, we don’t see a take-off (lab-grown diamonds). In India, the play is about how we develop penetration for natural diamonds. Currently, it is one out of ten, so the sky is the limit,” Sandrine Conseiller, chief executive officer of De Beers Brands, said.
First Published: Aug 28 2024 | 8:20 PM IST