Runaway gold prices nudge buyers to studded jewellery
A sharp rally in gold pushed many price-conscious Indians to choose studded jewellery instead of plain gold jewellery in the March quarter, sales data of leading retailers showed.
At Titan Co. Ltd, India's largest jewellery retailer by revenue and market capitalization, sales of diamond-studded jewellery grew 12% from a year earlier, while overall domestic jewellery sales grew 23.4%. Studded jewellery accounted for 30% of its domestic jewellery business during the quarter.
The story was different at its rivals.
At Kalyan Jewellers Ltd, the second biggest gold retailer, studded jewellery sales grew 47.6% from a year earlier, compared to 38% in domestic jewellery sales. Studded jewellery accounted for 31% of Kalyan's revenue in the country in the fourth quarter.
Senco Gold and Diamonds and PN Gadgil Jewellers witnessed the same trend.
Studded jewellery grew 38% and 31% at Senco and PD Gadgil, respectively, in the January-March period, even as the overall business grew 21% and 5% for the third and fourth-largest gold retailers, respectively. Studded jewellery accounted for about 11% at Senco and 8% at PN Gadgil.
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"There was a whopping increase in demand for studded jewellery," Titan's jewellery division chief executive officer (CEO) Ajoy Chawla said in a post-earnings call on 8 May. Chawla will take over as Titan CEO in January next year.
The sales data indicates a shift towards lighter and more affordable precious stone jewellery, in an industry long dominated by traditional gold.
'Over the past few quarters, we have observed a notable increase in consumer interest in diamond-studded gold jewellery," Ramesh Kalyanaraman, executive director at Kalyan Jewellers, said in an email.
"Studded conversion becomes easier when the gold price is very high," said T.S. Kalyanaraman in a post-earnings interaction on 8 May, adding that gold prices had increased by 30% in the last fiscal year.
Gold rose 31% during the last fiscal year, from ₹69,471 for 10 g on 1 April, 2024, to ₹91,190 on 31 March 2025. It has gained further in FY26, closing at ₹1,00,280 on Friday.
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T.S. Kalyanaraman is Ramesh Kalyanaraman's father and is currently the managing director of Kalyan Jewellers.
Kalyanaraman explained this was primarily because the precious stones could account for 40-45% of the jewellery instead of buying plain gold.
"As of Q4 FY25, the 'stud ratio' improved to 8%, while witnessing a 30.8% year-on-year rise in the studded revenue, highlighting its growing popularity," said a spokesperson for PN Gadgil, referring to the percentage of sales generated from jewellery that is decorated with studs like diamonds or other precious stones.
PN Gadgil said there is a rising interest among young urban shoppers in solitaires, light earrings, and daily-wear designs, driving the growth of the studded jewellery segment.
Emails sent to Titan and Senco Gold went unanswered.
Over the past year, gold prices have surged because of macroeconomic uncertainty and geopolitical skirmishes, which have nudged investors to buy gold. According to Kalyan Jewellers, the studded jewellery segment's gross margin is estimated to be between 30 and 35% compared to 10 and 14% for plain gold.
And read | Cooling gold prices: What it means for you
'Jewellery is becoming a daily-wear fashion choice, as what used to be a planned purchase is now more impulsive," said Naveen Trivedi, senior analyst at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
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