In the late 1990s, the focus seemed to have shifted from content to design in the Indian jewellery market. Branded players entered the market:Tanishq Oyzterbay Gili Carbon Traditional jewellers also began to bring out lightweight jewellery. But the share of branded jewellery in the total jewellery market was still small in 2002.

The abolition of the Gold Control Act in 1992, allowed large export houses to import gold freely. In 1993, gold and diamond mining were opened up for private investors foreign investors were allowed to own half the equity in mining ventures In 1997, overseas banks and bullion suppliers were also allowed to import gold into India This allowed the entry of foreign players likeDeBeers,Tiffany and Cartiers into the Indian market.

In 2001, India had the highest demand for gold in the world Jewellery was fabricated mainly in 18, 22 and 24-carat gold.KARAT CALCULATION24 Carat 100 ercent ure gold 22 Carat 1.66 ercent ure gold 20 Carat 8 . ercent ure gold 18 Carat 5 ercent ure gold 2 Carat 8. ercent ure gold 1 Carat 4.166 ercent ure gold

Source: ICFAI Center for Management Research

The late 1990s saw a number of branded jewellery playersentering the Indian market Titan Gitanjali Jewels Beautiful Peacock Others BRAND NAME Tanishq Gili Tiffany Carbon Oyzterbay, Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri (TBZ)

GILI:

In 1994, Gili Jewellery was established as a distinct brand by Gitanjali Jewels Offered a wide range of 18-carat plain gold and diamond-studded jewellery With sales of Rs.0.14 billion for the year 2007-08,Gili had a 0.03 percent share of the 400 billion jewellery market in India and a 1.4 percent share of the branded jewellery market.

TANISHQ: In 199 , Titan changed its name from 'Titan Watches Ltd.' to 'Titan Industries Ltd. In the same year, it also started its jewellery division under the Tanishq brand. Tanishq is considered to be a trendsetter. Tanishq began with 18-carat jewellery. It expanded to include 22 and 24-carat ornaments as well 1998, Tanishq decided to set up its own chain of retail showrooms By 2002, Tanishq retailed its jewellery through 3 exclusive stores across 41 cities Tanishq had a 0. percent share of the total jewellerymarket in 2007-08 and a 27 percent share of the branded jewellery market

CARBON:

In 199 , within the Peakok fold a new brand of 18-carat gold-based jewellery called Carbon was launched. In 2002-03, with sales of Rs. 0.14 billion, carbon had a 0.03 percent share of the jewellery market and a 1.4 percent share of the branded jewellery market. It started exporting in the year 2008. The brand is available in 23 cities countrywide.

OYZTERBAY:

Founded by Vasant Nangia and his team in July 2000 Oyzterbay seeks to build a national brand in the jewellery industry in India With sales of Rs. 0.17 billion in 2003-0, Oyzterbayhad a 0.04 percent share of the Rs.400 billion jewellery market and a 1.7 percent share of the branded jewellery market.

Brand Tan sh ter a Car on

Market share (2004-05) in %

Source: ICFAI Centre for Management Research

The Indian market was witnessing an accelerated shift

from viewing jewellery as an investment to regarding it as aesthetically appealing ornaments. The focus had shifted from content to design. The younger generation was looking at trendy, contemporary jewellery and clearly avoiding heavy, traditional gold jewellery. The consumer wanted a wider selection at a single convenient location and expected an international shopping experience. The Indian consumer was willing to experiment with new designs.

TANISHQ: Tanishq worked hard on a two-pronged brand-buildingstrategy:cultivate trust by educating customers about the unethical practices in the business and change the perception of jewellery as a high-priced purchase

To increase its marketshare, Tanishq formulated astrategy for luring people:provide a point of differentiation in a highly commoditized category project Tanishq as an unimpeachable mark of trust

TANISHQ contd One way to create differentiation was through design Tanishq set up a seven member in-house design team Tanishq decided to focus on quality control:it introduced caratmeters which showed the purity of gold

In November 2002, Tanishq introduced a new collectionof jewellery called 'Lightweights. It also focused on small town markets

CARBON:

Always focused on moving jewellery from the vault to the dressing table It sold its products as gift items over the internet Like Tanishq it also laid emphasis on design In 2002, Carbon launched its 'Sun Sign' collection, basedon the symbols of the Zodiac

OYZTERBAY: Jewellery for the Living: The initial focus - to give a lifestyle value to jewelleryinstead of the traditional investment value Emphasized on marketing and advertising strategies to give the necessary thrust for growth Oyzterbay launched media campaigns The new campaign focused on positioning Oyzterbay as jewellery for office wear, evening wear or even a fitness session They offered exclusive products to clients by refurbishing its collection every few months, keeping in mind international trends

GILI:

The company's products were made available through a mail-order catalogue All Gili products came with a guarantee of diamond and gold quality. In 2000, Gili launched its 'diamond heart collection'targeted at teenagers and priced between Rs 00 and Rs.2 00 The collection was promoted at college campuses Special packaging, catchy advertising and extensive press coverage contributed to the success of the collection

Branded jewellery players will continue to face lot ofcompetition from local jewellers. Besides the major brands several regional players have opened branches to leverage the trust and reputation that they have built up over the years Most of the branded jewellery players in India focused on yellow gold Few of them experimented with the pink and white forms of gold. Some of the players also used diamonds and platinum, which appear to have a good future in the Indian jewellery market.

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