Jewellery design gives new meaning to Surat diamonds

Himanshu Bhatt, Times of India 31 December 2009, 11:24pm IST

SURAT: The glitter of Surat's gold and diamonds spreading its sparkle in far off places can be gauged from the fact that the number of customers from different parts of the world to the city to buy high end diamond studded gold jewellery is increasing by the day. The market was never so good as it was in 2009. With over 100 units showing an annual growth rate of about 20 per cent and jewellery designers and manufacturers boasting of 15 per cent foreign clientele, the city is likely to take over the top spot from Jaipur and Mumbai in a few years' time.

"Our indigenous designers are proving their mettle now. The increasing demands from domestic and international markets require them to keep doing something new all the time," said KK Sharma of Indian Diamond Institute (IDI), from where about 140 new designers pass out every year. Indian clients prefer large pieces of jewellery as against those from Japan, Korea and Malaysia, who like to buy expensive ones, but in smaller sizes. "We have regular clients from these countries. They buy jewellery pieces worth Rs 10 lakh, but which are small sized with fine craftsmanship," said Dilip Shah of BR Design.
Manish Mehta of Charu Jewels said, "We specialise in traditional Indian designs, which are handmade. Our clients want large sized jewellery." Pixyish Sadhani of Shashwat Jewels said, "We design keeping in mind the type of clients. Our dragon series and voodoo series collections sell like hot cakes in US and Germany. They are not large sized, but are unique in design."
Said Pravin Nanavati of She Jewels, which specialises in designing crockery and pottery along with jewellery, "The design is the single most important thing. If that is good, then the jewellery sells immediately.
" With priority being given to gem and jewellery park project on 9.70 lakh sq m of land at Icchapore, after seven years the city would be in need of 25,000 new designers. "In few years, the city will see an unparalleled rise in its business in jewellery, particularly diamonds. We have got to prepare ourselves to cash in," Sharma said.
A young designer, who made Rs 10,000 per month till two years ago after graduating from IDI, now earns Rs 1 lakh per month. She said, "The first couple of years were tough. But now, there is no looking back."