Jewellers saw strong footfall on Dhanteras as gold prices came off their highs, alongside the ongoing trend of customers exchanging old gold. They also expect demand to remain strong ahead of the upcoming wedding season.
“At Kalyan Jewellers, we follow a uniform gold-pricing policy across India, ensuring that customers receive the same transparent prices, irrespective of the market in which they shop. We are witnessing strong consumer enthusiasm across markets this Dhanteras, with showroom footfall picking up significantly. The correction in gold prices has provided an added impetus to festive purchases. With 22-carat gold prices easing by ₹235 per gram, from ₹13,385 on Thursday to ₹13,150 on Friday, customers are finding this a more favourable opportunity to make their auspicious purchases,” said Ramesh Kalyanaraman, executive director, Kalyan Jewellers.
He added that the company was seeing a growing preference for lighter-weight jewellery, including pendants, bangles and chains, as well as smaller denominations of gold and silver coins and silver artefacts.
“An interesting trend this festival season is the growing contribution of Tier-II and -III markets to overall consumer demand. Cities such as Jaipur, Dehradun, Surat, Belgaum, Ara and Raipur are witnessing particularly encouraging traction, with a healthy addition of first-time buyers. Even in larger metros, certain neighbourhoods and suburban catchments, such as Purushawalkam in Chennai, Chembur in Mumbai, and Karol Bagh in Delhi, are emerging as strong consumption centres,” Kalyanaraman added.
Similar sentiment was witnessed at Mumbai’s Zaveri Bazaar, where demand for both bullion and jewellery was 40 per cent higher than during last year’s Dhanteras.
“I usually open my store at noon, but today (Friday) I am on my feet since 9 in the morning,” said Kumar Jain, spokesperson for the India Bullion and Jewellers Association.
He added that demand for the upcoming wedding season was also high, with equal interest in bullion and jewellery. Investors are looking to buy gold because they expect prices to rise.
In Mumbai, 24-carat gold was priced at ₹1.49 lakh per 10 gm, while 22-carat gold was at ₹1,37,500.
Gold had earlier hit a high of ₹1.80 lakh per 10 gm for 24-carat gold.
At PNG Jewellers, footfall was strong across stores. “The day is only just under way, and sales usually pick up in the second half. But the early signs are encouraging. Industry indications point to 25-30 per cent incremental performance over last year, supported by prices easing from their highs, strong bookings in the run-up to Dhanteras, and a long Diwali weekend,” said Saurabh Gadgil, chairman and managing director, PNG Jewellers, adding that deliveries were planned through the festival.
“We are seeing strong demand for wedding and temple jewellery, and for lightweight and everyday wear in gold and diamonds, with 18- and 14-karat designs doing particularly well,” he said.
Gadgil said demand was high for silver jewellery and silver articles. On demand from Tier-II and -III cities, he added that the exchange of old gold was playing a big role.
“Sentiment across the country looks strong, and we are well prepared for a great festival season,” he further added.
At Kama Jewelry, customers moved towards lightweight-studded jewellery, with 18-karat accounting for about half of sales, while 14-karat and 9-karat designs made up the rest, depending on buyers’ spending capacity.
“Heavy jewellery too witnessed selective sales and bookings ahead of the wedding season, while coins ranging between 1 gm and 5 gm also drew steady interest. Overall, showcasing a momentous performance during Dhanteras, jewellery sales witnessed a 10 per cent spike,” said Colin Shah, managing director, Kama Jewelry.