The Indian Jewelry Market
In India, the jewelry and gems market seems to have fairly good potential taking into consideration a few factors such as production costs being quite low coupled with good quality skilled labour. In India, the market is dominated by gold due to it having the most demand witnessed in the last few years. Along with the high demand for gold, diamonds and platinum are also highly sought after. Gemstones also have a special place in India, as spiritualism is fully connected with certain types of gemstones – although this market is still in its developmental stages. Each state in India is famous for its own particular type of jewelry. For example temple jewelry is famous in Karnataka.Through the global economic crisis, in India, the jewelry market, especially in rural areas continued to grow. Jewelry sales in 2008 went up by 23%, compared to figures in 2007.Budgetary pressure will however, always be one of the main limitations during economic turmoil, which in turn hikes up the price of gold in the market. During the next two years, that is from 2010-2012, the jewelry market in India might remain on a cautious footing due to sky high prices. Globally, the demand for gold and other precious metals for the making of jewelry has witnessed a decline of around at least 700 tonnes from 2004 figures to those in 2008.Handmade jewelry is increasingly becoming popular, especially those made according to traditional Indian designs. This is also due to the fact that there is a large Indian population in countries in South-East Asia, the Middle East, Canada and the US.