Diamond sales in India take a hit post Nirav Modi scam, says Assocham survey

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Mar 19, 2018

The diamond trade in India has taken a beating post the alleged Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud involving diamantaire Nirav Modi with business dropping due to concerns of purity, according to a recent survey by industry body Assocham.
 

The jewellers in the unorganised market are the worst affected with customers shying away from purchases due to trust issues. As a result of this the demand for diamond jewellery has plummeted by10-15 percent within two months times, the survey said.
 
The recent incident involving India’s two leading jeweller’s Nirav Modi and Gitanjali jewellers has created a fear among customers who are enquiring about the quality of jewellery especially diamonds. The consumers are shifting from diamond-studded jewellery to plain gold jewellery and appear to be wary of purchasing diamond jewellery, the survey added.

The survey further stated that almost 65 percent of jewellers in the unorganised market are making the transition from diamond jewellery to traditional pure play gold and silver ornaments to boost sales as consumers are staying away from diamond purchases.
 
The jewellers interviewed in the survey also stated that they have been getting enquiries to recheck the quality and authenticity of pre purchased gold and diamonds.
 
The survey covered 350 jewellery-makers based in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Ahemdabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Dehradun.