New range of Silver jewellery by The Big Door

The emporium brings silver jewellery and gold plated silver jewellery in vintage styles.

Post By : IJ News Service On 23 June 2014 3:03 PM
{{Diamond World}} discussed with a few leading personalities from the diamond and diamond jewellery manufacturing fraternity about their opinion on innovation and the Indian scenario. {{ATTRIBUTES OF AN INNOVATOR}}$$ {{Steve Jobs }}once said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” How true, isn’t it? An innovator always stands out amongst the crowd and sets the rules for others to follow. So what it takes to be an innovator? Our Indian jewellery manufacturers lend their opinion to what it means to be innovative...%% {{It All Starts from An Idea :}}$$ According to {{Yash Agarwal,}} jewellery designer and director of Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas Jewellers, “Innovation is a conceptualization of any idea. The idea has to click in your mind and you work towards it to innovate a thing under the society’s trends.” %%
{{Innovation Unrestricted :}}$$ {{Hemil Mody,}} CEO of the Gold Star Jewellery India and Jouel Sculpt Pvt. Ltd. feels that innovation does not confine to one single process during the designing, manufacturing and marketing of jewellery. For every process in the creation of jewellery, innovation has always had a different meaning. %% {{The Mark of a Winner :}}$$ Citing {{Shiv Khera’s}} famous tagline, “Winners don’t do different things they do things differently,” {{Kapil Nevatia,}} director of Sunjewels states that while everyone manufactures jewellery, it is those who does it better and in a different matter that counts and it cannot be copied from company to company. It has to be self-grown with all the intellectual abilities of your individual team members who contribute their ideas and it comes in different decisions, different patterns. Innovation can be any aspect of the industry, be it in sales, marketing, production, process. It can be anywhere. %% {{Out of the Box Art :}}$$ Hemant Shah, Chief Marketing Officer & Director of Hammer Group, offers a more comprehensive explanation of the term when he says, “Innovation is doing things out of the box. Letting your mind do things that seem ridiculous at first thought – maybe only because we have been taught that such a thing does not happen. But that is what real new inventions or products are coming from. If we do what every one else is doing, we will not be able to “Discover America” as they say. “ He adds, “Innovation with respect to our jewellery is the act (I would prefer to call it the profound art) of creating jewellery that breaks all the chains of the traditional jewellery norms or concepts and goes beyond – be it in the form of material, product concepts, product categories to using unconventional design/material/manufacturing techniques.”
{{A 360° Affair :}}$$ Calling innovation a 360°affair, {{Tejas Soni,}} Chief Operating Officer of KT Group quotes, “Innovation is the only stuff which helps you to reinvent your company again and again. It is an ongoing process and can be in terms of quality, segments, logistics, marketing, customer service. It is more or less a 360° affair.” He goes on to say, “Innovation is where product segment and the style of the product have to change. Innovation should ease the life.” %% {{ACCEPTANCE OF INNOVATIVE JEWELLERY BY CONSUMER}}$$ Because of recession aftermath, the consumer is more discerning in his or her purchase of luxury goods. The desire for the new and hatke (different) look in attires and accessories is highly prevalent amongst the urbane and new generation. While gems and jewellery manufacturers pool their resources to bring ‘out of the box’ jewellery creations and fancy cuts in gemstones, a question arises how open is the end consumer to jewellery creations beyond the usual motifs and designs? Hemant Shah avers, “Innovation is not just using different motifs... it is about a concept... it is about the material... it is about the positioning... it is about the promotion. The end consumer is very open to innovation in all products - and jewellery is not an exception.” %% {{A Matter of Presentation :}}$$ While consumers are willing to experiment with new jewellery, {{Yash Agarwal}} opines, motifs like flowers, butterflies, leaves, etc have not changed over the ages. Nonetheless, the way you present these motifs makes the design stand out and attract the consumer. For instance if a flower is presented in a normal way, it would look ordinary as compared to the same flower being presented in a different way making it look special and unique.
{{Consumer Always Wanting Something New :}}$$ {{Navneet Goenka,}} Vice-Chairman of Goenka Diamonds and Jewels Limited says, “The consumers today are open with larger variety and options in the market. To lure them is very difficult. Therefore, we have to constantly come up with something new every time. Our designers are constantly visiting tradeshows and are meeting the clientele to offer them the designs that are in trend. Customers have become very choosy and like to adapt the design which looks very different and attractive.” %% {{Urge to Make Better from Consumer’s Liking for the Unknown :}}$$ Citing that the consumer’s penchant for unique jewellery that will set them apart from the crowd provides a stimulus to his company to create something new Hemil Mody says, “As far as the consumers are concerned, they would always like to have something new everyday. In fact, we always welcome our customers to ask this question. It gives us inspiration to work harder and bring something new.” %% {{Target Higher Income Groups to be More Innovative :}}$$ While the customer with a higher disposable income is open to experimenting with various trends and styles of jewellery, says {{Kapil Nevatia,}} the middle class population prefer something more traditional. There would be different designs of jewellery, but it would be in a certain realm. If the jeweller desires to experiment with jewellery, he needs to target the higher income level groups.
{{INNOVATION & INDIA – A MIXED STATE OF AFFAIRS}}
So how much innovative is the Indian gems & jewellery industry? The Indian gem and jewellery industry is one of the highest export-oriented sectors and has total exports going up to US$24849.52mn for the period April 2009 to February 2010. While some believe that the country lags behind in innovation, others take a more diplomatic stance on the issue. %% {{The positives...}}%% {{Faster Growing and Versatile India :}}%% Yash Agarwal is all praises for the nation when he quotes, “India is really growing fast as far as fashion industry is concerned. Innovative things in India are moving much faster as compared to the West. Indian women are more globally aware and fonder of jewellery as compared to women from rest of the world.” He adds, “One of the most innovative and versatile jewellery industries in the world is that of India. Currently, Indians are the biggest players in the world as far as jewellery is concerned. Without them, no one in the jewellery industry can survive right now. If Indians start doing badly in the jewellery industry, the jewellery industry will be shattered in the world.”%% {{India Progress – A Result of Collective Efforts :}}$$ Navneet Goenka is optimistic of India Inc. as an innovator when he says,”India is a hub for diamond buyers. The Indian gem and jewellery industry is very well aware of it and we are taking positive steps to make it more competitive and alluring as compared to other countries. As far as I am concerned, I am quite happy with the Indian gems & jewellery industry progress. We have risen so well from the recession phase. That is because of the collective efforts of the industry.”
{{Every Country is King in its Own Right :}}$$ Citing each country to be a master in its own right, Hemil Mody says, “We are also putting equal efforts like how others are doing. You cannot compare country to country as each country has its own advantages and disadvantages.” %% {{And the Neutral...}}%% {{More Mass Producing Good Quality :}}%% Kapil Nevatia, on a general note, feels that India is not perceived by the foreign market to be very innovative. He quotes, “India is known as a price based for producing jewellery in volume at a reasonable acceptable level of quality. The kind of diamond jewellery that we manufacture has been appreciated abroad. But we still have a long way to go.” %% {{And the negatives...}}%% {{Traders at Heart !}}%% Among the critics is Hemant Shah who quotes, “Very very low... the challenge is that we as an industry are traders at heart! We are not investors and even more so, not wealth creators. For many years, we have just been a hothouse for manufacturing... duplicating designs given to us by our customers - only because we make the less expensive. We have never invested in "creating" - because it does not suit our mindset. We do not have the patience for an idea to germinate... if someone comes to us with an idea, we do not have the patience to let it nurture and grow. We want immediate returns! That does not happen - not even with an Apple! And as with anything new, the first or the second or even the third may not be a success - but then one does need to persevere. Actually, we were best equipped to take the innovation route. We had an industry that was flourishing and had an established base - in term of financial and technical expertise and resources. However, as I said earlier, we do not have the mindset of creators... We are really traders at heart.”
{{Lack of Attitude :}}$$ Tejas Soni attributes the lack of innovation to attitude in the industry when he says, “I think India lags behind. We are efficient and cut down our margins. We do not think in terms of innovation. It is very sad. I think the younger generation is trying to do new things. However, the traditional jewellery companies do not care for innovation. If you see in terms of jewellery or any other segment, you would hardly find any innovation from India. Without innovations, you cannot command margins and you cannot put your money back to research and development. We just follow what the West market has done and we try breaking their margins by few dollars. We are more mass producers than sophisticated high end product manufacturers. It is not that we do not have the knowledge or skill. It is the attitude we lack.” %% Yet there have been a few surprises from India inc. in forms of various patented fancy cuts in loose diamonds, the starting of wax setting, unconventional forms of jewellery like the dokra collection, steel and gold blended diamond jewellery at very low costs and jewellery watches, etc. Nonetheless as Indian companies become more technologically sound with the usage of CAD/CAM as well as CNC tools, one can hope to see innovations in the gem and jewellery industry worldwide that one can label as |*“Made in India”*|.
{{Quotes}}
“Everyone manufactures jewellery; it is the one who does it better and in a different manner that counts and it cannot be copied from company to company. It has to be self-grown with all the intellectual abilities of your individual team members who contribute their ideas and it comes in different decisions, different patterns” – {{Kapil Nevatia,}} |*Sun Jewels*|
“India is really growing fast as far as fashion industry is concerned. Innovative things in India are moving much faster as compared to west. Indian women are more globally aware and fonder of jewellery as compared to women from rest of the world.” – {{Yash Agarwal,}} |*Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas Jewellers*|
“The consumers today are open with larger variety and options in the market. Therefore, we have to constantly come up with something new every time. Our designers are constantly visiting tradeshows and are meeting up with the clientele to offer them the designs that are in trend. Customers have become very choosy and like to adapt design which looks very different and attractive.” – {{Navneet Goenka,}} |*Vice-Chairman of Goenka Diamonds and Jewels Limited*|
“Innovation does not stick to one single process during the designing, manufacturing and marketing of jewellery. For every process in the creation of jewellery, innovation has always had a different meaning” – {{Hemil Mody,}} |*CEO of the Gold Star Jewellery India and Jouel Sculpt Pvt. Ltd*|
“The challenge is that we as an industry are traders at heart! We are not investors and even more so not wealth creators. For many years, we have just been a hothouse for manufacturing... duplicating designs given to us by our customers - only because we make the less expensive” – {{Hemant Shah,}} |*Chief Marketing Officer/Director, Hammer Group*|
“We just follow what the west market has done and we try breaking their margins by few dollars. We are more mass producers than sophisticated high-end product manufacturers. It is not that we do not have the knowledge or skill. It is the attitude we lack” – {{Tejas Soni,}}|* COO, KT Group.*|
{{Diamond World}} discussed with a few leading personalities from the diamond and diamond jewellery manufacturing fraternity about their opinion on innovation and the Indian scenario. {{ATTRIBUTES OF AN INNOVATOR}}$$ {{Steve Jobs }}once said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” How true, isn’t it? An innovator always stands out amongst the crowd and sets the rules for others to follow. So what it takes to be an innovator? Our Indian jewellery manufacturers lend their opinion to what it means to be innovative...%% {{It All Starts from An Idea :}}$$ According to {{Yash Agarwal,}} jewellery designer and director of Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas Jewellers, “Innovation is a conceptualization of any idea. The idea has to click in your mind and you work towards it to innovate a thing under the society’s trends.” %%
{{Innovation Unrestricted :}}$$ {{Hemil Mody,}} CEO of the Gold Star Jewellery India and Jouel Sculpt Pvt. Ltd. feels that innovation does not confine to one single process during the designing, manufacturing and marketing of jewellery. For every process in the creation of jewellery, innovation has always had a different meaning. %% {{The Mark of a Winner :}}$$ Citing {{Shiv Khera’s}} famous tagline, “Winners don’t do different things they do things differently,” {{Kapil Nevatia,}} director of Sunjewels states that while everyone manufactures jewellery, it is those who does it better and in a different matter that counts and it cannot be copied from company to company. It has to be self-grown with all the intellectual abilities of your individual team members who contribute their ideas and it comes in different decisions, different patterns. Innovation can be any aspect of the industry, be it in sales, marketing, production, process. It can be anywhere. %% {{Out of the Box Art :}}$$ Hemant Shah, Chief Marketing Officer & Director of Hammer Group, offers a more comprehensive explanation of the term when he says, “Innovation is doing things out of the box. Letting your mind do things that seem ridiculous at first thought – maybe only because we have been taught that such a thing does not happen. But that is what real new inventions or products are coming from. If we do what every one else is doing, we will not be able to “Discover America” as they say. “ He adds, “Innovation with respect to our jewellery is the act (I would prefer to call it the profound art) of creating jewellery that breaks all the chains of the traditional jewellery norms or concepts and goes beyond – be it in the form of material, product concepts, product categories to using unconventional design/material/manufacturing techniques.”
{{A 360° Affair :}}$$ Calling innovation a 360°affair, {{Tejas Soni,}} Chief Operating Officer of KT Group quotes, “Innovation is the only stuff which helps you to reinvent your company again and again. It is an ongoing process and can be in terms of quality, segments, logistics, marketing, customer service. It is more or less a 360° affair.” He goes on to say, “Innovation is where product segment and the style of the product have to change. Innovation should ease the life.” %% {{ACCEPTANCE OF INNOVATIVE JEWELLERY BY CONSUMER}}$$ Because of recession aftermath, the consumer is more discerning in his or her purchase of luxury goods. The desire for the new and hatke (different) look in attires and accessories is highly prevalent amongst the urbane and new generation. While gems and jewellery manufacturers pool their resources to bring ‘out of the box’ jewellery creations and fancy cuts in gemstones, a question arises how open is the end consumer to jewellery creations beyond the usual motifs and designs? Hemant Shah avers, “Innovation is not just using different motifs... it is about a concept... it is about the material... it is about the positioning... it is about the promotion. The end consumer is very open to innovation in all products - and jewellery is not an exception.” %% {{A Matter of Presentation :}}$$ While consumers are willing to experiment with new jewellery, {{Yash Agarwal}} opines, motifs like flowers, butterflies, leaves, etc have not changed over the ages. Nonetheless, the way you present these motifs makes the design stand out and attract the consumer. For instance if a flower is presented in a normal way, it would look ordinary as compared to the same flower being presented in a different way making it look special and unique.
{{Consumer Always Wanting Something New :}}$$ {{Navneet Goenka,}} Vice-Chairman of Goenka Diamonds and Jewels Limited says, “The consumers today are open with larger variety and options in the market. To lure them is very difficult. Therefore, we have to constantly come up with something new every time. Our designers are constantly visiting tradeshows and are meeting the clientele to offer them the designs that are in trend. Customers have become very choosy and like to adapt the design which looks very different and attractive.” %% {{Urge to Make Better from Consumer’s Liking for the Unknown :}}$$ Citing that the consumer’s penchant for unique jewellery that will set them apart from the crowd provides a stimulus to his company to create something new Hemil Mody says, “As far as the consumers are concerned, they would always like to have something new everyday. In fact, we always welcome our customers to ask this question. It gives us inspiration to work harder and bring something new.” %% {{Target Higher Income Groups to be More Innovative :}}$$ While the customer with a higher disposable income is open to experimenting with various trends and styles of jewellery, says {{Kapil Nevatia,}} the middle class population prefer something more traditional. There would be different designs of jewellery, but it would be in a certain realm. If the jeweller desires to experiment with jewellery, he needs to target the higher income level groups.
{{INNOVATION & INDIA – A MIXED STATE OF AFFAIRS}}
So how much innovative is the Indian gems & jewellery industry? The Indian gem and jewellery industry is one of the highest export-oriented sectors and has total exports going up to US$24849.52mn for the period April 2009 to February 2010. While some believe that the country lags behind in innovation, others take a more diplomatic stance on the issue. %% {{The positives...}}%% {{Faster Growing and Versatile India :}}%% Yash Agarwal is all praises for the nation when he quotes, “India is really growing fast as far as fashion industry is concerned. Innovative things in India are moving much faster as compared to the West. Indian women are more globally aware and fonder of jewellery as compared to women from rest of the world.” He adds, “One of the most innovative and versatile jewellery industries in the world is that of India. Currently, Indians are the biggest players in the world as far as jewellery is concerned. Without them, no one in the jewellery industry can survive right now. If Indians start doing badly in the jewellery industry, the jewellery industry will be shattered in the world.”%% {{India Progress – A Result of Collective Efforts :}}$$ Navneet Goenka is optimistic of India Inc. as an innovator when he says,”India is a hub for diamond buyers. The Indian gem and jewellery industry is very well aware of it and we are taking positive steps to make it more competitive and alluring as compared to other countries. As far as I am concerned, I am quite happy with the Indian gems & jewellery industry progress. We have risen so well from the recession phase. That is because of the collective efforts of the industry.”
{{Every Country is King in its Own Right :}}$$ Citing each country to be a master in its own right, Hemil Mody says, “We are also putting equal efforts like how others are doing. You cannot compare country to country as each country has its own advantages and disadvantages.” %% {{And the Neutral...}}%% {{More Mass Producing Good Quality :}}%% Kapil Nevatia, on a general note, feels that India is not perceived by the foreign market to be very innovative. He quotes, “India is known as a price based for producing jewellery in volume at a reasonable acceptable level of quality. The kind of diamond jewellery that we manufacture has been appreciated abroad. But we still have a long way to go.” %% {{And the negatives...}}%% {{Traders at Heart !}}%% Among the critics is Hemant Shah who quotes, “Very very low... the challenge is that we as an industry are traders at heart! We are not investors and even more so, not wealth creators. For many years, we have just been a hothouse for manufacturing... duplicating designs given to us by our customers - only because we make the less expensive. We have never invested in "creating" - because it does not suit our mindset. We do not have the patience for an idea to germinate... if someone comes to us with an idea, we do not have the patience to let it nurture and grow. We want immediate returns! That does not happen - not even with an Apple! And as with anything new, the first or the second or even the third may not be a success - but then one does need to persevere. Actually, we were best equipped to take the innovation route. We had an industry that was flourishing and had an established base - in term of financial and technical expertise and resources. However, as I said earlier, we do not have the mindset of creators... We are really traders at heart.”
{{Lack of Attitude :}}$$ Tejas Soni attributes the lack of innovation to attitude in the industry when he says, “I think India lags behind. We are efficient and cut down our margins. We do not think in terms of innovation. It is very sad. I think the younger generation is trying to do new things. However, the traditional jewellery companies do not care for innovation. If you see in terms of jewellery or any other segment, you would hardly find any innovation from India. Without innovations, you cannot command margins and you cannot put your money back to research and development. We just follow what the West market has done and we try breaking their margins by few dollars. We are more mass producers than sophisticated high end product manufacturers. It is not that we do not have the knowledge or skill. It is the attitude we lack.” %% Yet there have been a few surprises from India inc. in forms of various patented fancy cuts in loose diamonds, the starting of wax setting, unconventional forms of jewellery like the dokra collection, steel and gold blended diamond jewellery at very low costs and jewellery watches, etc. Nonetheless as Indian companies become more technologically sound with the usage of CAD/CAM as well as CNC tools, one can hope to see innovations in the gem and jewellery industry worldwide that one can label as |*“Made in India”*|.
{{Quotes}}
“Everyone manufactures jewellery; it is the one who does it better and in a different manner that counts and it cannot be copied from company to company. It has to be self-grown with all the intellectual abilities of your individual team members who contribute their ideas and it comes in different decisions, different patterns” – {{Kapil Nevatia,}} |*Sun Jewels*|
“India is really growing fast as far as fashion industry is concerned. Innovative things in India are moving much faster as compared to west. Indian women are more globally aware and fonder of jewellery as compared to women from rest of the world.” – {{Yash Agarwal,}} |*Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas Jewellers*|
“The consumers today are open with larger variety and options in the market. Therefore, we have to constantly come up with something new every time. Our designers are constantly visiting tradeshows and are meeting up with the clientele to offer them the designs that are in trend. Customers have become very choosy and like to adapt design which looks very different and attractive.” – {{Navneet Goenka,}} |*Vice-Chairman of Goenka Diamonds and Jewels Limited*|
“Innovation does not stick to one single process during the designing, manufacturing and marketing of jewellery. For every process in the creation of jewellery, innovation has always had a different meaning” – {{Hemil Mody,}} |*CEO of the Gold Star Jewellery India and Jouel Sculpt Pvt. Ltd*|
“The challenge is that we as an industry are traders at heart! We are not investors and even more so not wealth creators. For many years, we have just been a hothouse for manufacturing... duplicating designs given to us by our customers - only because we make the less expensive” – {{Hemant Shah,}} |*Chief Marketing Officer/Director, Hammer Group*|
“We just follow what the west market has done and we try breaking their margins by few dollars. We are more mass producers than sophisticated high-end product manufacturers. It is not that we do not have the knowledge or skill. It is the attitude we lack” – {{Tejas Soni,}}|* COO, KT Group.*|
{{Diamond World}} discussed with a few leading personalities from the diamond and diamond jewellery manufacturing fraternity about their opinion on innovation and the Indian scenario. {{ATTRIBUTES OF AN INNOVATOR}}$$ {{Steve Jobs }}once said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” How true, isn’t it? An innovator always stands out amongst the crowd and sets the rules for others to follow. So what it takes to be an innovator? Our Indian jewellery manufacturers lend their opinion to what it means to be innovative...%% {{It All Starts from An Idea :}}$$ According to {{Yash Agarwal,}} jewellery designer and director of Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas Jewellers, “Innovation is a conceptualization of any idea. The idea has to click in your mind and you work towards it to innovate a thing under the society’s trends.” %%
{{Innovation Unrestricted :}}$$ {{Hemil Mody,}} CEO of the Gold Star Jewellery India and Jouel Sculpt Pvt. Ltd. feels that innovation does not confine to one single process during the designing, manufacturing and marketing of jewellery. For every process in the creation of jewellery, innovation has always had a different meaning. %% {{The Mark of a Winner :}}$$ Citing {{Shiv Khera’s}} famous tagline, “Winners don’t do different things they do things differently,” {{Kapil Nevatia,}} director of Sunjewels states that while everyone manufactures jewellery, it is those who does it better and in a different matter that counts and it cannot be copied from company to company. It has to be self-grown with all the intellectual abilities of your individual team members who contribute their ideas and it comes in different decisions, different patterns. Innovation can be any aspect of the industry, be it in sales, marketing, production, process. It can be anywhere. %% {{Out of the Box Art :}}$$ Hemant Shah, Chief Marketing Officer & Director of Hammer Group, offers a more comprehensive explanation of the term when he says, “Innovation is doing things out of the box. Letting your mind do things that seem ridiculous at first thought – maybe only because we have been taught that such a thing does not happen. But that is what real new inventions or products are coming from. If we do what every one else is doing, we will not be able to “Discover America” as they say. “ He adds, “Innovation with respect to our jewellery is the act (I would prefer to call it the profound art) of creating jewellery that breaks all the chains of the traditional jewellery norms or concepts and goes beyond – be it in the form of material, product concepts, product categories to using unconventional design/material/manufacturing techniques.”
{{A 360° Affair :}}$$ Calling innovation a 360°affair, {{Tejas Soni,}} Chief Operating Officer of KT Group quotes, “Innovation is the only stuff which helps you to reinvent your company again and again. It is an ongoing process and can be in terms of quality, segments, logistics, marketing, customer service. It is more or less a 360° affair.” He goes on to say, “Innovation is where product segment and the style of the product have to change. Innovation should ease the life.” %% {{ACCEPTANCE OF INNOVATIVE JEWELLERY BY CONSUMER}}$$ Because of recession aftermath, the consumer is more discerning in his or her purchase of luxury goods. The desire for the new and hatke (different) look in attires and accessories is highly prevalent amongst the urbane and new generation. While gems and jewellery manufacturers pool their resources to bring ‘out of the box’ jewellery creations and fancy cuts in gemstones, a question arises how open is the end consumer to jewellery creations beyond the usual motifs and designs? Hemant Shah avers, “Innovation is not just using different motifs... it is about a concept... it is about the material... it is about the positioning... it is about the promotion. The end consumer is very open to innovation in all products - and jewellery is not an exception.” %% {{A Matter of Presentation :}}$$ While consumers are willing to experiment with new jewellery, {{Yash Agarwal}} opines, motifs like flowers, butterflies, leaves, etc have not changed over the ages. Nonetheless, the way you present these motifs makes the design stand out and attract the consumer. For instance if a flower is presented in a normal way, it would look ordinary as compared to the same flower being presented in a different way making it look special and unique.
{{Consumer Always Wanting Something New :}}$$ {{Navneet Goenka,}} Vice-Chairman of Goenka Diamonds and Jewels Limited says, “The consumers today are open with larger variety and options in the market. To lure them is very difficult. Therefore, we have to constantly come up with something new every time. Our designers are constantly visiting tradeshows and are meeting the clientele to offer them the designs that are in trend. Customers have become very choosy and like to adapt the design which looks very different and attractive.” %% {{Urge to Make Better from Consumer’s Liking for the Unknown :}}$$ Citing that the consumer’s penchant for unique jewellery that will set them apart from the crowd provides a stimulus to his company to create something new Hemil Mody says, “As far as the consumers are concerned, they would always like to have something new everyday. In fact, we always welcome our customers to ask this question. It gives us inspiration to work harder and bring something new.” %% {{Target Higher Income Groups to be More Innovative :}}$$ While the customer with a higher disposable income is open to experimenting with various trends and styles of jewellery, says {{Kapil Nevatia,}} the middle class population prefer something more traditional. There would be different designs of jewellery, but it would be in a certain realm. If the jeweller desires to experiment with jewellery, he needs to target the higher income level groups.
{{INNOVATION & INDIA – A MIXED STATE OF AFFAIRS}}
So how much innovative is the Indian gems & jewellery industry? The Indian gem and jewellery industry is one of the highest export-oriented sectors and has total exports going up to US$24849.52mn for the period April 2009 to February 2010. While some believe that the country lags behind in innovation, others take a more diplomatic stance on the issue. %% {{The positives...}}%% {{Faster Growing and Versatile India :}}%% Yash Agarwal is all praises for the nation when he quotes, “India is really growing fast as far as fashion industry is concerned. Innovative things in India are moving much faster as compared to the West. Indian women are more globally aware and fonder of jewellery as compared to women from rest of the world.” He adds, “One of the most innovative and versatile jewellery industries in the world is that of India. Currently, Indians are the biggest players in the world as far as jewellery is concerned. Without them, no one in the jewellery industry can survive right now. If Indians start doing badly in the jewellery industry, the jewellery industry will be shattered in the world.”%% {{India Progress – A Result of Collective Efforts :}}$$ Navneet Goenka is optimistic of India Inc. as an innovator when he says,”India is a hub for diamond buyers. The Indian gem and jewellery industry is very well aware of it and we are taking positive steps to make it more competitive and alluring as compared to other countries. As far as I am concerned, I am quite happy with the Indian gems & jewellery industry progress. We have risen so well from the recession phase. That is because of the collective efforts of the industry.”
{{Every Country is King in its Own Right :}}$$ Citing each country to be a master in its own right, Hemil Mody says, “We are also putting equal efforts like how others are doing. You cannot compare country to country as each country has its own advantages and disadvantages.” %% {{And the Neutral...}}%% {{More Mass Producing Good Quality :}}%% Kapil Nevatia, on a general note, feels that India is not perceived by the foreign market to be very innovative. He quotes, “India is known as a price based for producing jewellery in volume at a reasonable acceptable level of quality. The kind of diamond jewellery that we manufacture has been appreciated abroad. But we still have a long way to go.” %% {{And the negatives...}}%% {{Traders at Heart !}}%% Among the critics is Hemant Shah who quotes, “Very very low... the challenge is that we as an industry are traders at heart! We are not investors and even more so, not wealth creators. For many years, we have just been a hothouse for manufacturing... duplicating designs given to us by our customers - only because we make the less expensive. We have never invested in "creating" - because it does not suit our mindset. We do not have the patience for an idea to germinate... if someone comes to us with an idea, we do not have the patience to let it nurture and grow. We want immediate returns! That does not happen - not even with an Apple! And as with anything new, the first or the second or even the third may not be a success - but then one does need to persevere. Actually, we were best equipped to take the innovation route. We had an industry that was flourishing and had an established base - in term of financial and technical expertise and resources. However, as I said earlier, we do not have the mindset of creators... We are really traders at heart.”
{{Lack of Attitude :}}$$ Tejas Soni attributes the lack of innovation to attitude in the industry when he says, “I think India lags behind. We are efficient and cut down our margins. We do not think in terms of innovation. It is very sad. I think the younger generation is trying to do new things. However, the traditional jewellery companies do not care for innovation. If you see in terms of jewellery or any other segment, you would hardly find any innovation from India. Without innovations, you cannot command margins and you cannot put your money back to research and development. We just follow what the West market has done and we try breaking their margins by few dollars. We are more mass producers than sophisticated high end product manufacturers. It is not that we do not have the knowledge or skill. It is the attitude we lack.” %% Yet there have been a few surprises from India inc. in forms of various patented fancy cuts in loose diamonds, the starting of wax setting, unconventional forms of jewellery like the dokra collection, steel and gold blended diamond jewellery at very low costs and jewellery watches, etc. Nonetheless as Indian companies become more technologically sound with the usage of CAD/CAM as well as CNC tools, one can hope to see innovations in the gem and jewellery industry worldwide that one can label as |*“Made in India”*|.
{{Quotes}}
“Everyone manufactures jewellery; it is the one who does it better and in a different manner that counts and it cannot be copied from company to company. It has to be self-grown with all the intellectual abilities of your individual team members who contribute their ideas and it comes in different decisions, different patterns” – {{Kapil Nevatia,}} |*Sun Jewels*|
“India is really growing fast as far as fashion industry is concerned. Innovative things in India are moving much faster as compared to west. Indian women are more globally aware and fonder of jewellery as compared to women from rest of the world.” – {{Yash Agarwal,}} |*Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas Jewellers*|
“The consumers today are open with larger variety and options in the market. Therefore, we have to constantly come up with something new every time. Our designers are constantly visiting tradeshows and are meeting up with the clientele to offer them the designs that are in trend. Customers have become very choosy and like to adapt design which looks very different and attractive.” – {{Navneet Goenka,}} |*Vice-Chairman of Goenka Diamonds and Jewels Limited*|
“Innovation does not stick to one single process during the designing, manufacturing and marketing of jewellery. For every process in the creation of jewellery, innovation has always had a different meaning” – {{Hemil Mody,}} |*CEO of the Gold Star Jewellery India and Jouel Sculpt Pvt. Ltd*|
“The challenge is that we as an industry are traders at heart! We are not investors and even more so not wealth creators. For many years, we have just been a hothouse for manufacturing... duplicating designs given to us by our customers - only because we make the less expensive” – {{Hemant Shah,}} |*Chief Marketing Officer/Director, Hammer Group*|
“We just follow what the west market has done and we try breaking their margins by few dollars. We are more mass producers than sophisticated high-end product manufacturers. It is not that we do not have the knowledge or skill. It is the attitude we lack” – {{Tejas Soni,}}|* COO, KT Group.*|
{{Diamond World}} discussed with a few leading personalities from the diamond and diamond jewellery manufacturing fraternity about their opinion on innovation and the Indian scenario. {{ATTRIBUTES OF AN INNOVATOR}}$$ {{Steve Jobs }}once said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” How true, isn’t it? An innovator always stands out amongst the crowd and sets the rules for others to follow. So what it takes to be an innovator? Our Indian jewellery manufacturers lend their opinion to what it means to be innovative...%% {{It All Starts from An Idea :}}$$ According to {{Yash Agarwal,}} jewellery designer and director of Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas Jewellers, “Innovation is a conceptualization of any idea. The idea has to click in your mind and you work towards it to innovate a thing under the society’s trends.” %%
{{Innovation Unrestricted :}}$$ {{Hemil Mody,}} CEO of the Gold Star Jewellery India and Jouel Sculpt Pvt. Ltd. feels that innovation does not confine to one single process during the designing, manufacturing and marketing of jewellery. For every process in the creation of jewellery, innovation has always had a different meaning. %% {{The Mark of a Winner :}}$$ Citing {{Shiv Khera’s}} famous tagline, “Winners don’t do different things they do things differently,” {{Kapil Nevatia,}} director of Sunjewels states that while everyone manufactures jewellery, it is those who does it better and in a different matter that counts and it cannot be copied from company to company. It has to be self-grown with all the intellectual abilities of your individual team members who contribute their ideas and it comes in different decisions, different patterns. Innovation can be any aspect of the industry, be it in sales, marketing, production, process. It can be anywhere. %% {{Out of the Box Art :}}$$ Hemant Shah, Chief Marketing Officer & Director of Hammer Group, offers a more comprehensive explanation of the term when he says, “Innovation is doing things out of the box. Letting your mind do things that seem ridiculous at first thought – maybe only because we have been taught that such a thing does not happen. But that is what real new inventions or products are coming from. If we do what every one else is doing, we will not be able to “Discover America” as they say. “ He adds, “Innovation with respect to our jewellery is the act (I would prefer to call it the profound art) of creating jewellery that breaks all the chains of the traditional jewellery norms or concepts and goes beyond – be it in the form of material, product concepts, product categories to using unconventional design/material/manufacturing techniques.”
{{A 360° Affair :}}$$ Calling innovation a 360°affair, {{Tejas Soni,}} Chief Operating Officer of KT Group quotes, “Innovation is the only stuff which helps you to reinvent your company again and again. It is an ongoing process and can be in terms of quality, segments, logistics, marketing, customer service. It is more or less a 360° affair.” He goes on to say, “Innovation is where product segment and the style of the product have to change. Innovation should ease the life.” %% {{ACCEPTANCE OF INNOVATIVE JEWELLERY BY CONSUMER}}$$ Because of recession aftermath, the consumer is more discerning in his or her purchase of luxury goods. The desire for the new and hatke (different) look in attires and accessories is highly prevalent amongst the urbane and new generation. While gems and jewellery manufacturers pool their resources to bring ‘out of the box’ jewellery creations and fancy cuts in gemstones, a question arises how open is the end consumer to jewellery creations beyond the usual motifs and designs? Hemant Shah avers, “Innovation is not just using different motifs... it is about a concept... it is about the material... it is about the positioning... it is about the promotion. The end consumer is very open to innovation in all products - and jewellery is not an exception.” %% {{A Matter of Presentation :}}$$ While consumers are willing to experiment with new jewellery, {{Yash Agarwal}} opines, motifs like flowers, butterflies, leaves, etc have not changed over the ages. Nonetheless, the way you present these motifs makes the design stand out and attract the consumer. For instance if a flower is presented in a normal way, it would look ordinary as compared to the same flower being presented in a different way making it look special and unique.
{{Consumer Always Wanting Something New :}}$$ {{Navneet Goenka,}} Vice-Chairman of Goenka Diamonds and Jewels Limited says, “The consumers today are open with larger variety and options in the market. To lure them is very difficult. Therefore, we have to constantly come up with something new every time. Our designers are constantly visiting tradeshows and are meeting the clientele to offer them the designs that are in trend. Customers have become very choosy and like to adapt the design which looks very different and attractive.” %% {{Urge to Make Better from Consumer’s Liking for the Unknown :}}$$ Citing that the consumer’s penchant for unique jewellery that will set them apart from the crowd provides a stimulus to his company to create something new Hemil Mody says, “As far as the consumers are concerned, they would always like to have something new everyday. In fact, we always welcome our customers to ask this question. It gives us inspiration to work harder and bring something new.” %% {{Target Higher Income Groups to be More Innovative :}}$$ While the customer with a higher disposable income is open to experimenting with various trends and styles of jewellery, says {{Kapil Nevatia,}} the middle class population prefer something more traditional. There would be different designs of jewellery, but it would be in a certain realm. If the jeweller desires to experiment with jewellery, he needs to target the higher income level groups.
{{INNOVATION & INDIA – A MIXED STATE OF AFFAIRS}}
So how much innovative is the Indian gems & jewellery industry? The Indian gem and jewellery industry is one of the highest export-oriented sectors and has total exports going up to US$24849.52mn for the period April 2009 to February 2010. While some believe that the country lags behind in innovation, others take a more diplomatic stance on the issue. %% {{The positives...}}%% {{Faster Growing and Versatile India :}}%% Yash Agarwal is all praises for the nation when he quotes, “India is really growing fast as far as fashion industry is concerned. Innovative things in India are moving much faster as compared to the West. Indian women are more globally aware and fonder of jewellery as compared to women from rest of the world.” He adds, “One of the most innovative and versatile jewellery industries in the world is that of India. Currently, Indians are the biggest players in the world as far as jewellery is concerned. Without them, no one in the jewellery industry can survive right now. If Indians start doing badly in the jewellery industry, the jewellery industry will be shattered in the world.”%% {{India Progress – A Result of Collective Efforts :}}$$ Navneet Goenka is optimistic of India Inc. as an innovator when he says,”India is a hub for diamond buyers. The Indian gem and jewellery industry is very well aware of it and we are taking positive steps to make it more competitive and alluring as compared to other countries. As far as I am concerned, I am quite happy with the Indian gems & jewellery industry progress. We have risen so well from the recession phase. That is because of the collective efforts of the industry.”
{{Every Country is King in its Own Right :}}$$ Citing each country to be a master in its own right, Hemil Mody says, “We are also putting equal efforts like how others are doing. You cannot compare country to country as each country has its own advantages and disadvantages.” %% {{And the Neutral...}}%% {{More Mass Producing Good Quality :}}%% Kapil Nevatia, on a general note, feels that India is not perceived by the foreign market to be very innovative. He quotes, “India is known as a price based for producing jewellery in volume at a reasonable acceptable level of quality. The kind of diamond jewellery that we manufacture has been appreciated abroad. But we still have a long way to go.” %% {{And the negatives...}}%% {{Traders at Heart !}}%% Among the critics is Hemant Shah who quotes, “Very very low... the challenge is that we as an industry are traders at heart! We are not investors and even more so, not wealth creators. For many years, we have just been a hothouse for manufacturing... duplicating designs given to us by our customers - only because we make the less expensive. We have never invested in "creating" - because it does not suit our mindset. We do not have the patience for an idea to germinate... if someone comes to us with an idea, we do not have the patience to let it nurture and grow. We want immediate returns! That does not happen - not even with an Apple! And as with anything new, the first or the second or even the third may not be a success - but then one does need to persevere. Actually, we were best equipped to take the innovation route. We had an industry that was flourishing and had an established base - in term of financial and technical expertise and resources. However, as I said earlier, we do not have the mindset of creators... We are really traders at heart.”
{{Lack of Attitude :}}$$ Tejas Soni attributes the lack of innovation to attitude in the industry when he says, “I think India lags behind. We are efficient and cut down our margins. We do not think in terms of innovation. It is very sad. I think the younger generation is trying to do new things. However, the traditional jewellery companies do not care for innovation. If you see in terms of jewellery or any other segment, you would hardly find any innovation from India. Without innovations, you cannot command margins and you cannot put your money back to research and development. We just follow what the West market has done and we try breaking their margins by few dollars. We are more mass producers than sophisticated high end product manufacturers. It is not that we do not have the knowledge or skill. It is the attitude we lack.” %% Yet there have been a few surprises from India inc. in forms of various patented fancy cuts in loose diamonds, the starting of wax setting, unconventional forms of jewellery like the dokra collection, steel and gold blended diamond jewellery at very low costs and jewellery watches, etc. Nonetheless as Indian companies become more technologically sound with the usage of CAD/CAM as well as CNC tools, one can hope to see innovations in the gem and jewellery industry worldwide that one can label as |*“Made in India”*|.
{{Quotes}}
“Everyone manufactures jewellery; it is the one who does it better and in a different manner that counts and it cannot be copied from company to company. It has to be self-grown with all the intellectual abilities of your individual team members who contribute their ideas and it comes in different decisions, different patterns” – {{Kapil Nevatia,}} |*Sun Jewels*|
“India is really growing fast as far as fashion industry is concerned. Innovative things in India are moving much faster as compared to west. Indian women are more globally aware and fonder of jewellery as compared to women from rest of the world.” – {{Yash Agarwal,}} |*Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas Jewellers*|
“The consumers today are open with larger variety and options in the market. Therefore, we have to constantly come up with something new every time. Our designers are constantly visiting tradeshows and are meeting up with the clientele to offer them the designs that are in trend. Customers have become very choosy and like to adapt design which looks very different and attractive.” – {{Navneet Goenka,}} |*Vice-Chairman of Goenka Diamonds and Jewels Limited*|
“Innovation does not stick to one single process during the designing, manufacturing and marketing of jewellery. For every process in the creation of jewellery, innovation has always had a different meaning” – {{Hemil Mody,}} |*CEO of the Gold Star Jewellery India and Jouel Sculpt Pvt. Ltd*|
“The challenge is that we as an industry are traders at heart! We are not investors and even more so not wealth creators. For many years, we have just been a hothouse for manufacturing... duplicating designs given to us by our customers - only because we make the less expensive” – {{Hemant Shah,}} |*Chief Marketing Officer/Director, Hammer Group*|
“We just follow what the west market has done and we try breaking their margins by few dollars. We are more mass producers than sophisticated high-end product manufacturers. It is not that we do not have the knowledge or skill. It is the attitude we lack” – {{Tejas Soni,}}|* COO, KT Group.*|
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