March 2005
Sparkling diamond taking the lead in gold-crazy
India
Kolkata: The
sparkle in diamonds has only grown brighter, according to
the trade circles here in the city of joy. Traders, doing
a brisk business, see increased awareness about the resale
value of diamond jewellery and aggressive marketing drive
behind the emerging trend. Conventional buyers, who opted
for gold earlier due to diamond being comparatively expensive,
are turning towards the gem with slick designs and light weight
ornaments available in plenty in the market. Premji Sengupta,
Managing Director of Eastern Region Diamond Trading Corporation,
said the city which is known for its obsession for gold, has
seen a major jump in the diamond market. "The Kolkata market
has grown by more than 50 percent, I mean to say what was
in 2002 and 2004, the compounded growth has been more than
50 percent, which is a very phenomenal growth in my opinion.
Kolkata has always been a gold-centric market," he said.
Sengupta said
much of the jump in sales is due to an aggressive marketing
campaign launched by the Diamond Trading Corporation. A large
number of buyers, who seem to be completely taken away by
the marketing strategies, find investing in diamonds a profitable
investment. "It looks beautiful, diamonds, and these days
in terms of assets, it is better to buy diamonds than investing
it elsewhere. It has a good return value these days so it's
a very profitable investment," said Rita, a buyer. Buyers
now look for the 4Cs- Cut, Colour, Clarity and Carat while
purchasing diamond jewellery. With some 3 million people employed
in the precious metals sector, India, the world's largest
diamond cutting and polishing centre, accounts for 70 percent
of the world polished diamond market and 6 percent of the
jewellery market in value terms. Nearly 40 percent of India's
exports of gems and jewelleries go to the United States, which
buys half the world's jewellery. India's other main markets
for diamonds and studded ornaments are Hong Kong and Belgium.
India is the world's largest consumer and importer of gold,
with an annual demand of about 600 tonnes.
Over the generations,
Indian households and temples have accumulated about 15,000
tonnes of the yellow metal. The cutting and polishing of Diamonds
and precious stones is one of the oldest traditions in India
and the country has earned considerable goodwill, both, in
the domestic and international markets for its skills and
creativity. India was also the first country to have introduced
diamonds to the world. The country was the first to mine diamonds,
cut and polish them and also trade them. For around 2,700
years back, i.e. from 9th Century BC to mid 18th Century AD,
India was the leading producer of Diamonds. Gems and Jewellery
industry is the leading foreign exchange earner for the country.
It is also one of the fastest growing Industries in the country.
It is an artistic and creative industry and in the world no
other country could match India in the cutting of gemstones
and crafting of beautiful and fine jewellery. The importance
and attraction of the Industry can be judged by the fact that
over 1 million people are employed in the industry and it
is still growing at the rate of approximately 15 % every year.
The biggest advantage that Indian Jewellery has is its low
cost. The diamond jewellery, which is produced between 60
dollars and 90 dollars, the overseas importer sells for 180
dollars. In other words, there is considerable value addition.
The current consumption of gold in India is estimated at over
900 tonnes used mostly in 20 / 22 carat jewellery. India accounts
for nearly 55% of the world's net exports of cut and polished
diamonds in value terms, 90% in terms of pieces and 80% in
terms of carats. It is therefore not surprising that there
are chances that nine of ten diamonds in the world would have
been cut and polished in India. India today occupies top position
in importing, processing and exporting diamonds. Of the total
world exports of 27.25 million carats of cut and polished
diamonds, more than 70 % exports are from India.
-Mar 28, 2005
Amrita Thapar crowned Miss India Universe
Mumbai: Amrita
Thapar,a 23-year-old fashion designer from Pune was crowned
Miss India Universe 2005 at a glittering function in Mumbai
late on Sunday. The daughter of a Pune based army officer,
Amrita clinched the coveted trophy with her quick witted replies
to questions posed by Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor. Asked
by Kapoor to describe herself in one line, the vibrant Thapar
quite aptly termed herself as alive and kicking. The five
feet-eight inch beauty has dabbled in modelling before and
was crowned as hometown beauty queen two years back. Amrita's
mother Mona Thapar, a school teacher, was thrilled at her
daughter's success. "I am on the top of the world, I am really
very happy that she has won the crown. I had taught Amrita,
as I was her teacher also. Beauty is not from outside, one
who is beautiful from speech, deeds and from the heart, only
that person is beautiful and will win the crown," she said.
Coming in a close second was southern India's Sindhura Gadde.
A former news presenter in New Zealand, she is presently a
pharmacy student. Thapar and Gadde will represent India at
the Miss Universe 2005 and Miss World 2005 pageants respectively
later this year. Niharika Singh, music video artist, was crowned
Miss India Earth 2005. "I am having the best of time of my
life. I am feeling on top of the world. It's just God's grace,"
said Niharika. The three ladies beat 23 final contestants,
who had been handpicked from over 9,000 applications and a
gruelling four month-long selection procedure. Celebrity judge
Kapoor was proud of her panel's choices saying they had tested
the girls for complete and not just outward beauty. "Firstly
of course they are beautiful and also we judged them the way
they answered, that was more important. As when you go to
an international pageant and when they will go to represent
our country, they will have to speak very well and have to
come out very clearly. So I think that's what was we judged
them for. I think the winners are absolutely stunning," she
said. India has so far won eight international beauty pageants,
including two Miss Universe titles. The slew of pageant victories
has boosted the country's nascent fashion industry triggering
a craze amongst young urban boys and girls, who are increasingly
seeking it as a serious career option.
-Mar 28, 2005
Delhi awaits Fashion Extravaganza!
New Delhi:
Come April 20 and New Delhi will host India's much awaited
fashion extravaganza. The Fashion Design Council of India
(FDCI) has said that 61 fashion designers would showcase their
collections during 39 fashion shows at the India Fashion Week
(IFW) which begins next month at the Grand Hotel. Four designers
would be making their debut at the IFW this year. "This is
as you know the sixth year of the show. There have been five
years before this. And every year it has grown in strength.
There is more designer interest and more designers wanting
to participate. That itself reflects the success of the show
because designers, apart from being creative people, are also
business like people. And they want their business to improve.
They do know that India Fashion Week gives them a forum where
they can meet buyers, new buyers, showcase their ware and
get into the market," said Vijay Jha, Director-General, FDCI.
An elated Rohit Gandhi says he will present an entirely new
Gothic collection. "This year our collections are totally
different, moods are totally different. Few years back they
were very combat, last year it was very pretty, very feminine.
This year it is very Gothic, a lot of velvet, a lot of ace,
a lot of silk and lots of crystals, we have used in our collection,"
he said. The seven days of frenzied business activity will
focus on pret- a-porter or ready-to-wear collections and upmarket
range of clothes by eminent designers. Besides offering fashion
designers a platform to unveil their designs, the annual IFW
has become a showcase for India's best - models, make-up trends,
hairstyles and accessories. Nearly 400 buyers from world over
are expected to have a peek at the Indian ensemble. Last year
the fashion week saw the presence of international buyers
Saks and Browns from London. Today the national fashion design
industry is worth 1.8 billion dollars, which is growing at
20 per cent, in the 35 billion dollars global fashion market.
-Mar 11, 2005
Swarovski reaches Kolkata
Kolkata: Kolkata
joined an elite group of three other cities, London, Zurich
and Hong Kong on Sunday when Swarovski launched its Tropical
Crystal Collection here during a fashion show. Models decked
in crystal finery were all around to be seen inside the five-star
hotel venue, while an appreciative audience gawked at the
superb jewellery. Crystals of different colours sparkled on
necks, wrists, fingers and ears as the models posed for the
photographers. Celebrity designer Sharbari Dutta was charmed
by the beauty of the crystals, as did others. "This is for
the first time that Swarovski is having the fashion show in
Kolkata and we are very much eager to see the products and
this is very much in fashion so there is a lot of enthusiasm
for this show," said Sharbari Dutta, a fashion designer. Crystal
items are considered to be superb gifts, which suit most pockets.
" Swarovski starts from thousand rupees and goes upto forty-fifty
thousand rupees so generally I feel that these days if you
have to gift some one worth over thousand rupees, Swarovski
is the best," said Udayan Bhattacharya, local resident. Continuing
its tradition of launching two collections with a theme, this
year Swarovski chose Tropical collection for the spring summer
launch. Residents of Kolkata have a taste and penchant for
exquisite crystals, as well as income and lifestyle to indulge
this craving. "Swarovski launches two collections every year.
This year the international theme that we have chosen is Tropical
Collection which is spring summer collection launch and Kolkata
is joining the select set top world capitals like Zurich,
Hong Kong, New York, London and we have decided to launch
Tropical theme in Kolkata, because Kolkata has a lot of potential
for both fashion and high style living," said Shiv Kumar,
Country Manager, Consumer Business, Swarovski.
-Mar 8, 2005
Lata launches
signature diamond jewellery range
Mumbai: Lata
Mangeshkar, the doyen of Bollywood playback singing on Wednesday
launched her signature collection of diamond jewellery through
a tie-up with a leading diamond manufacturer. Mangeshkar,
75 popularly known as the Nightingale of India, said that
she had designed her collection keeping in mind the personal
feelings of her clients. "The designs, some of them are modern
and some my own. I have also incorporated few designs which
they have created. They are beautiful," Mangeshkar said. Going
indepth into the intricacies of jewellery designing, Lata
said that she had opted to adorn her collection with Maharashtrian
and Goanese patterns. Born on September 28, 1929 in western
Indore, Mangeshkar who is known for versatility, has lent
her voice for all kinds of music ranging from ghazals to devotional
songs to pop music to Bollywood romantic songs. Mangeshkar,
a Bharat Ratna awardee, India's highest civilian decoration,
has sung over 50,000 songs in 20 varied languages. With a
career span of more than half a century, Mangeshkar is a hearthrob
of millions of people who find her enigmatic voice more enchanting
with each passing year. Mangeshkar, who began her singing
career at an early age, took her singing classes from her
father Dinanath Mangeshkar who owned a theatrical company
and was a classical singer. Music running in the family, Mangeshkar's
two sisters, Asha and Usha, and brother Hridayanath, are also
in the same field.
-Mar 3, 2005
