Chennai: Despite the prices of gold witnessing sharp fluctuations and the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on economy, jewellers are going ahead with their expansion and other plans.
“In India, gold is not only considered auspicious, it also is a primary instrument of saving and investment across strata,” says Shankar P, an investment advisor.
While the international gold prices are transparent and uniform custom duty and taxes are applied across the globe, in India, there exists a disparity across States in the rates of gold, even though gold is primarily sourced from the same designated banks.
Such differentiated pricing of gold, which is essentially a commodity of specified and measurable quality, does not favour consumer interest. In some cases, the price difference between the States with highest gold rates and lowest rates is as high as Rs 400 per gram.
In a bid to address this, Malabar Gold & Diamonds has launched ‘One India One Gold Rate’ – an initiative offering uniform gold rate across all States in the country for “100 per cent BIS hallmarked and responsible sourced gold”.
Asher Ottamoochikkal, MD India Operations, Malabar Gold and Diamonds said, “It is time for the Indian gold sector to set a standard in pricing, sourcing esponsibly, and exchange policies to build a sustainable ecosystem.”
Meanwhile, Kirtilals has launched its second showroom in Chennai at Annanagar. To mark the launch, Kirtilals has announced an offer of Rs 7000 off per carat on diamond jewellery, valid till 31 October.
Kirtilals has also announced a Covid-19 health care policy with an insurance coverage of Rs 5 lakh across all its showrooms.
Suraj Shantakumar, director – business strategy, Kirtilals, said, “it gives us immense pleasure to launch our second showroom at Chennai. We aim to provide a unique jewellery shopping experience with a world-class retail ambience and personal interaction for our customers.”
New Guinness record
The New Guinness world record for most diamonds set in one ring has been achieved by Kotti Srikanth, owner of The Diamond Store by Chandubhai in Hyderabad. A total of 7,801 natural diamonds have been used in curating the ring named ‘The Divine – 7801 Brahma Vajra Kamalam’.
This is the first Guinness record in jewellery achieved in south India. The name of the ring is inspired from Brahma Kamalam, a rare Flower found in the Himalayas which is considered sacred and also has medicinal properties.