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Bedazzled
Diamonds from Antwerp? But, then, it?s not just diamonds per se that I am looking for at your outlet. Can you show me something? say, a pendant or ear-rings which have diamonds studded in them??
Diamonds from Antwerp? But, then, it’s not just diamonds per se that I am looking for at your outlet. Can you show me something… say, a pendant or ear-rings which have diamonds studded in them?”
Now, that’s a typical conversation you would overhear in a jewellery shop. Move over gold, the shine just got brighter! In good ol’ Lucknow, the glitterati have moved on to… yup! the dazzling diamonds!
Ask OP Agarwal. He would know. The president of the UP Sarafa Federation says, “Suddenly, diamonds are a huge fashion statement and they go with all types and styles of dresses. In the entire UP region, there is a huge demand for diamond-studded jewellery. And, diamonds are in fact, the USP of gold jewellery in India now”.
There are various combinations of jewellery where diamonds are being increasingly preferred in the City of Nawabs. Topping the list is diamond-studded platinum jewellery which is twice as expensive. “Platinum had always been an expensive proposition but fashion trends are not bound by the moolah crunch.
Those who can afford it… go for it,” says Agarwal.
Smita Sinha, a regular on city party circuits, says, “Suddenly gold has become hackneyed. There is something about a diamond that you cannot explain. It’s bewitching. And, if diamonds are in platinum… kya kehna!!!”
The other major factor which has propelled diamond-jewellery sales in Lucknow has been branded jewellery becoming affordable. If the pendants begin from Rs 5,000 and come with a guarantee of purity of gold used surely, the customer would prefer one rather than an unbranded one. In fact, this is what has shown an unprecedented shooting up in sales of branded diamond jewellery over the last one year. The other factor, of course, is the rising middle-class incomes.
Also, with Lucknow warming up not just to the metro-fashion scene but the international one, young jewelers are now, experimenting with diamonds in gold or silver motifs. That’s the way they do it in Europe. Traditional styles are moulded to match the jazz-razz of Milan or even Paris. Who say’s Lucknow doesn’t have the spunk and the class! So, with the festive season just round the corner, what do you expect to take home? It’s diamonds, diamonds and more diamonds!
