1. Indian Imitation
Jewellery Market
All rights reserved. This publication
is protected by copyright. No part
of it may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system or transmitted, in
any form or by any means, electronic
mechanical, photocopying, recording
or otherwise without the prior written
permission of the publisher.

2. Overview
Indian jewellery business has undergone a
drastic transformation over the years. Original diamond and gold jewellery has now
made a way forward for artificial jewellery.
The sky-rocketing prices of the traditional
jewellery whether it is gold, diamond or
silver, have encouraged people to opt for
affordable imitation jewellery.
Indian Imitation jewellery market has witnessed tremendous growth in the past few
years. In 2012, the market grew around
85% compared to the previous year. The
imitation jewellery market was estimated to
reach INR 98.5 Billion by the end of 2013
due to rising demand.
Imitation jewellery such as fashion jewellery
is very much prevalent, especially amongst
the college going teenagers. Since the prices
are cheap, they can get a wide variety and
also keep up with the changing fashion.
Indian fashion jewellery industry is growing in quantum, patronized mainly by the
youngsters.
Figure 1: Indian Imitation Jewellery Market
(Billion INR), 2011-2017
228.9
185.8
151.4
122.7
98.5
79.6
43.1
2011e
2012e
2013e
2014f
2015f
2016f
2017f
Source: RNCOS
In future, the imitation jewellery market is
expected to grow further with soaring gold
and silver prices, rising consumer preference, availability of more innovative designs
and variety etc. Considering these factors,
the imitation jewellery market in India is
anticipated to grow at a CAGR of around
23.5% during 2013-2017.
Indian Imitation Jewellery Market

3. Market Driving Factors
• High Demand: The demand for imitation jewellery has surged by over 85% in the last one year. People,
especially women have adopted better standards of grooming after being influenced by daily soaps. They
ape the jewellery and the costumes which are worn by the television stars. Moreover with the rise in
standard of living and disposable income customers undoubtedly prefer to go in for branded products.
• Consumer preferences: The changing outlook of people regarding jewellery as a daily wear commodity
rather than an asset for life has made imitation jewellery more popular.
• Variety and Affordability: Due to affordable range of the artificial jewellery, it is much easier to make
a collection for regular as well as formal occasions. Generally working women prefer to change their
jewllery (earrings, neck-pieces, rings etc) according to their dresses.
• Drastic hike in gold and silver price - With the prices of gold raising sharply, the popularity of imitation
jewellery has further increased.
• Security purpose: Imitation jewellery is safer to wear as compared to the authentic jewellery. In the present day when theft and crime is increasing in society, customers feel more secure wearing fake jewellery.
• Excellent innovative designs: Imitation jewellery comes with unlimited and exquisite designs which can
be easily purchased.
• Value for money: Traditional jewellery cannot be changed according to latest fashion. However imitation jewellery can be worn and discarded according to latest trends due to their low cost benefit.
• Lack of gender bias: In the past jewellery was exclusively for the fairer sex but in the recent times men
have also initiated an interest in adorning themselves with this. One can easily come across specially designed fashion jewellery like bracelets, rings, chains, pendants, earrings for the male gender also.
Though imitation jewellery market is dominated by urban
India, rural India also accounts for significant share in the
market.
Figure 5: Share of Urban and Rural India in
Imitation Jewellery (%), 2012
Regionally, Mumbai is the main hub for Imitation Jewellery,
which eventually goes to several cities in India. Mumbai is
more in to Casual and fashionable Jewellery i.e. used for
wearing on day to day basis. However, complex and rich
designed Jewellery is meant more for occasions and events.
Urban
Rural
North and South of India are two biggest markets for High
end Imitation Jewellery. These part of India, buy lot of
Imitation Jewellery. North Indians wear bigger size jewellery
while in South, people like small jewellery designs.
Source: Fashion and You
Indian Imitation Jewellery Market

4. Opportunities & Challenges
Opportunities
• Online jewellery Market
Currently, the online imitation jewellery segment is in nascent stage, however it is poised
to register fast growth with increasing number of online buyers in India. IAMAI study reported that jewellery had attracted more clicks than any other categories in the past few
months, implying growing consumer interest.
Presently, around 2% of the total imitation jewellery market is sold online.
• Low Penetration
The imitation jewellery segment, which is less than 1% of the overall market presently, is
set to grow quickly in tier-2 and 3 cities where accessibility has been a big issue. Fad for
fashion and contemporary jewellery (generally motivated from Bollywood and daily soap
operas) will add more demand in coming years.
• Exports
India is the second largest manufacturer of imitation jewellery after China. Indian imitation jewellery has a huge demand in the US, Europe, Canada, Australia and many other
Asian countries. The exports of fashion jewellery and accessories from India went up from
INR 12.38 Billion in 2011-12 to INR 20.07 Billion in 2012-13.
• Product Diversification
With recent shift in jewellery consumption pattern, women prefer wearing hair ornaments, which are the new rage and everyone swears by their increasing demand. Similarly, men also prefer to wear imitation jewellery items these days such as chain, rings etc.
This will create demand for new products in the market.
• Franchising
Earlier there were a few unorganised players but with the popularity of costume jewellery
more and more players are making their presence felt via jewellery franchise option as it is
considered to be the route for guaranteed success.
In future, as the demand for the product is growing the number of players are also expected to grow via franchising.
Indian Imitation Jewellery Market

5. Challenges
• Cheap Imports from China
Imitation jewellery from China is flooding the Indian market and imports from
China has already captured 30% of the country’s domestic market.
It is also hurting imitation jewellery manufacturers, as Indian traders are now importing
finished goods from China.
• According to data from the ministry of commerce, India imported
imitation jewellery worth about INR 1.3 Billion in 2011-12. During the period
April-September 2012, 0.6 Billion worth of finished imitation jewellery was
imported from China. However, this figure underestimates the actual
level of imports, which are believed to be 10 times higher.
• Accessibility
Besides metros and tier one cities, accessibility of standardized imitation
jewellery is a big issue, and therefore, a significant portion of the consumer
segment is underserved.
• Highly Unorganized
Indian Imitation jewellery market is highly unorganized with the organized
market is nearly three-fourth of unorganized sector. In addition, the number of organized
players is also less in the sector.
• Lack of Customer Awareness
The customers need to be educated on the basic artificial jewellery care to maintain the
quality or the polish of the product. “Also, Indian customers need to be informed that
certain regions in India have humid weather which adversely affects the shine and the
plating of the product.
• Costly Labour
For the artificial jewellery industry labor is very expensive. In addition, there is a lot of
attrition due to which the manufacturers have to continuously increase the wages of the
labor, which adds to the overhead costs.
• Low Quality Jewellery
In case of imitation jewellery, same designs are available in low quality material at low
cost which is affecting the growth of the market.
Indian Imitation Jewellery Market

6. Future Outlook
The jewellery industry in India adds a distinctive feature with high domestic and international demand.
With rising gold and silver prices, imitation jewellery market has been witnessing significant growth over
the past few years.
Moreover, Indian imitation jewellery making is emerging as the next big market which has been predominantly driven by its indigenous designs and local demand. In addition, the perspective of manufacturers, wholesalers, traders and retailers of the imitation jewellery industry holds much more capability
than the conventional offering.
The industry dynamics and consumer behavior patterns have made India the world’s second-largest
manufacturer of imitation jewellery after China. Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh are some of the important states known for such products.
Further, with the entry of large organized players, the market will become more competitive and people
have more choices among branded and quality products.
Beside, Indian imitation jewellery has a huge potential for exports and enjoys huge demand in the foreign markets. The demand is also rising in many Asian countries which will help further the industry to
accelerate in the near future.
However, there are also certain challenges such as cheap imports from China, costly labour, etc which
needs to be addressed as these can affect the growth of the industry.
Considering the above factors, the future of Indian imitation jewellery market seems quite bright.
Indian Imitation Jewellery Market

7. Major Imitation Jewellery Manufacturers
• Juvalia & You
• Kumar Jewels
• Lotus jewellery
• Vatika Jewellers
• Delhi Artificial Jewellery
• Vasudevam International
• Alex Jewellery
Indian Imitation Jewellery Market

8. Looking for an in-depth study
Our Proposition
RNCOS is a leading Business Consultancy firm helping its clients to enter new geographies and in attaining
growth by developing market strategies for them.
GROWTH PARTNER
We help you make informed decisions
through the practical application of research, hand holding you to your success…
Critical questions that businesses need to
address:
•
•
•
•
Where should you set up your business?
Who should be your distributors?
What is the current market structure & size?
Who should be your customers?
We understand your immediate needs and your long-term goals and objective and work with you on how to accomplish them.
RNCOS blends the best of strategy consulting with the best of market research to provide organizations with accurate, succinct answers to their most important business questions.
Our offerings
Product Segments
Market Insights
•
•
•
What is the market size
Structure of the market
Who are buyers
•
•
•
•
Competitive Assessment
Identification
•
•
Most suitable distributors and
channels for your business.
Analyzing their strength, credibility.
Similar products in the market
Features, attributes & market
share of these products
Customer preferences
Price range of these products
•
•
Financial & strategic analysis of
existing competition
Acceptance level among customers
Indian Imitation Jewellery Market

9. For more information on how we can work with you, contact
MARKETING TEAM
RNCOS
E mail: marketing@rncos.com
Website: www.rncos.com
Phone: +91 120 4224700 /01 / 02/ 03