Gold Prices To Rise, Natural And Lab-Grown Diamonds To Coexist: Jewellery Body Chairman

Vipul Shah: FY23 was a slow year as far as exports were concerned. At the same time, the domestic market was very robust and people were looking forward to the festive season as well. Gold also was playing a major role with rising prices. That also boosted the confidence of the consumer.

On the exports side, demand has slowed down comparatively. The U.S. is a major market for us and because of high interest cost, consumer spending there has gone down a little bit, but there are encouraging signs. Thanksgiving numbers were comparatively much better, along with Christmas as well.

We are seeing some demand starting from the Special Economic Zones as well in the month of November and December. So, that's a good sign and I personally feel that U.S. will start buying and diamond exports should start picking up.

China was slow and post-Covid, they have not opened up. Now, we are hopeful that after the Chinese New Year, they will also start investing in the way they are investing into gold.

So, overall, yes, gold markets are looking bullish. I personally see that in 2024, gold would be an asset class where we'll have good returns. The current price is trending at about $2,035 and I personally feel this year, we'll see gold going towards that $2,200-2,215 (level) in dollar terms and in the range of Rs 65,000-70,000 very soon.

The reason is not just aspirations to buy gold, but also because of de-dollarisation and geopolitical risks. There is volatility in gold prices currently. So, consumers will wait for gold prices to stabilize and then buy at the new price. So, we should start seeing growth from here, while remaining cautious on how geopolitical risks and elections play out.

Vipul Shah: Fantastic... Domestic market was very, very robust. We have seen a huge festive demand in Diwali. We have seen huge destination weddings taking place in India. So, that is helping the economy. So, overall, I am seeing a huge potential. Huge growth taking place, as far as domestic market is concerned, with further room to grow. Retailers, I am talking to, are in the mood to grow. India is looking very promising.

Vipul Shah: In SEEPZ, we have a mega common facility centre that's coming up. It will house state-of-the-art equipment and auditoriums. This is a project where the government has invested in a huge way.

There is also a jewellery park coming up in Mahape (in Navi Mumbai) on 20 acres of government allotted land. It will be launched in April and be completed in three years, and will be among the best in the world. The idea is to bring all jewellers of the country into this one big hub and showcase India as the world's best jewellery destination.