“Design is the essence of jewellery,” says gemologist Farah Khan Ali at Sambad Jewellery Forum 2018

Bhubaneswar: India’s leading gemologist and jewellery designer Farah Khan Ali delivered a keynote address on brand building for local jewellers in the city at the Sambad Jewellers Forum organised by the Sambad, Odisha’s largest circulated Odia daily in a glittering event at Swosti Premium last evening.

Sambad Group Managing Director Monica Nayyar Patnaik introduced the guest of the evening, Farah Khan Ali and chronicled her foray into the jewellery designing and gemology domain and her subsequent journey.

Farah went on to elaborate that each brand should have a unique identity of its own that attact a customer, instead of just churning out designs. “Every brand should have its own distinct style that sets it apart from other brands,” she said. She stressed on the importance of the brand, building a relationship with the customer on the basis of lifestyle, values and expression.

“In order to sustain in the competitive market, it is important to focus on the wants of the customers and build trust. Furthermore, we makers should also treat out products with care and sufficiently advertise and market them so that it reaches a larger consumer base. Loyal customers will always seek you out, but the new customers are avenues for growth,” she added.

Farah Khan Ali’s jewellery lines are always inspired by her personal experiences and travels. Her maiden trip to Odisha has wowed her and she confessed that her next line maybe inspired from the temple culture of Odisha!

Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament and Sambad Group Chairman Soumya Ranjan Patnaik said that it was a matter of pride for Odisha that an eminent gemologist graced us with her presence and shared her experiences and thoughts with our local jewellery entrepreneurs and business persons. “Women, in particular have a soft corner for jewellery and ornaments. Moreover, the exchange rate of gold is the highest in the exchange market. Earlier, Odisha had few jewellers in the market, but today, we have more number of jewellery outlets as compared to betel shops!”

The subsequent panel discussion had participants like Brahmanand Meher (MD, Arundhati Jewellers), Satyendra Mishra (MD, Lavanya Jewellers), Venkatesh Sila (MD, Shri Ornaments Jewellers), Sanjeev Hans (MD, Shubh Jewellers) and was moderated by jewellery designer Swasti Misra. Satyendra Mishra shared that out of 850 tonnes of gold mined between 2005 and 2015, 55 per cent of it was used to make gold jewellery; while two-thirds of rural customers and only  one-third of urban customers account for gold usage. Sale of gold dropped by 25 per cent after 2016.

Similary, Venkateswar Sila said that customer preference had undergone a transition over the years and nowadays people preferred fashion jewellery over traditional choices on occasions like weddings and festivals. Newest entrant in the market Satyendra Mishra reiterated that in order to attract customers, every brand needed a diverse variety of choices to satiate their needs and preferences.

Sanjeev Hans said, “We jewellers of Odisha can take away two crucial lessons from the keynote address today, i.e. it is pertinent to build an identifiable and distinct brand that stands out with an identity of its own and the jewellers’ relationship with new customers that ensures a growing consumer base.