Forevermark global CEO Shweta Harit

At a time when demand for luxury apparel, watches, bags, and shoes seems to be plateauing, the one segment that finds enough takers is fine diamond jewellery. No wonder, Indian designers such as Manish Malhotra, Sabyasachi, and even filmmaker Karan Johar have forayed into fine jewellery. Popular jewellery brands such as Tanishq are also patronising their diamond jewellery collection, and so are jewellers such as TBZ and Joy Alukkas.

The Indian woman’s appetite for smart, versatile jewellery that she can wear to work as well as for an evening do is driving this trend. And that explains Forevermark’s rationale to choose India as its launchpad for large-format retail stores. The De Beers Group-backed diamond jewellery brand, known for its light-weight collections typically found in shop-in-shop formats, is now looking to build a $100-million business in India through a network of 100 stores over the next five years.