OKJ eyeing branches in S'pore, US

Chennai, Oct 4 (UNI) The Original Kerala Jewellers (OKJ) is planning to open branches in Singapore and the US in due course.

Talking to newspersons here soon after launching the special Diwali collection and festival offer, OKJ Chairman Babu Emmanuel and Director Emmanuel Babu said the collection included designer necklace sets and studs selected after a long search.

At least 30 per cent of the stocks were new, they added.

The highlight of the Diwali offer was exchange of gold jewellery (84 per cent pure onwards) for new and offer of 916 hallmarked jewellery without any loss on weight or rate.

In 2008, all jewellery sold in retail oulets were likely to be Bureau of Indian Standards certified items only.

In terms of demand, platinum surpassed gold. However, gold will continue to exhibit demand as platinum was costlier and affordability confined to affluent sections of the society.

They said in Chennai, only those employed in IT sector went for platinum collection.

Last fiscal, there was an increase of 36 per cent in the sale of platinum jewellery, 50 per cent in diamonds and 20 per cent in gold compared to the previous year, they added.

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