New gold jewellery outlet opened in Guwahati

Guwahati, Feb 23 (UNI) The growing gold jewellery market in North East has drawn a leading jewellery manufacturer Rajesh Exports Limited(REL), opening its first retail outlet 'Laabh' in the city.

Addressing a press meet here today, Laabh Jewellery CEO Vipin Sharma said the company's prime objective would be to make pure and dependable gold jewellery available to the common people at affordable rates.

He informed that the current gold jewellery market in the North East was Rs 3,500 to 4,000 crore annually and with most of the supply coming from the unorganised sector, purity standards were of doubtful nature.

He quoted a Bureau of Indian Standards survey report in which 146 jewellery articles (90.12 per cent) of the total collected sample of 162 articles failed the purity test.

''If the extent of purity shortage is assumed at 15 per cent, the total monetary value would amount to Rs 10 crore annually,'' Mr Sharma added.

The CEO maintained that the REL's venture into the retail market had been hastened by the need to provide dependable jewellery to the people and its integrated chain from gold mining to retailing would save costs, which would percolate to the customer through less price.

He said hallmarking of Laabh jewellery was yet to be taken up, though the standards confirmed to the international standards.

''We have launched retail outlets only now and the support system for hallmarking is yet to come up,'' he added.

UNI