Women longing to flaunt diamonds in style

Chennai, July 29 (UNI) The demand for diamond jewellery is on the rise in this bustling city not only among its elite but also the well-heeled salaried class and college girls with burgeoning purses.

Young girls in the age group of 21-30 have no qualms in flaunting elegant diamonds finely set in platinum or gold as there is an increase in the disposable income of the younger generation.

Though it is a fact that the demand for diamond jewellery is on the rise, some of the leading purveyors of precious metal and stones in Chennai were cagey about disclosing the exact numbers in terms of sales volume and revenues.

Sources in some of the leading jewellery stores in the upmarket T Nagar Area told UNI that young working women form a majority of customers buying designer jewellery.

''Since most of them are seen in western or Indo-western wear, they opt for modern designer jewellery which complement these outfits,'' one of the top jewellers said.

The general perception in the industry was the sale of designer jewellery had registered an 100 per cent increase over the last two to three years, with women in the 21-40 age group forming bulk of the customers, besides working women with cosmopolitan outlook.

''If one goes by the present trend with women working in IT and IteS sectors showing a penchant for designer jewellery, the sales volume might even treble or quadrupule in the next four to five years,'' one of the sources said.

"The diamonds, true to their quality, come with the globally recognised FOREVERMARK, a special symbol and a unique identification number invisible to the naked eye", said officials of the Diamond Trading Corporation(DTC), who give the certification.

''Each has been cut and polished by master craftsmen to reveal their ultimate beauty and natural brilliance,'' they added.

Majority of the women, including college girls, prefer the latest trend of designs where the diamonds are more prominent and the metal- gold or platinum -- in which it is set is not seen.

''So you can have a string of diamonds in a necklace where the diamond is very prominent or earrings, which show only diamonds and no metal. The designs which are in vogue include geometric, abstract, Victorian and floral patterns.

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