An indication that the mood in the Indian jewellery industry is changing and a more positive atmosphere has begun to emerge was quite evident at the second day of Signature IIJS on February 7, which was also the first full day of the show. The event had opened at 1 pm on the earlier day.

Across halls and exhibitor categories there was a near unanimous opinion that the slowdown witnessed over the past few months due to a variety of factors was now behind the industry and things would certainly get better from here.

Nirav Bhansali of Prism Jewellery, which deals in diamond studded jewellery said that the visitor traffic and business enquiries received were a clear indication that the “demonetisation shock is behind us now”. He said, “Retailers are here to do business, and one does not hear anyone even talking about problems of cash and cash flows.”

The company has had some of its regular clients coming in already, with more scheduled to visit over the next few days, and other trade visitors too. Bhansali clarified that the numbers are still on the lower side as the industry is recovering from a difficult phase that had multiple causes, “but the mood bodes well for the coming period”.

As always, the gold jewellery manufacturers were in an even more buoyant mood. At the stall of Itan Jewels, Laksh Pahuja said that the industry is familiar with the gold jewellery business and the gold bangles and lightweight pieces are a big hit. The designs are contemporary, and the use of cut work designs makes the price points attractive too. “Business has been good from Day one itself,” he said.

Pahuja adds that the smaller retailers are still not very familiar with diamonds, and the scare over the last couple of years regarding mixing of synthetics has made them wary. Hence the diamond jewellery business is still relatively slow.

At Prakash Gold Palace, a sales representative said that there as a huge rush of retailers from different cities and the response to the variety of gold jewellery on display had been extremely encouraging. A similar sentiment was expressed at the Au Finja booth, which had a steady stream of visitors.

Though not as upbeat in their response, relatively speaking, exhibitors from the machinery section were also positive. At the Italian pavilion, Paolo Giovannnini of Magimex Italia which offers manual and semi-automatic tools for stamping and other production processes said that “We are quite satisfied with the show today, and are looking forward to doing good networking over the next couple of days.” Giovannnini agreed that it “would have lovely to have had more visitors and inquiries”, but repeated that the turnout till now has met their expectations from the show.

Paolo Borri of Eurografite, an Italian company that produces crucibles and dyes for jewellery manufacturing, echoed his neighbour. Though the company has been doing business in India for nearly two decades, the shows help them to connect with both local retailers and larger distribution agents. “The turnout today has been positive compared to the first day which was slow,” he said, and the show has been satisfactory so far.