Mumbai’s recently inaugurated Jio World Plaza opens doors to renowned global luxury jewellery brands such as Cartier, Bulgari, Tiffany & Co., Louis Vuitton as they strategically expand their presence in India to woo a growing ultra-rich population.
Iconic global jewellery brands Cartier, Bulgari and Tiffany & Co. have been eager to expand in India’s burgeoning jewellery market to cater to the country’s growing wealthy population. But to offer their products along with their hallmark luxe experiences they sought large spaces in luxury malls, located in key metro cities that could offer a minimum area requirement for their boutiques along with a quintessential luxury environment.
While Delhi boasts of two, Bengaluru and Kolkata have one luxury mall, each. Mumbai, home to the country’s largest number of dollar millionaires and billionaires only had one –Phoenix Palladium, until November 2023 when Reliance opened India’s biggest luxury mall, Jio World Plaza, to offer these brands the ultimate infrastructure to woo Indian consumers with their world-renowned luxury offerings and experiences.
Bulgari named Indian actress Priyanka Chopra as Global Brand Ambassador in 2021.
Mumbai is arguably the most important market in India for global luxury brands. According to a report, Mumbai ties the eighth spot with Singapore in the list of top global locations with the largest population of dollar billionaires. Mumbai is home to 27 billionaires, the same as Singapore, and the Maximum City is also home to 224 centi-millionaires ($100m+).
Spread across 7,50,000 square feet and four floors, Jio World Plaza (JWP) is now home to some of the biggest boutiques by luxury brands in India, including some iconic global jewellery brands.
Bulgari launched its largest and second boutique in India at the JWP. The Roman aesthetics of the 1881 sq. ft. boutique are designed by American architect Peter Marino. It is decorated with renowned artist Andy Warhol’s colourful artwork along with chandeliers crafted using Venice’s Murano glass. The boutique will host Bulgari’s high-end jewellery, featuring iconic pieces seen on red carpets and high-society events around the world. Other offerings will be Bulgari’s luxury handbags and timepieces.
For Bulgari, India has been one of the key developing markets in Asia since the last three years. The LVMH brand enrolled Priyanka Chopra as its global brand ambassador in 2021 and launched its interpretation of the Mangalsutra in the same year. With a new and first boutique in Mumbai, Bulgari hopes to woo consumers in western and southern parts of the country.
India is a heterogeneous market consisting of many diverse cultures and traditions. Despite these great diversities there is a common affinity amongst Indian consumers for heritage and craftsmanship according to Mauro di Roberto, chief of the Jewellery Division at Bulgari. “They have a great sensitivity towards quality, specifically in gemstones and diamonds. For this reason, India is a key market of a very high potential in terms of jewellery and high Jewellery,” he told Solitaire International.
The Italian brand has been sourcing gems from India long before opening its first boutique here and considers Jaipur as the epicentre of the best gems in the market. “Jewellery has always played an important role in Indian traditions. Their mastery when it comes to jewellery is rooted in their own culture,” Roberto elucidates. “At the heart of Indian culture is a great sensitivity to colour and a style that brings out its full potential. These aesthetic codes blend perfectly with the essence of Bulgari, which has at the core of its DNA a profound attention to colour and a great mastery of combining it,” he adds.
Cartier, another European jewellery brand that has often taken inspiration from India’s heritage in crafting several of its celebrated jewellery pieces, has also paid homage to the country’s rich craftsmanship, through bespoke creations and finishes in its boutique’s architecture at the JWP.
Designed by a Parisian agency, the boutique’s interiors use warm tones of beige, gold, and champagne bronze to create an ambience mimicking royal residences. The store opens with an area dedicated to jewellery and watches for women, followed by a men’s universe and a VIP salon with coffered ceilings inspired by carved wooden Haveli style architecture. Cartier’s ambassador Deepika Padukone inaugurated the maison’s first boutique in Mumbai, ahead of the festive season.
Parisian brand Louis Vuitton, known for opulent high jewellery, opened its largest store in India at the JWP. Louis Vuitton was among the first luxury fashion houses to enter India with its flagship boutique in DLF Emporio Delhi, 20 years ago and now has four stores in the country. The JWP boutique will be its first Mumbai boutique to showcase fine and high-jewellery collections.
The new store uses hints of Indian craftsmanship. Indian architect and designer Rooshad Shroff developed an embroidered wooden panel and hand block printed wallpaper, made in Jaipur in collaboration with French-born textile and embroidery entrepreneur, Maximiliano Modesti.
Luxury fashion brand Balenciaga’s first Mumbai store in JWP will also showcase its jewellery line among other accessories.