Colin Shah, Managing Director, Kama Jewelry and immediate past Chairman of GJEPC, shares his views on the latest product lines, performance of gold and silver for 2023 with Solitaire International.
What is Kama presenting in terms of latest collections at IIJS Signature?
Our team has worked tirelessly to ensure that we’re putting our most innovative foot forward this IIJS, with not only design but also technicality and functionality of product. We have also expanded our lab-grown brand Carmeau’s collection.
Kama has been experimenting with ceramic, and recently, introduced a full rose cut jewellery range.
Rose cuts are one of the few diamond cuts that have seen an upswing in purchase in recent times. This is largely attributed to the way these diamonds play in the light. Their resplendence is noticeably more than that of traditionally cut diamonds because of their triangular cut facets on their dome-shaped upper surface. In order to accentuate their brilliance, we at Kama moved away from their traditional setting style and set them in such a way that there is no metal seen under the stones. We focused on floral motifs for enduring appeal.
Tell us more about the collaboration with Fura. Will you be unveiling collections with Fura’s pink sapphires at the show? Is this range exported or available in domestic regions? What are the benefits of tying up with a mine to create lines for the end consumer?
We have a range of our Fura pieces that we will be exhibiting at the show. The range is exclusive – the idea is to tie up with one retailer in each country so that we maintain product exclusivity. The benefits of tying up with a mine are manifold – apart from having a mine-to-market traceability of stones, there is also authenticity and pricing benefits that can be spilled over to the end consumer.
Which are your major global markets and any expansion plans?
USA and India are our two major markets. But we have recently opened an office in Dubai and are looking to expand our business there, especially since the Gulf region is a huge market for diamond jewellery.
What according to you is the future of LGDs. Will Kama venture into manufacturing lab-grown diamonds or make jewellery set with LGDs?
We already launched our brand Carmeau at IIJS last year. Carmeau is a combination of two words ‘Car’ is for Carat and ‘Meau’ is for Moment. This is because our vision is to fulfil the promise of a carat for every moment to our customers worldwide through real, grown diamond jewellery. We aim to delight our customers using a combination of cutting-edge technology and traditional craftsmanship in creating elegant designs using real, grown diamonds. We really believe that LGDs are here to stay and will become increasingly popular in times to come.
IIJS Signature is introducing the Green initiative at the show requesting exhibitors to donate 1 % of the booth cost towards tree plantation. Your comments about trade shows reducing the carbon footprint.
It is a much-needed initiative in our opinion. Caring about the planet now is ensuring that the future generations live healthy and full lives. So, it is a wonderful initiative that must be expanded industry-wide in every organization.
Tell us about the gold projections as we move on to the New Year.
The yellow metal has gained marginally (0.5-1%) this calendar year in dollar terms. It has gained over 11% in rupee terms. The attractiveness of gold is high in a low-interest rate regime. Gold has started giving up gains since the US Fed and other major central banks started hiking rates in May 2022. The rising rates, hawkish comments, and withdrawal of easy liquidity reduced the investment appeal of gold.
We expect gold prices to trade sideways till H1CY23. Festive demand and global central banks pausing their rate-tightening policy will push demand for gold in H2CY23. A pause in the rate hike cycle will lead to softening of the USD, thereby making it cheaper to buy gold and silver. Gold is an international commodity and is mostly traded in USD. So, the USD trajectory impacts the prices of these precious metals. Expect gold to trade in the range of $1900-1975 in CY23, (In rupee terms, Rs. 55,000- Rs.57,000).
As China is the biggest consumer of gold – the lockdown situation in China, demand during the Chinese New Year in February and the Golden Week in October will drive prices. The trade tensions between the US and China are another big factor that may affect prices. Any escalation of geopolitical tensions between Ukraine-Russia, recession in the West, movement of the Dollar index, and gold buying programme by global central banks will guide the larger price trajectory for gold and silver in 2023.
And what about silver?
The demand for silver remains robust as it is an industrial commodity. Further, a shift to 5G technology and related upgrades, solar energy, and EVs will keep silver demand high in 2023. For silver to scale new highs in 2023 it is important to first cross March 2022 highs ($24) and then August 2020 highs ($28). These levels will act as key resistance levels.