realised that gold
and diamonds are
an investment and
they hold their
value. We need
to capitlise on
the timelessness.
People are not
spending money
carelessly – they
want to obviously
spend their savings
on something
prudently, so we
have to give them
that opportunity.
Trends may change
but timelessness
is going to be
very important,
especially in this
fickle world
Dipu Mehta, OrraThe Carpe Diem
mentality
If this pandemic has taught us
one thing, it is the fact that life is
uncertain and fickle. So, people
want to make the most of it. Michelle
sold a 10 ct radiant 3-stone ring to
a client from Florida who wanted
to impress his girlfriend who fell in
love with a few 7-13 ct stones from
the inventory Demaree had put
together for the couple exclusively.
“My average clientele purchase
rings in the 3-10 carat range.
Clients see a window of opportunity
to propose, especially with the
threat of a resurgence of Covid
in the Fall, so it seems consumer
mentality is Carpe Diem, life is
short, love cannot be quarantined -
let’s do this!” says Michelle.
It is still a materialistic
world!
The truth is, the wealthy continue
to remain wealthy, even after
the pandemic. World over, these
wealthy folks are stuck at home, not
being able to visit their favourite
holiday destination or spend their
summers in a luxurious retreat.
There is a lot of pent up frustration,
of not being able to lead a life that
they believe is normal, which is all
getting channeled towards buying
expensive baubles. The recently
held online jewellery auctions are
a testament to this. “Trends may
change but timelessness is going
to be very important, especially in
this fickle world. People are going
to be relooking at what is important
in their lives now. Something that is timeless resonate more with them.
We have not seen a downward
trend in terms of ticket size for our
diamond products, it has stayed
where it was pre-Covid,” says
Dipu Mehta of Orra. The diamond
industry world over needs to
capitalise on this and gain back its
market share. “Diamonds do the
same thing that exercise, alcohol,
drugs, sugar/sweets, sex, luxury
spending does - they give people
pleasure - that daily sought after
dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and
endorphins. If a pandemic threatens
to take away each individual’s
happiness, what does the brain do? It goes treasure hunting for pleasure
“pleasure hunting”, which is why
alcohol sales are up and the rich
are still spending and in some cases
even more frivolously than before,”
adds Michelle.