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.