Jewellery choices echo generational divide

Traditional designs are still favoured by the majority of Keralites when buying gold jewellery during the Onam festival, but the contemporary ethnic look is inching its way into the hearts of NRIs in the UAE, say industry heads. 22-karat gold continues to remain the preferred choice though the jewellery is lighter, they add. “Malayalis are one of the most cosmopolitan people in the world. Due to their willingness to accept and embrace local cultures and traditions of the place, they easily adapt and settle themselves anywhere in the world. However, they also ensure they don’t get disconnected from their roots,” says Joy Alukkas, Chairman, Joyalukkas Group.

Everlasting love affair

“Hence, Malayalis celebrate all the Keralite festivals with the same gusto and excitement as back home. We also see a similar reflection of this behaviour when they buy jewellery — Malayalis stick with traditional jewellery during marriages and festivals such as Onam but choose from international designs for other occasions.”

Karim Merchant, CEO and MD, Pure Gold Group, agrees: “Even as they buy newer designs, they will still buy traditional designs,” he says. Alukkas said the traditional jewellery designs favoured during the Onam festival include the Palakka chain and bangles, the Nagapadam necklaces, Poothali, Elakkathali, Thaalikoottam, Dasavatharam necklace and bangles and so on. Alukkas Keraleeyam collection is the favourite among traditional Malayalis, followed by Florentina for Onam. “We offer these traditional designs in 22k gold but our designers also create various and exquisite fusions of the traditional designs to ensure that our Malayali customers have a wide choice,” says Alukkas. “We also create ethno-contemporary styles that appeal to the cosmopolitan Malayali. There is a huge demand for these designs and the majority of the buyers are women in the 25+ age bracket.”

Merchant has seen a similar trend: “The younger generation prefers modern designer jewellery and do not mind the high labour charges associated with intricate designs. The older generation still looks for designs with low labour charges. Their prime objective is to buy jewellery for investment purposes and not fashion.”

Mani Dharman, Head of Gold Division, Damas, is in consensus with Merchant. “Some customers prefer to buy traditional designs. However, we have recently noticed that many customers prefer to purchase jewellery with a more modern design,such as Polki sets inspired by rose-cut diamonds.”

Fashion over tradition?

“The trends have changed. Many of the South Asian women in the UAE are looking at a more fashion-oriented jewellery statement,” adds Dharman. “With South Indian customers, particularly Keralites, the preference is always for jewellery crafted in 22k gold. But there is no clear favourite in terms of design or collection for a certain age group, as it also depends a lot on factors such as their personal tastes, the influence of their family, and, of course, the price.”

Legacy, Harmony, Ananya and Manthoura are the most popular Damas retail brands with South Asians while its OneSixEight collection is doing extremely well — proving that diamonds and so-called illusion-sets are a growing trend in this segment. says Dharman.

“We are introducing a unique collection for Onam, which is based on the growing demand for trendy and lightweight gold jewellery,” says Dharman. “It is based on consumer trends and also integrates more stones and diamonds. At the same time, there are traditional elements such as the Pookalam incorporated into the design, to pay homage to the heritage of this special occasion.” The collection made its way into selected stores across the UAE last week.

Merchant adds that Pure Gold is currently working on introducing lightweight traditional designs, especially for its customers who celebrate Onam.

Apart from its traditional designs, the designers at Alukkas have also created a new set of ethno-contemporary fusion designs that celebrate the spirit of Onam with a modern touch. “These creations will appeal to the traditional Malayali with a modern outlook. Hence, we are not profiling by age since we prefer not to profile our designs and collection by demographics. We undertake a psychographic profiling route, which means we offer designs and creations based on the psychological needs and aspirations of individuals. Obviously, we try and capture the demographic profile of our customers. But when marketing, we prefer to stick to the psychographic route,” says Alukkas. The industry is moving with the times. n