Dubai: The chairman of Kalyan Jewellers, a leading India-based jewellery group in India and the Middle East has strongly denied rumours about adulteration of gold jewellery in his showrooms.
Videos circulating on social media claimed to be showing authorities examining ornaments that had metal wires concealed in hollowed gold bracelets. The grapevine attributed it to a Kuwait showroom of Kalyan Jewellers. However, the group has taken strong exception to the videos, calling it a conspiracy to malign its brand.
In a written statement TS Kalyanraman, chairman and managing director of the group, stated that his organisation was one of the leading and most trusted jewellery brands in India and the Middle East, built on trust, transparency and ethical business practices.
Commenting on the due diligence practised by the group, Kalyanraman said: “All the merchandise in our showrooms is duly checked and certified for purity by the Bureau of International Standards (BIS) in India and the relevant government authority in the Middle East. Our processes are built to ensure that every single ornament meets the set standards.”
Specifically addressing the issue of the video in question he said: “Over the past couple of days, a video has been circulating on social media questioning the quality of the gold retailed in our Kuwait showrooms. Representatives from the regulatory authorities periodically visit jewellery showrooms to validate the quality of the merchandise. However, incorrect assumptions and inferences on discovery of fake gold in our showroom on the basis of the aforesaid video circulating on social media is mischievous and malicious in nature.”
Reiterating the highest standards quality and ethics in selection and sale of gold in their showroom, Kalyanraman said: “Every ornament sold in our showrooms is in accordance with the hallmark of the respective quality control department of the governments. We condemn vested interests trying to malign the brand. We reiterate that our 108-year-old brand has been built by the trust of millions of customers and well-wishers and we have always lived up to it.”
Representatives of other jewellery retailers also felt that the whole thing looked like a orchestrated conspiracy and the video in question was fake.
“Nowhere in the video does the name of the organisation appear and yet the name of the groups was tagged to the video and rumours began flying thick and fast. If there was any basis to the rumour, the shops of the group would have been shut down in the UAE and their owner would be in custody. This kind of a conspiracy must be condemned and stopped as any group can be a victim and it turns out to cause a big breach of trust,” said one jewellery shop manager who declined to be named.
