Page 18 - Bullion World Volume 03 Issue 6 June 2023

Bullion World | Volume 3 | Issue 6 | June 2023

create awareness about the quality of the product. players have set a standard for the purity of silver
Most of the silver karigars are small entities having content, which benefits consumers.
limited knowledge about the type of alloys to be used,
making it more difficult to provide the standard purity. How should one strategize to keep the consumer’s
Thus it is essential to impart appropriate knowledge to reliability and trust through e-commerce websites
the karigars and social media? How to develop a sense of trust
amongst the consumers about the product.
Moderator- Why is there no marketing done for
silver as it is done for the gold jewellery segment? Mr Rahul Mehta: Social media promotion, availability
Mr Avinash Gupta- Most silver retailers do not have of all the products on the company’s websites and
any custom-made variety-specific silver jewellery and enhancing the company’s visibility across all the
artefacts. However, things are changing over the past platforms play a huge role in building trust with the
two years, with several stores coming up which are consumer for a particular product.
only silver-specific. The stand-alone stores will start the
marketing and brand promotion efforts, which will, in Silver Emporium has organised road shows to educate
turn, bring visibility to jewellery and artefacts. consumers about hallmarked silver jewellery and the
importance of hallmarking. Knowledge about your
Moderator- How can the silver industry keep up brand and product is needed for the day to build
with the newer generation and changing trends of consumers’ awareness and trust.
the modern era?
Mr Krishna Goyal- This segment is growing and offers What is your view on the use of cadmium in the
a good opportunity to tap. Understanding the needs silver industry? How to overcome this difficulty, as
of the new generation and meeting their expectations cadmium is harmful to the people involved in the
in terms of product uniqueness, Dwarka Gems has manufacturing process?
instilled new and custom-made designs to address Mr Krishna Goyal: The unorganised players in the
the segment. The Ad-campaigns and social media silver market mostly use Cadmium as a substitute
marketing helps us facilitate and educate the younger for zinc or copper. Making it mandatory to not use
generation. cadmium can be one of the ways to eradicate the use
of cadmium as an alloy. Most of the organised players
Moderator- Silver jewellery exports from India have use ready-made alloys of zinc or copper, which can be
reduced. Is there any particular reason for this? one of the solutions not to use cadmium.
Mr Krishna Goyal- The silver jewellery export market
is highly competitive. There is always an alternative
manufacturer/supplier for the buyer in the global
markets. In India, we have a 15% duty on silver and
5% elsewhere. With this duty differential, competing
in pricing in the global markets is difficult. The
government must address this issue to boost domestic
manufacturing and exports.

Questions from the audience.
What is the enticement behind organised players in
the silver retail market to create separate outlets/
segments for silver jewellery and silverware?
Mr Avinash: The unorganised players often sell low-
quality silver with a lesser percentage of pure silver to
the consumers. Indian consumer lack knowledge of
the purity aspects of silver. This opportunity motivated
organised players to enter the segment. Organised

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