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PHOTO: R.SHIVAJI RAO

For young and old A mother and daughter displaying jewellery

“Images of Stree’. That’s the tagline of the fourth edition of the largest jewellery trade fair in South India, the Gem and Jewellery India International Exhibition (GJIIE) 2008, which opens on February 15 at the Chennai Trade Centre.

“This year’s show is geared towards what the woman of today wants ,” said Rajesh Vummidi S., vice-chairman of GJIIE 2008, as he unveiled the theme of the business-to-business trade show at a recent press conference.

Accordingly, the unveiling featured a photo session with three models representing the different facets of the modern Indian woman — a teenager in a trendy red dress, a career woman in trousers and a shirt, and a young mother in a traditional Kancheevaram pattu sari with her adorable two-year-old tyke.

Teenagers are fast developing into a major target group for jewellers, revealed Uday Kumar Vummidi, chairman of GJIIE 2008. “Today, parents are willing to spend far more on their children,” he said. “So, this year’s fair will focus on jewellery for the younger generation, with a fashion show by teenagers who will display silver jewellery from Thailand and a range of Italian jewellery.”

In general, the emphasis at GJIIE 2008 will be on elegant, light-weight jewellery, which is what young women are increasingly looking for given their active lifestyles and the escalating costs of gold, said Uday.

Thailand, Italy and Dubai are some of the few international exhibitors at the show, which is organised by the Madras Jewellers and Diamond Merchants’ Association — most of the 150 participants will be manufacturers and wholesalers from across India.

“There will be more direct manufacturers this time around which will mean better cost for retailers and will eventually prove more cost-efficient for customers,” added Uday.

The show, which began in 2005 as the Gold Jewellery India International Exhibition, is expected to draw a crowd of over 12,000 jewellery retailers from all over South India. This isn’t particularly surprising — jewellery is huge business in South India, with the region accounting for more than 45 per cent of India’s gold consumption.

DIVYA KUMAR

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