Synopsis: Jewellery in India isn’t just about tradition anymore. People now see it as a real investment, something that grows their wealth, not just their collection. Around 86% of Indians treat jewellery like a financial asset, according to Deloitte, led by a change in preference, demand and more.
Jewellery is not merely a tradition and a wedding-time special purchase in India anymore, but is also beginning to be regarded as a valuable property as an investment. This shift comes from changing habits and the solid returns jewellery offers. In this article, we will dive deeper into this report.
About the Report
Deloitte India published a report (Go for Gold) which depicted how the consumer preferences are shifting towards gold and other metals. According to the report, 86 percent of consumers in India now consider gold and jewellery as a good asset for wealth creation. This figure is significant, as mutual funds and equities are also considered at 87 percent by the consumers, which shows how the Indian’s are thinking of these metals.
This is a significant change in the way households perceive jewellery as an asset, with respect to being interconnected with markets instead of being merely a cultural asset. The purchasing behaviour has also changed: now 56 percent of the consumers buy jewellery both as an investment and a fashion accessory, whereas 28 percent buy it as an investment only. This investment-only preference is greatest among men and people aged 45 years and above, which indicates an individual concern with wealth conservation and long-term security.
Simultaneously, younger customers are transforming the jewellery market by altering their preferences and tastes. According to the data provided by Deloitte, 49 percent of buyers are fond of light and minimalist jewellery, which is in contrast to 15 percent of buyers who like heavy and traditional jewellery. There is a rise in the amount of jewellery that people wear daily as opposed to reserving it for special occasions. Diversification other than gold is also evident.
Gen Z consumers are more inclined towards silver and less inclined towards platinum (51 percent and 34 percent respectively), as these materials are cheaper, trendy, and can be used daily. Indeed, 45 percent of Gen Z and millennials report investing in silver jewellery, making it a convenient and affordable wealth access point, as opposed to a gold alternative.
Also, historically, wedding purchases accounted for 70 percent of jewellery demand in India, but that is reducing, with 38 percent of millennials buying for birthdays and anniversaries, 32 percent for daily or office wear, and for milestones such as promotions and graduations. And for non-ceremonial occasions, 49 percent of buyers prefer earrings, chains and rings. This indicates that buying occasions are also becoming broader, with people focusing more on lifestyle.
Although jewellery is increasingly being discovered online, it is still a trust-based, offline business. The report indicates that more than 85 percent of jewellery sales are yet to be made online, where national chains, family jewellers, and local stores rule the final sales.
Where Gen Z are very much dependent on social media and internet searches to find out designs, older customers remain dependent on a personal referral and established connections with jewellers. On the business level, Deloitte points out that Indian jewellery retail businesses are normally at a lower EBITDA margin of 5-10 as compared to the global average of 12.
Enhancing inventory turnover, demand forecasting and omnichannel implementation may contribute to profitability. On the whole, the results outline a definite change in direction. Jewellery in India is currently a hybrid product that combines both a sense of financial stability and lifestyle fashion, and gradually transforms into a mainstream wealth product.
Over the last decade, Gold has surged nearly 495 percent, gaining 76 percent in 2025, followed by 21 percent in the year 2024. On the other hand, over the last decade, Silver has surged over 800 percent, gaining 170 percent in 2025, followed by 17 percent in the year 2024.
However, it is to be noted that despite these precious metals being counted as safe havens for investors during any volatility and uncertainties, the applicable characteristics of both these metals are different. Whenever markets become volatile, investors seem to invest in gold as it enriches its quality of protection, whereas silver, on the other hand find its application in the industrial and commercial sectors.
Such investor preferences shift in this industry, as stated in the Deloitte report, the indian mentality is changing towards precious metals and also affecting the buying decision of the general consumers. This is a good sign as investors are getting more aware of the importance of gold with diversifying their portfolio, and on the other hand, the consumers are not sticking to purchasing gold only for tradition but rather diversifying their purchase for different needs such as birthdays, anniversaries, other ceremonies, etc.
Is Gold a good investment?
Gold can be a good tool for protecting wealth, but it may not be the best choice for short-term investing. Gold prices are volatile, which means that they can rise and fall sharply.
Over the last 30 years, gold has delivered an average CAGR of ~10.83%, which is better than many traditional savings options like FDs and RDs. However, returns from gold jewellery can look lower in real life because a big part of your money goes into extra charges, not the gold itself.
For example, jewellers usually add making charges of 5% to 25% of the jewellery value. On top of that, buyers also pay 3% GST on the gold value, and an additional 5% GST on the making charges (since it is treated like a service/labour cost). So, when you buy and later sell jewellery, these charges reduce your effective profit even if gold prices rise.
Another issue is the practical cost and risk of holding physical gold. It needs safe storage in a bank locker or home safe, which adds extra cost, while keeping it at home increases theft risk. Also, physical gold does not give any regular income like dividends or interest. In comparison, Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) are more efficient because they don’t have making charges/storage issues and also pay an additional 2.5% annual interest to investors, making them a better long-term way to take exposure to gold.
In the short term, gold may not be a great investment because charges like making costs and GST reduce returns, but over the long term, it can still create wealth as gold prices tend to rise gradually over time.
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