Ways Technology Is Redefining The Jewellery Industry In India

Technology has brought with it numerous changes and revolutionary breakthroughs across industries. The 21st century is defined by ‘technology’ with everything from shopping, communication, work, and social interactions becoming predominantly digital. 

The rapidly evolving technology is bringing new avenues of doing business. The Indian Jewellery industry is constantly evolving with the changing times. A new era is beginning, which is more customer-centric and user-friendly. Technology is molding and giving a new face to the jewellery industry in different aspects, right from designing, to manufacturing, showcasing, marketing and selling.

Technology in Designing and Manufacturing:

Due to the recent technological advancements, the time taken to manufacture jewellery has decreased significantly. This has propelled the jewellery industry to increase production to match the increasing demands of consumers worldwide. Earlier, designing jewellery was a time-consuming and lengthy process, from creating physical drawings to 2D then converting them to 3D castings. But now, technological advancements have made it possible to build a virtual prototype, to make 3-dimensional models through which a person can have a view of the product from each angle they want to through Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software. Today, consumers can be a part of the design and manufacturing process with the jeweller as they can watch their designs come to life on a virtual platform before investing the money to purchase it. They can make design alterations on the go and the designers can achieve detailing that is almost impossible manually and produce the products faster.

In recent times we have heard that 3D Printing is the future of jewellery and is used in mass manufacturing and customisation of jewellery. Jewellery designers are jumping on the technology bandwagon and are producing complex designs with the help of 3D printing. 

Lasers are slowly gaining prominence in the jewellery manufacturing segment. Product makers use lasers for welding, cutting, and embellishing the finely crafted pieces. Laser cutting tools have enabled precision of the design execution. Lasers also play a key role in ensuring genuineness and preventing theft of jewellery. The technology is so precise that it can be used to create microscopical identification and purity marks and numbers on jewellery further enhancing trust and transparency in the jewellery being delivered.

Technology in Showcasing, Marketing, and Selling:

Jewellers are now understanding the power of digital media and have started using the digital-first approach for marketing and promotions in order to increase brand awareness and reach new audiences. Jewellers are using social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp for aggressive marketing and are now able to target the audience more effectively and efficiently. By using Artificial Intelligence and data analytics, jewellery brands can now offer consumers jewellery based on their preferences. 

With the ever-evolving technology, the way we conduct business has changed drastically. Jewellers are now shifting to an omnichannel approach (online and offline channels) to expand their digital presence and cater to a wider audience. 

Augmented Reality combines a real-world environment with graphics to enhance the shopping experience. Virtual try-on has been adopted by most industries but the latest industry in the queue is the jewellery industry. With COVID-19 lockdowns, many jewellery brands are already catering to their customers with the ability to experience jewellery through Augmented Reality and 3D modelingbefore they make a purchase. This elevates and personalises the customer buying experience by giving customers a fully-immersive, real-time shopping experience when trying on jewellery, almost as if they were actually in the stores.

Today, the conventional techniques of jewellery making and selling are taken over and enriched by technology. The use of technology in the jewellery industry is on a rise and is enabling the industry to globalise further.