National News
Retail Gold Sales Drop 25% Amid Rising Prices, Lightweight Jewelry in Demand
A 4% rise in gold prices in March has led to a significant 25% decline in retail gold sales at jewelers and a 60% drop in Zaveri Bazaar. Indian families with upcoming weddings are feeling the pinch of higher gold prices, turning to lighter, lower-carat jewelry to meet bridal jewelry demands. Despite this, demand is expected to pick up during Akshay Tritiya in April, though lightweight jewelry remains the preferred choice.
Gold prices saw a near-4% increase in the first half of March, bringing down retail sales by 25% compared to the same period last year. Zaveri Bazaar, a hub where retail jewellers buy bullion and jewelry in bulk, saw a 60% drop in sales.
Senco Gold & Diamonds, Joy Alukkas, PNG Jewellers, Mamraj Musaddilal Jewellers, and senior executives from the India Bullion & Jewellers Association mentioned that Indian families, especially those with weddings planned for the upcoming season, are stressed by the escalating prices. As a result, they are opting for lightweight jewelry, as high prices make it difficult to stick to the traditional gold jewelry budgets.

Suvankar Sen, the chief of Senco Gold, shared that sales of small-ticket gold jewelry in the ₹30,000 – ₹40,000 price range have dried up. “The high prices are keeping customers away from spending on gold,” he said. On March 18, gold was priced at ₹88,256 per 10 gm in the physical market, with a 3% Goods and Services Tax (GST), pushing the cost to ₹90,903 per 10 gm.
“Those who have weddings in the family are buying lightweight jewellery as they cannot stretch the budget. Demand has dropped by 15% beginning from March and if this rally continues, the recovery in demand may not happen. The next big sales can only happen during Akshay Tritiya, which falls on April 30,” said the MD of Senco Gold & Diamond.
Despite the rise in prices, the demand has remained sluggish in South India too. “Compared to last March, demand is down by up to 25%. While the high price is a big factor in this demand drop, other things like board exams have slowed down demand as well,” said Baby George, CEO of Joy Alukkas.
Saurabh Gadgil, chairman of PNG Jewellers, also highlighted the shift in preferences. “People are buying lightweight jewellery, and many are exchanging old gold jewellery with new ones. The volumes are getting impacted but value-wise the jewellers are not facing any issue.”


Avinash Gupta, partner at Hyderabad-based Mamraj Musaddilal Jewellers, noted that while demand has softened, it hasn’t reached alarming levels. “Demand will bounce back in April due to weddings and Akshaya Tritiya, but definitely the preference will shift to lightweight and lower caratage jewellery.”
National News
PNG Jewellers’ CMD Dr. Saurabh Gadgil Launches Debut Memoir ‘Choosing Gold’
~Inside the mindset that built PNG Jewellers: a sixth-generation jeweller on conviction, patience, and choosing the harder path ~
He inherited one of India’s oldest business legacies in his mid-thirties. Today, Dr. Saurabh Gadgil, Chairman and Managing Director of PNG Jewellers, tells the story of everything that came with it, in ‘Choosing Gold’, his debut memoir, released nationally by Penguin Random House India.

‘Choosing Gold’ is a deeply honest and personal book. It is the story of a man who inherited one of India’s oldest business legacies at a young age, and who has now, at forty-nine, paused to reflect on that remarkable journey. Not as the world sees it from the outside, but as he truly lived it.
The memoir traces the moments that shaped him, conversations with his grandfather and mother that stayed with him for life, lessons that revealed their meaning only with time, and difficult decisions that tested his conviction before they proved their worth. The 194-year-old legacy of PNG Jewellers forms the backdrop of this journey. But at its heart, the book is about the man himself, his growth, his choices, his struggles, and the courage it takes to carve one’s own path while honouring what came before.
Dr. Saurabh Gadgil, Chairman and Managing Director, PNG Jewellers, said:

“For most of my life, I was too busy living this journey to examine it. Writing this book forced me to sit still for the first time and ask myself questions I had avoided for nearly three decades. Which of my decisions was I actually proud of? Which ones do I still lose sleep over? What did I get right by wisdom, and what did I merely get right by luck? Choosing Gold is my honest attempt at answering those questions, without the polish, without the retrospective genius we all like to grant ourselves.
What surprised me most in writing it was discovering how much of my story was shaped in the quiet moments, a conversation with my grandfather I didn’t realise I’d remember forever, a failure I hid from everyone, including myself, and advice I dismissed at twenty-five and only truly understood decades later. Those moments made me far more than anything that shows up on a balance sheet. I wrote this book for every dreamer standing where I once stood, ambitious, uncertain, carrying expectations they never asked for, wondering if they have it in them. I don’t offer them a formula, because there isn’t one, but the truth and first-hand virtues that have traced me to where I am today … something that balance sheets won’t ever reflect. If my story helps even one reader make their next hard choice with a little more courage and a little less fear, then this book has done everything I hoped it would.”
Anuj Datta, Lead – Penguin Enterprise, Custom Publishing, Penguin Random House India, said, “As publishers, we’re always looking for stories that offer something beyond success. What struck me about Choosing Gold was its honesty. Saurabh doesn’t just talk about achievements; he reflects on the difficult decisions, setbacks and moments of doubt that shaped his journey. That’s what makes this memoir compelling. It’s not simply a business story; it’s a deeply personal account of leadership and resilience. I believe readers, whether they’re entrepreneurs, business leaders or professionals at any stage of their careers, will find something meaningful in these pages.”
‘Choosing Gold’ is Dr. Gadgil’s honest ledger of his choices, written for readers far beyond the jewellery trade, inheritors carrying weight they never asked for, first-generation entrepreneurs building without a name to lean on, and professionals at every stage confronting self-doubt head-on.

The book was formally celebrated at a private launch event in Mumbai on 6th August, where Dr. Gadgil was joined in conversation by actor Madhuri Dixit for a Q&A on the journey behind ‘Choosing Gold’.
‘Choosing Gold’ is available at all PNG Jewellers stores across India as well as pngjewellers.com and is open for pre-order on Amazon. The book will be available at leading bookstores nationwide by 31st August 2026. The Kindle edition will be available soon.
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