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
Jewellery Sector IPOs: Proceeds Used For Debt Reduction, Inventory Financing, Store Or Capacity Expansion
How Lalithaa, Shankesh, Augmont, Priority Jewels and Deepa Jewellers Turned March–September 2026 Into The Busiest Primary-Market Season The Organised Jewellery Trade Has Seen
The last six months have delivered the most active stretch of primary-market activity the Indian organised jewellery sector has seen in years. Between March and September 2026, at least five jewellery-linked companies — Lalithaa Jewellery Mart, Shankesh Jewellers, Augmont Enterprises, Priority Jewels and Deepa Jewellers — took the IPO route, collectively seeking to raise well over Rs 3,400 crore. A further wave, led by Nityas Gems and Jewellery and several smaller manufacturers, is queued behind them.

The common thread across issuers is capital intensity. Jewellery retail and B2B manufacturing are working-capital-hungry businesses — inventory, gold-purchase schemes and store rollouts all consume cash faster than they generate it — and IPO proceeds have been directed almost uniformly toward debt reduction, inventory financing and store or capacity expansion rather than diversification.
Investor response has been mixed but broadly favourable. Lalithaa’s Rs 1,700-crore issue and Augmont’s Rs 825-crore issue both drew triple-digit institutional demand and listed at premiums above 20%; Shankesh Jewellers, by contrast, was subscribed a comparatively modest 2.80 times yet still surprised the market with an 11% listing pop, considerably ahead of its grey-market indication. Priority Jewels and Deepa Jewellers, still working through their listing timelines as this report goes to press, point to continued — if more measured — appetite for the sector.
Summary Table: Key Jewellery IPOs (Last Six Months)
| Company | Issue Size | Price Band (₹) | Subscription Window | Listing Date | Listing Gain | Subscription (x) |
| Lalithaa Jewellery Mart | ₹1,700 Cr | 190–201 | 17–19 Aug 2026 | 24 Aug 2026 | +31.99% (BSE) | 62.97x |
| Shankesh Jewellers | ₹367.18 Cr | 88–93 | 18–20 Aug 2026 | 25 Aug 2026 | +11.08% (NSE) | 2.80x |
| Augmont Enterprises | ₹825 Cr | 750–788 | 21–25 Aug 2026 | 31 Aug 2026 | +21.95% (NSE) | 105.8x–111.2x |
| Priority Jewels | ₹91.50 Cr | 190–200 | 28 Aug–1 Sep 2026 | 4 Sep 2026 (tent.) | GMP-implied ~12% | 100.45x |
| Deepa Jewellers | ₹459.72 Cr | 168–177 | 1–3 Sep 2026 | 8 Sep 2026 (tent.) | Pending | Pending |
Other Jewellery IPOs in the Pipeline
Nityas Gems and Jewellery Ltd
- Status: Received SEBI’s observation letter on July 23, 2026, clearing the way to launch within twelve months
- Profile: Surat-based manufacturer of lab-grown diamond-studded gold jewellery, operating a dual B2B/D2C model with clients including GIVA, Palmonas, ONYA and Ladia Diamonds, and a direct-to-consumer arm via subsidiary Ayaani Diamonds and Jewellery
- Issue structure: An entirely fresh issue of roughly 1.44 crore equity shares, with proceeds earmarked mainly for working capital
Additional Names to Watch
Beyond the issues profiled above, several other jewellery-sector companies have filed draft papers or are working through confidential pre-filing with SEBI, including Master Chains N Jewels (which has filed a DRHP for a Rs 400 crore fresh issue) and other manufacturers and retailers reported to be preparing mainboard filings. Exact price bands and launch windows for this second tier remain unconfirmed as of early September 2026, and readers should treat any figures circulating for these names as provisional until formal RHPs are filed.
7. Market Context & Trends
Investor Appetite Has Been Uneven, Not Uniform
The headline story is strong demand, but the pattern beneath it is more nuanced. Lalithaa (62.97x) and Augmont (105–111x) drew genuinely broad-based institutional conviction, while Priority Jewels’ 100.45x subscription was driven disproportionately by retail and non-institutional bidders. Shankesh Jewellers is the outlier: a modest 2.80x overall subscription nonetheless produced an 11% listing pop — a reminder that grey-market chatter and formal subscription data do not always predict listing-day outcomes.
Listing Gains Have Broadly Rewarded Investors
Every jewellery IPO that has listed in this window has done so at a premium to its issue price: Lalithaa at roughly 32%, Augmont at roughly 22%, and Shankesh at roughly 11%. Grey-market premiums, however, have proven an imperfect guide — both Lalithaa and Augmont listed below their GMP-implied levels, while Shankesh listed well above its GMP indication, underscoring that GMP should be read as a sentiment gauge rather than a price forecast.
Capital Is Flowing Toward Debt and Working Capital, Not Diversification
Across every issuer in this cohort, the stated use of proceeds skews heavily toward debt repayment, inventory financing and store or facility expansion — a pattern that reflects how working-capital-intensive organised jewellery retail and B2B manufacturing remain, even for well-established, profitable brands.
With Priority Jewels and Deepa Jewellers still to list, and Nityas Gems and Jewellery — along with a second tier of smaller manufacturers — working through SEBI’s approval process, the jewellery sector’s primary-market pipeline shows little sign of thinning heading into the second half of FY27. For issuers, the lesson of this cycle is that strong brand recognition and headline revenue growth alone have not guaranteed outsized institutional demand; balance-sheet quality, cash-flow discipline and a credible use-of-proceeds story appear to matter just as much to the eventual listing outcome. For investors, the spread of results — from Lalithaa’s blockbuster debut to Shankesh’s under-subscribed-yet-strong listing — argues for evaluating each issuer on its own financial and operational merits rather than treating “jewellery IPO” as a single, uniform trade.
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