October 2025 | 685 words | 2-minute read
Even as festive fervour grows and with Diwali right around the corner, gold continues to be on something of an inexorable trajectory. Prices for the precious metal touched a record Rs 1.29 lakh/10g as of publishing (October 16, 2025), and show no signs of slowing down.
Driven by global market trends, including tariffs that are pushing up bullion prices, the price of gold has grown by a dizzying ~50% from the same time last year. This has left key players in the sector concerned about the impact on domestic demand for gold, the purchase of which is a beloved tradition during this season in India — and with good reason. According to the India Bullion & Jewellers Association (IBJA), demand fell by 25% y-o-y to 18 tonnes this Dussehra, as gold prices continued to rally.
Old is gold
As India’s largest jewellery brand, Tanishq (which constitutes ~90% of Titan Company’s revenue, along with other jewellery brands Mia, Zoya and Caratlane) made early moves to ensure steady demand, when it became evident that rising gold prices were here to stay. Jewellery sales for the brand grew by healthy double digits in the second quarter of FY26, thanks largely in part to Tanishq’s gold exchange offers that were rolled out during Navratri and will continue to draw consumers until the end of Diwali.
The strategy isn’t exactly new. Over 30 lakh Indians have partaken of Tanishq’s gold exchange programme for years, recycling close to 1.7 lakh kg of gold, ensuring that ~35% of Tanishq’s sales are constituted by old gold exchange. However, this festive season, the brand upped the ante. “We further strengthened the exchange initiative by offering zero deduction on exchange across all carats,” says Ajoy Chawla, CEO, Jewellery Division, Titan Company Ltd. “And since we launched [during Navratri], sales from old gold exchange have contributed ~38-40% of Tanishq sales, and this contribution is only projected to increase further by the end of Diwali. As a sweetener, we are also offering discounts of up to Rs 450/g.”
The brand is also pushing exchange in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to self-reliance (99% of gold is imported). Mr Chawla adds, “Indians have ~25,000 tonnes of gold lying unused and unworn in their lockers. We are trying to reduce dependence on imports and the trade deficit gap by unlocking this through exchange offers.”
Betting on bullion
Even despite concerns, gold sales have seen a definitive upswing in the last two weeks in the run-up to the festive season, as consumers become reconciled to the reality of gold prices; Tanishq had an uptick in footfalls as well.
Earlier this year, the company pushed 18k jewellery (as opposed to 22k) during the wedding season, highlighting that this may become a sector-wide trend in the future given rising gold prices. The brand is now witnessing excellent traction in this segment among customers in the north market, followed by markets in the east and west (though customers in the south still prefer 22k gold).
Additionally, consumers continue to invest in bullion, with gold retaining its status as a solid investment option. Tanishq’s investment-grade gold coins have had a strong run for the quarter. “Rising gold prices have made gold an important asset class, and is a hedge during uncertain times,” says Mr Chawla.
All that glitters
Anticipating an opportunity for sales growth in studded jewellery as gold prices rose, Tanishq launched special collections for red carpet style events and expanded outreach for high-value customers. As a result, studded jewellery, which includes jewellery with diamonds and precious stones, also grew in double digits.
Additionally, Titan’s jewellery division has been pushing lightweight jewellery (14 carat and even 9 carat) as part of its studded portfolio. This category is also experiencing good buyer growth in the lower-priced category, where it is competing successfully with lab-grown diamonds.
All of these efforts have been supported by addition of more stores, with 55 added during the last quarter, taking the jewellery division’s total presence to 3,377 stores.
—Anuradha Anupkumar
