Diamonds can be an ideal gift for girls however, what happens if you do not want to pay for them? Many women are taking the less expensive route, purchasing pieces that can bridge the gap between inexpensive costume jewelry and costly ornaments.
In the end, what’s acceptable to Meghan Markle the Duchess from Sussex who had access to the crown jewels of the United Kingdom is adequate for us!
It’s time to look into Pune-based semi-fine jewelry company Palmonas that offers a variety of modern alternatives for daily wear as well as special occasions. With a solid base of stainless steel or sterling silver and an incredibly thick layer of vermeil 18k gold, the jewelry promises to be the “perfect mix of design, quality, and luxury”.
The brand has a wide selection of jewelry options, such as rings, necklaces and bracelets, as well as earrings mangalsutras and more, with prices ranging from the range of Rs 800 to Rs 5,500 .
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Getting started
The concept of the semi-fine jewelry startup was born out of coffee.
Dr Amol Patwari is an orthopaedic surgeon. was talking to his spouse, Pallavi Mohadikar Pawari following surgery and talking about surgery implants as well as instruments were used regularly in the OT since the year 2012.
” I had the chance to inform her that the ship was in good shape in the last decade. Then she said”Wow! could we not make jewellery made of this material?’ That’s the way that Palmonas came into existence.” Amol tells Business Headers
Palmonas is the name given to it. Palmonas is a mixture of the alphabets from Amol, Pallavi, and Anaya (the founder of the company, his wife, along with their daughter).
With an investment in the beginning of half a million dollars Palmonas was able to get its first series of 30 designs and released them via the D2C web site on March 8th 2022. The designs have “all sold out in 48 hours”.
Palmonas is selling 500 different SKUs available on its website and currently launches more than 150 SKUs per month. The average value of orders is Rs 2,500 , and the majority of customers are from cities in the metro.
“Our last launches – gold-plated mangalsutras and rakhis – were much appreciated by customers, influencers, and celebrities,” Amol says.
The products are produced at a plant in Jaipur. The company has a staff of 21 and has partnered together with 27 karigars to design designs made of sterling silver, stainless steel as well as gold vermeil.
The company operates an offline store located in the Pune’s Koregaon Park and plans to start 20 franchised stores the coming financial year.
Amol and Pallavi were the first to launch the online saree company Karagiri that was later acquired by unicorn brand aggregator Mensa Brands in August 2021. After sarees they decided to switch to another staple in their wardrobes that is jewellery.
The USP
Amol claims that the USP that is the USP of D2C is that the USP of D2C brand is the demi-fine jewelry.
Demi-fine is a class that was first popularized by Net-a-Porter, a luxury e-tailer is the name that describes jewellery made using precious metals as well as techniques like vermeil plating (a thick layer of gold over a strong base). It is distinct from the fast-fashion fashion jewellery which is made from an unspecified mixture of metals and is flash-plated with an extremely thin layer of silver or gold and is subject to discoloration.
“Palmonas sits between pure gold jewellery, which is expensive, and imitation jewellery, which tarnishes after a few uses,” the company’s founder states.
“Premium quality, international minimalistic designs, and quick service are the three pillars of our brand,” Amol declares.
The challenge and how to proceed
According to research conducted by Fortune Business Insights, the global market for jewellery is predicted to show significant expansion and will be $266.53 billion with an estimated CAGR of 3.7 percent between 2020 to 2027.
The market for jewelry fell 18% between the years 2019 and 2020, Euromonitor states that global demi-fine brands such as Missoma, Catbird, Monica Vinader as well as Maria Black have seen double-digit growth.
Amol states that its top competition is fine jewellery brands such as Caratlane, Shaya, and Bluestone as well as the sterling silver jewellery brands such as Giva. The reason we stand out is we make use of a wide range of base metals, without restricting the types of jewellery we sell. Furthermore, our jewellery is covered by a 1-year warranty.”
In celebration of Independence Day, Palmonas launched an 18K gold-plated Indian flag pin that was worn on the lapel and “got a great response”. “Even Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wears our flag pin,” Amol says.
Amol thinks that the demi-fine jewelry category is in its early phase in India and holds enormous potential. Palmonas claim to have the its first-mover advantage had shipped 10,000 orders per month in five months of its launch.
“We have shipped around 32,000 orders till now,” Amol states. Amol also states that return rates for Palmonas jewelry is lower than 1%, and the repeated purchase percentage is 40% percent.
Amol believes that keeping up with the latest trends is a huge problem. “One has to be on their toes and thinking ahead of time to launch the right product at the right time,” Amol states.
Palmonas future growth strategy includes “aggressive international expansion”. “We have launched a dedicated international store to create a personalised experience for our global clientele,” Amol states.
“Pallavi is our mentor in this journey. We don’t have an exit plan for Palmonas however we would like to establish a Rs. 1000 crore brand within the next three years,”” the CEO says.
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