Beyond spices and cotton, the gems and jewelry market in India is one of the largest in the world: It makes up about 29% of the global jewelry consumption, according to India’s Department of Commerce.
- The country also accounts for nearly all (90%) of diamond cutting and polishing in the world.
- In 2021, jewelry consumption amounted to 7% of India’s GDP.
To get a sense of the bustling industry firsthand, we (well, me, Jeena here) visited Zaveri Bazaar in Mumbai, Asia’s largest bullion market that gets ~500,000 visitors a day.
The narrow and crowded aisles of the 150-year-old market are packed with 3,000+ big and small jewelry businesses—selling everything from gold to gemstones to imitation pieces. Zaveri Bazaar reportedly makes up for nearly 60% of India’s gold trade and employs about 50,000 artisans.
- “Everyone’s constantly competing here,” said one salesperson we spoke to.
Get a glimpse of Zaveri Bazaar below.
Jeena Sharma
Jeena Sharma
Jeena Sharma
Jeena Sharma
Jeena Sharma
Jeena Sharma
Jeena Sharma
Jeena Sharma
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