With modern jewellery outlets entering the Mysore market, offering branded and designer jewellery, traditional families in the business for the last few centuries find themselves pushed to the corner.
The competition has compelled the conservative local jewellers to venture out to build better shopping spaces and facilities to survive. The first to make such a venture is the Tholasi family, its fourth generation, setting up a three-storeyed building in the city’s oldest thoroughfare, the Ashoka Road (Doddapete) with parking space. It opened its modern showroom on August 24.
“The traditional jewellers were shying away from venturing into luxury stores because of the heavy investments required. Now traders like us are compelled to offer luxury store environ to our customers,” T A Ashok Kumar of Tholasi Jewllery Mart said today.
Jewellery business was a traditional one right from the early part of the 19th century, with businesses confining themselves to the then main business areas of Doddapete (now called Ashoka Road) and Shivarampet, also known as Srirampet.
The Telugu Shetty community, known as Arya Vysyas were the chief traders in the erstwhile royal city. Some of them like the A Shankara Chetty built up a tradition and were famous for their loyalty and dependability in the gold and silver market.
The Mysore Maharajas were the chief patrons of these reputed jewellers. In fact, their support and encouragement led to the popular Mysore Brand jewellery, most of which came with the stone-studded insignia of the Wadiyars, the Ganda Bherunda or the double-headed eagle.
The goldsmiths operated in the different mohallas of the city, chiefly from their houses. They produced jewellery for the local residents, operating in a small way.
With the disappearance of the royal patronage and the immigration of people from North India, the Arya Vysya community lost its monopoly. The immigrant Gujaratis and Marwaris began to open shops bringing in new patterns.
Unable to meet the competition, some traditional jewellers either shut shop or switched to new business, managing to only help the new traders consolidate their position.
Now those few localities left in the trade are facing a new threat — ultra modern showrooms offering a large number of branded and new designs.
One of the earliest in the last few years to enter the jewellery market from a place other than Mysore were Bhima Jewellers.
Then came Chemmanur Jewellers, both from Kerala, who made their presence felt here and a few months back Tanishq, a Tata enterprise, with a wide range of designs making it one among its nearly 100 stores across the country.
Kumar admitted there was some diversion of business with the newer entrants into the markets.
There are over 100 jewellery shops in Mysore including small ones and 5-6 modern showrooms. Of these, hardly 40 shops are in the hands of the traditional jewellers today.
