Carmine
Carmine
Carmine
May, 2017
May. 2017
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Ms.SHRISHTI RAHEJA of Fashion and Lifestyle Accessory Design Department at National Institute of Fashion Technology -
Mumbai, has been evaluated for his or her Graduation Project report: jewellery design internship at Caratlane:A Tanishq partnership and have fulfilled the re-
quirements set by the institute and the evaluation jury. Her work has been found satisfactory.
…………………………………… ……………………………………
(Faculty Guide) (Centre Coordinator)
…………………………………… ……………………………………
(Joint Director) (Director)
All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechani-
cal, photocopying, recording and scanning or other wise in any form without the written permission of the copyright owners.
I would like to acknowledge and extend my heartfelt gratitude to the following people who gave me an opportunity and have made the completion of this intern-
ship possible.
I would like to take the opportunity to extend my gratitude to our director , Mrs. Nilima Rani Singh, our Course Co-ordinator and Head of Department, Mr.
Saurabh Kumar and our professor, my faculty guide,Mr. Kumar Sudeepta, for guidance at every crucial and minor juncture of this internship.
I would also like to thank my Industry mentor, Ms. Pradnya Mhaske (Assistant General manager of merchandise), for providing meaningful guidance at every
step of the internship, without her the completion of this project would not have been possible.
Also, my heartfelt gratefulness extended to Mr. Mithun Sacheti (CEO, fouder) and Mr. Aakrosh Sharma (Vice- President) for their continuing guidance at every
phase of the internship journey.
Finally, I would like to thank my parents, without whose constant help and support the completion of this project would not have been succesful.
Introduction
Company Profile
Caratlane: A Tanishq Partnership
With a strategic investment from Titan Company Limited, CaratLane is now partners with India’s largest retail jeweller Tanishq. The partnership aims to work
towards a common mission – to offer customers beautiful jewellery and a distinctive shopping experience that fits today’s values and lifestyles - enabling Carat-
Lane to grow as India’s 21st century jewellery brand.
CaratLane is also known for its signature jewellery-buying experience across all platforms. Along with the website, which is India’s largest online jewellery desti-
nation, CaratLane, has over 13 brand stores across the country. The stores bring the seamless jewellery buying experience with a no barrier access to all jewellery,
along with Magic Mirrors for virtual try-ons. CaratLane also pioneered a unique Try@Home feature for jewellery buyers in the country, where customers can
book an appointment, get their desired jewellery delivered at their doorsteps, and try them at their comfort with no-obligations to buy.
Further CaratLane also launched a revolutionary virtual try-on app – the Perfect Look App – which enables jewellery buyers to try multiple pieces without, lit-
erally, having to putting them on. CaratLane integrates the StreamLaneTM system to eliminate inefficiencies in the supply chain. It keeps the overheads low and
enables CaratLane in efficient delivery, along with bringing forth savings of up to 25% over retail costs to customers, while continuing to give the best quality.
Facilitating the diamond-buying experience in India, CaratLane stores include a Solitaire Lounge to assist diamond buyers to find the perfect solitaire.
CaratLane is an Indian online portal that sells jewellery. It was founded by Mithun Sacheti and Srinivasa Gopalan in 2008.
CaratLane’s inventory includes diamond jewellery and gold coins.
Mithun Sacheti, a jewellery retailer, collaborated with Srinivasa Gopalan who is an IT entrepreneur and the founder of Lister Technologies, to form CaratLane.
Instead of maintaining a conventional inventory, the company relies on several thousand vendors who supply gems on request. As of August 2015, the company
operated ten physical stores in India.
Tiger Global, a US-based hedge fund, has been investing in CaratLane since 2011.In its fourth round of fundraising (in 2015) CaratLane received ₹192 crore
(US$29 million) from Tiger Global making the sum total invested by the Hedge Fund approximately ₹318.31 crore (US$47 million).
In July 2016, Titan purchased a 62% stake in CaratLane for ₹357.24 crore (US$53 million).
Address: 1st & 2nd Floor, Parmeshwari Building, Unit C-6, WICEL
Compound, Near Seepz, MIDC, Andheri East, Mumbai,
Maharashtra 400093
Brand personality: Their core customer is a young, independent woman living in India’s larger cities.
Brand offering: The brand offers a variety of jewellery from earrings, to necklaces, to tanmaniyas, giving the modern woman all options of pur-
chase at her fingertips along with its availibility in the online domain as well as in physical stores along with some convienient
purchase options such as try at home.
But CaratLane co-founder and CEO Mithun Sacheti saw the scenario a little differently.
Gold prices had been continuously rising, jewellery stores were getting bigger, and still, the consumer didn’t necessarily have a lot of choice. “We spoke to dozens
and dozens of women across the country. Hundreds, actually. About their tastes, their lifestyles, what was important to them. We discovered a crazy paradox.
Despite their love for jewellery – and how important jewellery is for their personal style and individuality – most women were forced to keep their jewellery in
bank lockers, where it was safe but unwearable on an everyday basis,” says Sacheti.
Consumer Persona
The contemporary Indian woman was no longer wearing jewellery to look beautiful or to elicit compliments, but because she appreciated beautiful jewellery that
drew out her compelling individuality and made her feel beautiful, rather than just look good.
A large store or even a chain of stores, Sacheti decided, was not going to solve this problem.
Caratlane’s target customers – young, successful and financially independent women – are breaking through stereotypes to forge a new identity.
These women based their decisions on the power of knowledge and access to information. His business, Sacheti decided, would leverage the same things. He
decided to change the process of discovery by building a jewellery business that was online, effectively disrupting the existing jewellery retail business model.
Brand Mission
Sacheti started CaratLane with a mission to democratise jewellery – to make beautiful jewellery accessible, affordable and forever wearable. A refreshing and
courageous objective at that time.
He says that the experiment to take the business online started at his earlier jewellery store, Jaipur Gems. When he saw that he could sell expensive solitaires
based on the power of information alone, without actually carrying any inventory, he realised that CaratLane as a business could happen.
“Whenever I mentioned the idea of CaratLane, my co-founder Srinivasa Gopalan would hear me out patiently, but I don’t think he had the conviction that this
would work out. But when Gopalan witnessed a customer at Jaipur Gems purchasing a diamond worth $30,000 without seeing it and only based on the specifica-
tions available, he was finally convinced that if someone could spend this kind of money based on information alone, then an online jewellery store might actual-
ly work.”
Mr. Mithun Sacheti talks passionately about how he has learnt so much from customers. “A 75-year old lady spoke to us enquiring about a diamond she wished
to purchase. We showed her an image of the diamond and took her through the specifications in details. She did her own research with other retail stores and
came back to us, not only was our price much lower but also because we invested our time in educating her about the diamond” recounted Sacheti. This interac-
tion taught him that customers had no age bar and one of their biggest needs for decision-making was transparency and education.
Graduation Project | Caratlane | 12
Titan picks up majority stake in etailer Caratlane for Rs 357 crore
Titan Company, part of the salt-to steel conglomerate Tata Group, is investing Rs 357 crore for a 62% stake in online jewellery retailer Caratlane, it said in a filing
to BSE. The announcement which was first made in May this year, without details of the transaction being shared by the group, values Caratlane at Rs 575 crore.
At the time, Titan, which makes watches and jewellery under the Tanishq brand, said it had picked up a majority stake in the Chennai-based company.
Titan would be acquiring 19,142,545 shares representing approximately 62% of the company’s share capital, the filing said. This marks the second such deal
wherein a brick-and-mortar retail has invested in an e-commerce firm over the past few months. In April, Kishore Biyani-led Future Group bought out cash-
starpped and troubled online furniture retailer Fabfurnish which was backed by Germany’s Rocket Internet.
Titan’s shares shot up when the markets opened Friday but ended just marginally higher from its previous close at Rs 417.50 on the BSE .
Started in 2008 by Mithun Sancheti, whose family is in the jewellery business, Caratlane has over a dozen offline stores across the country.It has raised about $50
million from Tiger Global Management. For Tiger, a New York-based investment fund, which has been one of the most ferevent consumer internet investors in
India, Titan’s majority stake acquisition essentially means it has recovered the capital it had ploughed in the company with a tiny profit. According to VCCEdge
data, Tiger infused about Rs 302 crore ($52.22 million) since 2011 to buy 19.14 million shares of Caratlane, which Titan is acquiring now.
Titan’s managing director Bhaskar Bhat said, Caratlane will give them the access to a growing consumer base online, mainly that of the youth. “This investment is
not about the present but the future. They are the biggest and oldest online player and it fits our business proposition well now,” Bhat said over the phone. Jewel-
lery contributes atleast 80% to Titan’s revenues. But it’s growth has been slowing down since the last quarter of financial year 2016 as well for the full fiscal year.
There’s been an overall sluggishness in business sentiments with new restrictions kicking in wherein consumer’s have to furnish their permanent account number
(PAN) cards for purchases over Rs 2 lakh .
Branding
It has been nine years since the brand Caratlane was launched. And it's remarkable how much has changed in that short time- Women have crushed through
stereotypes and are making unprecedented progress, Some were skeptical. But the culture has truly changed. What started as a drop in the water, became a ripple
and then an unstoppable current. Caratlane as a brand aims to embody the spirit of independent women and salute the achievements of lndian women
change-makers who've made the brand proud ín the past nine years.
Caratlane has done that by highlighting the progress women have made along with some of Caratlane’s milestones.
Caratlane believes that women are responsible for their success, so what better than to highlight theirs made, along with some of the brand’s milestones. After
all, women are responsíble for Caratlane’s success, so what would be a better way to represent the combination than to highlight theirs ,better time to híghlíght
THEIRS!
Design Process
Step 2:
Research phase
•After the core idea of the collection has been decided, i.e., the path that has to be taken, after analytic requirement of the upcoming season , then
the team of designers proceeds to research on the general rough idea that is in everyone’s mind, that has been decided upon.
A large set of topics are covered,ranging from trends in clothing and home accessories, to
upcoming trends in jewellery. Other old crafting techniques are also researched and studied and we try to study if some old product crafting tech-
nique can be taken inspiration from ,
or reinvented. Same with looking at and researching unexplored segments like taking inspiration from traditional textiles, weaving patterns, other
intricacies involved in developing garments,etc.
The research is done by both primary and secondary methods,
Primary methods include:
1) Market visits, those done to understand this particular collection were done to certain places like
•Colaba causeway and other local street fashion places, to understand the trends in street fashion and the kind of style people prefer to buy .
•Palladium ,Phoenix,Lower Parel, since that is one of the places that actually has all stores from multiple brands, from clothing,to cosmetics,
home accessories, jewellery, bags , stationary among other things.
So it gives the researcher a wholistic understanding of how trends run parallely in different areas of design and how some mega and micro
trends impact all sectors of design.
Other places that we visited include Good Earth, Versace Rosenthal, Ishatvam,Pepper fry.
This practice of visiting home accessory and interior designers was done to understand trends in the home accessory segment and how inspira-
tions are materialistically translated in the form of products that adorn homes and lifestyle spaces,etc.
Step 2:
Research phase
Secondary methods include:
•Research in trend books so as to understand upcoming trends that could be used as a source of inspiration. Intensive research on the topics of
jewellery that is being made
globally and in the domestic market and talking to senior designers and merchandisers who have been in the industry for years and have
knowledge about what can be made and cannot, what are the kinds of designs to which consumers react and in what manner, positively or
egatively and other bits of information are very helpful in understanding what new paths could be taken or what traditional paths with a twist
can be applied to creating new jewellery that would be fresh and could recieve positive reception from future
consumers.
•Another important source of information could be communicating with manufacturing experts to figure out new manufacturing techniques
that could be used to enhance designs and also to experiment with old ones to blend two or more manufacturing techniques to bring out a
different aesthetic to traditional designs so as to be able to reinvent traditional designs with a modern twist.
•Reading magazines like Vogue, VO+ , Jewellery editor, helps in gaining exposure to
designers and their designs who are in different parts of the world and whose designs are impacted by different cultures.
Step 3:
Creating Reference boards
–In a theme like this of Akshay Tritiya, the entire idea was to design jewellery that was Indian with a modern twist, so in the initial phases the
entire team were asked to make reference boards, where everyone could collectively learn about the different styles of jewellery from different
parts of the country, the cultural origins from where these products arose and also learn about region based trends and preferences.
So all designers from the design team collected images and references of jewellery from different parts of the country and put it together, after
whish there were common discussions and meetings to analyze and understand what was and was not possible
Manufacturing Process
Filing
Here’s an excerpt of our conversation with Keshab Sengupta, Head of Manufacturing at CaratLane, on everything you need to know to understand gold wastage
and making charges:
First things first
Karat is a measure of the purity of gold (NOT Carat, which is a measure of the weight of diamonds). So while 24KT is considered pure gold it is too soft to make
any jewellery out of it. Metals such as copper, silver, cadmium etc. are hence added to make it strong and shine and with the desired shade. Based on how much
extra metals are added, the Karat value of the gold reduces to 22KT, 18KT, 14KT or even 10KT.
For instance, 18KT gold is 75% pure and 22KT gold, the most valuable for making jewellery, has 91.6% purity. And this is what is called 916 gold (symbolizes
91.6%). In order to make sure that the jewellers actually sell 91.6% pure gold (when they claim to sell 22 carat gold), the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) made
it mandatory to emboss a hallmark on all standardized gold jewellery. And such a jewellery is known as a BIS Hallmark jewellery.
As explained, certain metals are added to pure gold to make it tough and good enough to craft jewellery. This is the first level of added cost to the making process
followed by the actual making charges to convert the gold bars or blocks into beautiful jewellery patterns.
The making charges is therefore the cost of converting raw gold into jewellery. This is usually expressed in Rupees per gram of gold. This varies from a type of
jewellery to another, a certain category of jewellery to the other and also from one jeweller to another.
Price of gold ornament = Price of (22KT or 18KT) gold X (Weight in gms + Wastage) + Making Charges + VAT.
So what’s wastage?
The goldsmith or craftsman creates handmade gold jewellery by melting gold, cutting and shaping it into tiny pieces and joining them together. In this process
there is a certain quantity of gold that is wasted. Jewellery that is manufactured by machines, like chains and bangles, predominantly used for everyday wear
leads to lesser wastage. On the other hand, studded jewellery that is crafted through the casting method tends to result in a higher wastage of gold. Irrespective,
Graduation Project | Caratlane | 38
wastage is not really all waste as of course, the goldsmiths will actually collect or retrieve most of the gold, minimising the actual wastage!
‘Wastage’ is often expressed as a part of the costs by traditional jewellers in terms of ‘percentage’. And the wastage charges typically vary from 3% to 35% with
most traditional jewellers in India.
In addition, if your jewellery has any precious or semi-precious stones and pearls, that cost will be added up as well.
Using Caution
As a smart buyer, you may keep the following things in mind when you deal with traditional jewellery shops:
While buying studded gold jewellery, jewellers may weigh the entire piece and charge for it. However, in case of exchanging the piece, jewellers tend to deduct
the stone weight as impurity from the total value. Let’s assume, these stones weigh 10% of the total weight of the product, hence, at the time of exchange you
would be paying 10% extra. However, certain jewellers do provide transparency on the net weight of each product. You need to be aware and buy from the right
jeweller
Most jewellers offer customers a period of about one week to exchange their products, if they are not satisfied with the design or have size issue. This exchange
of jewellery, allowed within one week, is on the bill value. However, post that week, if the customer opts for an exchange the valuation will be done as: Weight X
Rate. The customer will therefore lose out on the making charges. Choose a jeweller who offers a minimum of one month for exchange with full value
Check for the BIS hallmark on the inner or back side of each of the pieces you are buying
Collection 1
Ikat
An amalgam of beautiful colours and patterns, Ikat has transcended boundaries to become a raging trend across the globe. It is a dyeing technique that is used
to pattern textile yarns before they are woven into a fabric. It is an Indonesian word, which literally means ‘to tie’. Rubber threads or bundles of grass are ‘tied’ to
loose threads and dyed to showcase beautiful designs.
Although Ikat cannot be traced back to its origin, it was a predominant dyeing technique practised across Asia.
> Ikat artisans first draw a desired pattern on the yarns by hand.
> The yarns are now tied using wax threads or impermeable substances to match the drawn pattern.
> The tied yarns are dyed in specific shades to impart colour on the untied part; the tied part retains the yarn’s original colour.
> The yarn is now untied and strung on the loom to begin the weaving process.
WARP DOUBLE
WEFT IKAT
In this type, only the weft yarn has the dyed patterns.
The Ikat pattern only starts appearing as the weaving
proceeds on the loom. This is a much slower and
skilful process as it requires the weaver to adjust the
weft in order to get clarity on the design.
Perspective view
Side View
Dimensioning
Side view
Details and dimensioning
Perspective view
Details
Cocktail ring with enamel and triangular granulation units, with
a shank connecting from the inner to outer circle and a central
cabochon ruby.
Dimensioning
Side view
Perspective view
Perspective view
Front view
Perspective view
Side view
Graduation Project | Caratlane | 59
Wide Intricate Gold Bangle
Final Product imaging
Front view
Perspective view
Side view
Graduation Project | Caratlane | 60
Dimensions of Ikat motif
CAD images of incircle gold ring
Collection 2
Chokapora
Layered malas
Vaikhari beads
Textured beads
In India, beaded jewellery has an age-old history that dates back to the Indus Valley Civilisation era. Traditional beaded jewellery found in India includes an ex-
tensive range of styles made from a variety of different materials and treatment processes. Some traditional mala jewellery examples specific to India are Mohan
Maal, Jondhali Haar, Vajratik & Thushi of Maharashtra and Gundla Haram and Nakshi Mala of Southern India. Mohan Maal uses two or more strings of gold
beads, which are woven together with a pendant to form a long necklace. It is typically worn with silk sarees on special occasions like weddings and religious
celebrations. Jondhali Haar, on the other hand, is a beaded gold necklace inspired from Jowar, a staple grain used in Maharashtrian food. Vajratik & Thushi are
chokers made out of small gold beads grouped together on a lac base. These are worn together with longer necklaces to complete the ensemble. Native to the
south, Gundla Haram means round necklace; the round in its name denoting the shape of its gold beads. Just like its Maharashtrian counterparts, this necklace is
made with various strings of gold beads and a pendant at the centre. It is usually worn by brides during their wedding ceremony with a pattu saree. Just like these
beaded designs, India has a range of mala jewellery designs worn and styled differently.
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Design Explorations
Designs made are a combination of various sizes of ridged beads that are
handmade and strung/soldered together
Perspective View
Front View
Corel Illustration
Perspective View
Other Designs
Stamping collection
Corel Illustration
Other Designs
Peacock earcuffs and Tanmaniyas
Conceptual Designs
These designs are inspired from nature and organic forms seen in nature.
Other Designs
Lotus collection- bangles and bracelets
Other Designs
Organic forms with pearls
Competitors
Conclusion
During the period of this internship , I got to learn a lot about all the minor and major details that go into making jewellery .
The experience beginning from design meetings and conceptualisation to creating moodboards, to discussing materials to working on sketches to 2dimensional
work to 3dimensional CAD development, all of it was step by step learning.
As a designer , my involvement at every step helped me to gain experience in all aspects. Without the help of an extremely supportive team, the completion of my
projects would not have been possible.
Caratlane is a highly structured organisation where everyone works towards the achievement of a common goal, and there was a lot to learn from everyone
working towards that goal.
Reflecting back on the 22 weeks that I spent in the Caratlane design studio, doing my graduation project,I realized how immensely enriching the experience was.
The graduation project contributed not only to the development of my skills ,but also in improving my practical knowledge.
I got to know that the frequency difference between the thinking of a design student and the requirement of the market was explicitly large.
There were also certain parameters that were to be followed while designing which helps in the design being production friendly as well as cost – effective. My
entire project was full of challenges and helped to bring out the best in me. I gained knowledge of jewelry industry in the context of infrastructure, organization
and interaction between various disciplines, product range, manufacturing processes, assembly line, quality control processes, marketing and
design team management, team spirit and designers role in the industry.
I learnt how a certain product is developed from the raw material to the final finishing and shipping.
This experience helped in developing a better understanding of the working scenario in the industry, different criteria taken into consideration while a product is
being mass produced, limitations, waste reduction,recovery, different parameters for quaity control inspection,etc.
It was a very good experience working at Caratlane Design Studio.
They provided me with a great opportunity to learn and develop understanding of the jewelry industry.