Rio  Tinto's diamond business has reinforced its commitment to the Indian  diamond industry with the announcement of a new and innovative marketing  initiative focussed on the Indian bridal occasion.

The campaign, titled "Nazraana" was announced at Rio Tinto's recent  India 2010 Symposium in Goa. The India Symposium 2010 was a unique  opportunity for 58 Indian diamond jewellery retailers to meet with Rio  Tinto's Select Diamantaires to discuss new avenues for the distribution  of Rio Tinto diamonds in the growing domestic market.

Commenting on the recent Symposium, Jean-Marc Lieberherr, General  Manager for the sales and marketing for all diamonds from Rio Tinto's  mines said, "We are very confident in the growth prospects for diamond  jewellery consumption in India and the recent Symposium is just one  example of how we are working to develop a strong connection with the  Indian retail community and deepen our understanding of this important  element of the diamond supply chain".

The Nazraana initiative is underpinned by research that supports the  fact that, in addition to the traditional bridal jewellery set, there is  an emerging demand for diamond accessories as an ideal gift for family  and friends celebrating at Indian weddings.

According to Vikram Merchant, Manager of Rio Tinto's India  Representative Office, "We see a great opportunity here to work with  Indian jewellery retailers to fill a gap in the market for affordable  diamond jewellery accessories for the bridal occasion in India. Rio  Tinto's Argyle production is well suited to bridal accessories and we  will work with our Select Diamantaires to ensure Indian retailers are  supplied with the necessary product and support materials to create this  new market segment".

The Nazraana initiative provides a structured training program for  Indian retailers and their sales associates that will guide them in  achieving incremental sales, without impacting the main bridal sale. The  program includes selling and visual merchandising techniques and will  be conducted at venues all over India.

Ref: <a href="http://www.gjepc.org/news/view.aspx?NewsId=7785" target="_blank">GJEPC</a>