India’s top jewellery maker, Titan Co., is reporting that customers are becoming cautious, with record-high gold prices dampening demand in the world’s second-largest bullion market.
Sales growth is now primarily driven by price increases rather than volume, with customer growth remaining “muted,” according to Chief Financial Officer Ashok Kumar Sonthalia in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
We would like for it to be balanced, where we get buyer growth as well as growth in ticket prices.”
Gold demand to slip in 2026
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The WGC said last month that India’s gold demand is likely to decline in 2026 after falling 11% in 2025, as record-high prices and shifting consumer behaviour weighed on purchases.
The Council expects elevated prices to curb jewellery sales and offset any increase in investment demand, keeping overall consumption near 700 tonnes this year, according to its quarterly report.
Gold jewellery demand dropped sharply in 2025, with volumes sliding 24% to 430.5 tonnes, as higher prices squeezed buyers with fixed budgets and reduced the quantity of gold they could afford.
As a result, India’s gold imports are expected to ease this year.
Sonthalia said the company is expanding gold exchange programmes and has seen customers shift towards lower-carat jewellery.
Titan’s strategic resilience and quarterly performance
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Despite weak volumes, Titan announced one of its most robust quarterly performances recently, demonstrating significant resilience and growth outside of the immediate pandemic-affected periods.
Titan’s performance was particularly notable given a backdrop of softer overall market volumes.
The flagship driver of this exceptional quarter was the jewellery division.
Specifically, Titan’s jewellery sales reached a remarkable 209.3 billion rupees. This figure represents an impressive 42% increase compared to the same period in the previous year.
This performance not only signifies strong consumer demand but also successfully surpassed the consensus estimates provided by market analysts.
The timing of this sales surge is critical, as it coincided with India’s peak wedding and festive season, which traditionally sees a massive uplift in demand for gold and diamond jewellery.
The company’s successful navigation and capture of this seasonal demand underscore its strong brand appeal and effective retail strategies during the most crucial consumption period of the year.
Lower caratage and investment demand surge
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High gold prices are causing consumers to moderate their gold jewellery purchases, leading to a decrease in both overall purchase volumes and the average value per transaction, according to WGC’s market update.
Consumers are sticking to predetermined budgets by choosing lighter-weight jewellery and items with lower making charges.
Although 22-karat gold jewellery is still the most popular, there is a growing demand for lower-purity options, such as 18-karat and 14-karat, which highlights increased price sensitivity among buyers.
In 2025, India’s investment demand for gold surged by 17% to 280.4 tons, reaching its highest level since 2013, according to the WGC.
This rise meant that investment demand constituted a record approximately 40% of India’s total gold consumption for the year, significantly up from its typical share of around one-quarter.
