CaratLane.com launches ‘Solitaire Experience Lounge’ in Delhi

MUMBAI: India’s largest online retailer of solitaires, jewellery and gold coins, CaratLane.com launched its first ‘ Solitaire Experience Lounge’, in New Delhi on Wednesday. This 400 sq ft hi-tech walk-through lounge will help customers speak to diamond consultants, try on samples of the jewellery and experience the online buying process.

The lounge is designed to encourage ‘browsing’, like on a website or at a luxury store. The store has several touch screens that showcase the online store’s collection, and help evaluate the quality and integrity of diamonds. The pricing in the lounge will be the same as on the website. The jewellery experts at the Solitaire Experience Lounge will guide buyers on diamond purchases, while the actual purchase of diamonds and other precious jewellery can be made online at CaratLane.com or at the Experience Lounge.

This initiative aims to reach out to the traditional diamond and solitaire buyer who is not very comfortable with buying high-value things online. “The Solitaire Experience Lounge is about taking CaratLane to where the customer is. The idea is to bring the website into the Indian retail environment and create another touch point for the customer,” said Mithun Sacheti, CEO and co-founder, CaratLane. The online jewellery retailer plans to set up six such lounges across the country during 2012-13, with Mumbai and Hyderabad coming up next.

CaratLane is targeting overall revenues of Rs.150 crores for FY13. CaratLane will continue to make investments to strengthen merchandizing, operations and technology apart from the investments in new Experience Lounges.