Actress Rituparna Sengupta at the launch of Khadim’s Sona Khazana on Tuesday. Picture by Rashbehari Das

It has set feet fashion trends in the city for the past 12 years and now footwear label Khadim’s has designs on the jewellery front too. The latest offering from the brand is a gold jewellery showroom in the heart of north Calcutta, which marks its entry into the jewellery retail segment in the city.

Khadim’s Sona Khazana, the exclusive store on Bidhan Sarani near the Shyambazar five-point crossing, was inaugurated by actress Rituparna Sengupta on Tuesday afternoon.

“We ventured into jewellery retailing with our superstore in Kanchrapara, North 24-Parganas, which has a fully functional ornaments division. By observing the popularity of that section of the store, we decided to expand this brand as a full-fledged one under the name Khadim’s Sona Khazana,” said managing director of Khadim’s Siddhartha Roy Burman.

He added: “This retail store is the first step towards achieving this goal. It is a calculated risk taken by the company, though we are very sure that it will pay off extremely well.”

The store spread over an area of 500 sq ft is quite stylishly done up. The black interiors form the perfect background to enhance the beauty of the gold ornaments on display.

“We are a brand that suits the Bengali middle class best. This is possible primarily for our honest pricing and our policy never to compromise on quality. And in spite of malls mushrooming in all parts of the city, north Calcutta still draws price-conscious Calcuttans. There could not have been a better place than this to open our first showroom,” said Joydeep Basu Roy, senior brand manager, Khadim’s.

The 100 per cent hall-marked gold jewellery from the house ranges from traditional heavy to lighter designs. The traditional designs have been reworked to suit the contemporary woman’s “lifestyle and thinking”, adding a touch of class and sophistication.

The range varies from wedding jewellery to office wear, daily wear and party pieces. There is also a special 18-carat collection called Sweet 18 for teenagers.

“We have something to suit all age groups and all occasions. Bengalis still love gold above everything else and hence we are concentrating only on this form of jewellery. No diamonds or precious stones for us,” said Basu Roy.

In keeping with the brand image, the pricing is indeed modest. While the bridal sets come for Rs 45,000, the party wear collection starts from Rs 12,000.

“Just like our footwear brand that is for the masses, our jewellery is marked by affordability too. With the international markets soaring, we cannot do anything about the gold prices, but we are trying to compensate on other fronts. Our making charges, for example, are very low,” said Burman.

Expansion plans are on the anvil too. “We want to establish ourselves as one of the leading jewellery brands of the city. Calcuttans have always been very faithful to our brand and we are sure they will continue to show the same amount of trust this time too. This showroom will be followed by more in various parts of the city, all of which are now in the planning stage,” revealed Burman.