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| Annual Convocation 2004 |
It gives me immense pleasure to address this elite gathering of the distinguished members of the Gem & Jewellery industry and Gemmologists at the Annual Convocation of the Gemmological Institute of India.
Gemmology as a science started its growth in India in the year 1971 at the Gemmological Institute of India in Mumbai. Later the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council set up institutes in Delhi, Surat and Jaipur with a view to promote and propagate the study of the science of gemstones in India.
The Gem & Jewellery industry over the last 3 decades has grown tremendously and shown quantum leap in all segments.
From a meagre US$ 28 million of exports in the year 1966-67 the exports of Gem & Jewellery items have crossed an astronomical figure of US$ 11.98 billion during the year ending 31st March 2004.
The spectacular achievements in the exports of gemstones from India is mainly because of the hard work of the young and dynamic entrepreneurs, skilled craftsmen and pragmatic policies adopted by the government of India.
The industry, over the years, has developed technical skills not only in the manufacturing of small diamonds but also for polishing diamonds of all shapes and sizes. The necessary machinery is now being manufactured indigenously.
The growth in the studded jewellery segment, which started during the last few years, has achieved a remarkable position in the export market today. The credit for this achievement goes undoubtedly, to the marketing skills and high quality of jewellery produced in India.
The setting up of Free Trade zones around the country and relaxation in the policy of import and exports by the Government of India has given the much needed impetus to the growth of the Gem & Jewellery sector in India.
Although the country has witnessed a quantum leap in the growth of gem and jewellery sector, there are many challenges in the course of our growth in business. As this industry grows in India there is a lot happening in the global scene. Competing countries are making policies and implementing them at a very fast pace. The Indian industry and the various arms of the government of India and Maharashtra together should hasten up with such equally pragmatic policies and implement its execution quickly.
In early days we never had to worry too much about the synthetics, simulants or treatments. Science and technology has made tremendous advancements in the science of gemstones. During the last 2 decades many synthetic gemstones have started coming into the gemstone markets all over the world. Every coloured stone trader today prefers to deal in gemstones with a proper and authentic certificate from a recognized gem testing laboratory.
Earlier in the case of diamonds we had to worry only about the simulants. These simulants are imitations which do not have the same properties of a natural diamond. They can be easily identified in any conventional Gem Testing Laboratory.
But now, the scenario has changed completely with the introduction of synthetic diamonds created by High Pressure High Temperature and Chemical Vapour Deposition methods. By HPHT treatment brown diamonds can be enhanced to colourless diamonds, having its colour grade in the range of "G" to "D".
The entire diamond world including the mighty De Beers are very much concerned with the above developments. De Beers had specially organized a seminar to discuss this challenging problem. I personally had the opportunity to visit their Research laboratory at Maidenhead in United Kingdom to understand the research work they are carrying out on diamonds. I felt that this is the type of research studies we should carry out in India. The GIA in America, HRD in Antwerp, SSEF in Switzerland, GA of UK and many other gemological laboratories around the world have been spending millions of dollar to resolve the identification problem of synthetic and treated diamonds. De Beers has successfully developed two instruments, the DiamondView and DiamondSure to identify the synthetic diamonds.
The synthetics are manufactured by creating the conditions that existed in nature's womb at the time of formation of diamonds about 40-50 millions years ago . Therefore, the identification of synthetics has become very difficult unless very high tech, sophisticated and state-of-the-art instruments are used. These instruments basically measure the atomic alignment or disorder in the diamonds with the help of absorption spectra. These spectra are analyzed and studied further for the identification purpose.
The Council under the leadership of Shri Sanjaybhai Kothari had numerous discussions during the last 2 years with leading gemological laboratories and gemologists in India. As a result of our efforts we have realized the need for collaboration with the Gemmological Institute of India for the promotion and development of a strong scientific base for the industry.
The Research and Development is very vital for any industry. No industry can progress beyond a certain limit without proper scientific base. Therefore R & D is the back bone and life blood of any industry.
This research which we are planning has to be carried
out at a National level
and the results of the research studies should be made available to the Indian
industry. All the institutions working for the industry in India should be
able to get their problems solved at the National Research Laboratory of the
Gemmological Institute of India in Mumbai.
In this manner a laboratory or a gemologist or a trader in any part of the country will have access to the information and knowledge for identification of all type of synthetics and treatments.
With this end in view the Council along with the Bharat Diamond Bourse , the Diamond Exporters' Association Ltd. and the Gem & Jewellery Exporters' Association have decided to back whole heartedly the Gemmological Institute of India in setting up one of the best Research Laboratories in the country.
We have decided to the help the institute in importing all the latest instruments, equipments required for the research studies and also train the required scientific personnel for carrying out the research works.
I am no doubt a diamond merchant by profession, but I understand the pulse of the technical problems and I assure you all that the Council will take up the challenges faced by the industry very seriously and take every effort to protect the gem & Jewellery trade and industry and above all the interest of the consumers.
Lastly I would like to say a few words to the students of the GII. First of all my hearty congratulations to all the students who have successfully completed their Diploma Course from GII and getting their certificate today. I wish them all success in their life. I also appeal to them to pursue the interest in the study of the science of gemstones throughout their life.
I request you all to also shoulder the responsibility to spread the knowledge of gemstones in the country.
Our efforts should be that in another few years time every jewelers in all the nook and corners of India should be having sufficient gemological knowledge to guide his consumers and also protect his business. This is possible only if you all take this as a mission.
Thank you, Jai Hind.