CENTURIES ago, the output of the ancient Golconda mines in India toppled the pearl from its No. 1 position as the world’s most treasured gem and replaced it with the diamond. Later, the Koh-i-Noor — probably the most famous, if not the largest, diamond ever mined — jolted the Western world to look East at the riches and craftsmanship of India. What Jean-Baptiste Tavernier saw on Nov. 3, 1665 was enough to confirm India’s fabled wealth. Tavernier’s first sight of the huge diamond did more than that; it confirmed India as the home of some incredible craftsmen — artificers in precious metals and especially cutters of precious stones. He brought news of this to the West and the rest, as they say, is history.
Three and a half centuries on, when India held an international jewelry exhibition in Mumbai to showcase its modern craftsmanship, you would expect something exceptional in the way of Jewelry; you would not be disappointed. Indian taste in, and design of, jewelry is deeply rooted in its culture. The designs and use of white and colored gems vary from province to province and from ethnic group to ethnic group. Some prefer the exuberant use of color, and incorporate a rainbow of stones in their designs. Others opt for plain gold and very intricate designs of woven or bright-cut gold. What characterizes the jewelry overall is the complexity of the designs, the hugely intensive use of hand labor needed to make it and above all, the almost unbelievable artisan skills of the craftsmen.
As most of India’s jewelry production — figures from exhibitors at the show suggest between 80 and 90 percent — goes to the home market, modern designs echo the traditional tried and tested tastes of the past very strongly. Some makers export to the Indian expatriate communities in places as far apart as Dubai and California. A very few export to the European market and then generally produce their output following designs sent to them.
The most striking feature of the jewelry on show was the quantum leap in quality of manufacture and finish of precious metal and stone set jewelry compared with the poorly finished “fashion” jewelry on offer in the late 1980s. Then, the Indian output that appeared in Europe varied in quality from the abominably nasty made-down-to-a-price pieces to the reasonably made but un-sellable because of the unappealing (to Western eyes) design.
This is definitely no longer the case, judging by the evidence of the 1600 exhibitors who represented the full spectrum of the industry at the show. The quality of manufacture and the finish was superb. There must still be exceptions to this — but you would have to work hard to find them.
India has an enormous pool of inexpensive labor. With good training — and here is the key — the wholesale adoption of modern technology and manufacturing techniques — the fine quality of a product can be mated with exemplary finishing. It is both the design of the piece and the finish that decides a customer to buy piece of jewelry.
The perfection of the polished surface, neatness of the setting holding the stones in place, the precision of straight edges and the consistent flow of curves in the overall design — these assume huge importance to the buyer — and they notice when such things are not present.
Efficiently organized lost wax and machined mold-casting has speeded up production and coupled with sophisticated modern technology, hugely raised the mass produced item’s quality.
Probably the biggest surprise was to see the very latest in laser-welding technology being used to assemble bracelets. It did not only make production faster — but allowed the soldering of minute claws and joints impossible by any other means.
The technology was used to advance design and quality and not simply to speed up production. This is where the Indian industry scores so heavily. It embraced the best of modern technology and coupled it with a vast pool of inexpensive and skilled labor involved in hand finishing a product that is such an intimate part of the nation’s culture. Hoping to expand at five percent a year, the jewelry manufacturers of India are determined to become the global center for jewelry manufacture.
Trust in the quality of precious stones has been supported since 1327 by the British hallmarking system. Since then it has been a punishable offense to offer for sale any article made of a precious metal unless it bears the stamp (hallmark) of one of the recognized Assay Offices. Until as recently as 1773, the penalty for counterfeiting the hallmark was death. It was then changed to 14 years transportation to a penal colony. India, whose jewelry trade though focused very largely on the home market and the integrity of its members, is to adopt, said Sanjay Kothari chairman, Gem and Jewelry Export Promotion Council, a commercial equivalent of the hallmark on Jan. 1, 2008 and will oblige full compliance by all manufacturers by 2009.
“Already the producers are expected to slightly exceed the quality for export in the knowledge that cheating once would ruin the trust and market,” he said. “It is also checked for quality. It is not worth the risk to the manufacturer or the industry cheat.”
The difference from the UK system — so rigid in its application that the word “hallmark” has entered into the language as axiomatic of genuineness — is that it is self-regulated. Fines will be substantial — to the point of putting transgressors out of business.
Manufacturers at the India International Jewelry Show in Mumbai welcomed the move that added the authority of the government to their standards although all were at pains to stress that currently their standards of purity met or exceeded the required levels.
Hiten Mehta, CEO of Uni Design, Mumbai, is India’s biggest producer of platinum jewelry and a major producer of gold and diamond set pieces. Most of his output goes to the domestic market though using imported designs, he also sells into the US, Italian and UK markets.
“We are very concerned about purity,” he said. “All our pieces are double checked before we let them out of the workshops.” Currently he uses 95.4 percent pure platinum for his jewelry — the UK hallmark standard is 95.00 percent for jewelry — to ensure that it exceeds regulations.
Kothari said that producers were expected to slightly exceed the quality for export in the knowledge that cheating once would ruin the trust and market. “In January, the 2008 government backed marking system will be started and by 2009 it will be compulsory.” Explaining why it would not be state run he said that government did not have the facilities in place to cater for the volume of jewelry. “It would be fair to sum it up as self regulatory and spot checked which will be in effect a certified hallmark from the government of India,” he concluded
The Indian jewelry buyer’s pronounced preference for diamonds is still pronounced. At least, for white stones that look like diamonds. On the one hand there is the new Bahrat Bourse nearing completion in Mumbai, a 9 billion rupee project funded by 2,400 diamond dealers — each of whom has an office in the building. It is a massive vote of confidence in the future of the trading and cutting industry in India.
On the other hand, there is a growing consumer segment of what Samir Sagar, CEO of Manubhai Jewelry described as “party people” — the young rising high-earning and high spending elite. “It is a finely divided market,” he said. “Tastes vary from region to region, suburb to suburb and even shop to shop. However there is always a strong preference for hand-made necklace and chain sets among the wealthy young.”
The product of India’s booming industrial and particularly IT base, this new segment of jewelry buyer favors modern designs — yet still with strong echoes of traditional motifs — but does not demand natural stone. Cubic Zirconium (CZ) — a popular and inexpensive diamond substitute — was much in evidence; rather disturbingly, so was moissanite. This white substitute is a man made substance — although minute quantities of greenish natural moissanites have been found in meteorite impact craters, they can easily be mistaken for or misrepresented as diamond. Tests to distinguish moissanite and various other substitutes from natural diamond do exist — but not generally at retail level; most require special equipment.
Swarn Sarita a long established manufacturing company, was among several who confirmed the trend to simulants. All his output is hand-made from eight workshops employing over 200 craftsmen. “We have a diamond and a CZ range that appeals to distinctly different markets,” he said. “Even with the CZ ranges, although the customers like the more modern designs, they also want the designs with strong traditional influence.” He noted that the less expensive CZ ranges appealed to the younger market with high disposable income.
In the export market, especially in the West, the move away from natural stones and what they are toward substitutes and what they look like exhibited by the developing younger market is something that concerned the Commerce Minister for Thailand Krirkkai Jirapet. “How.” He mused, “Do you educate Europeans to enjoy a piece of stone?” With a $3.7 billion of jewelry and gems exported from Thailand in 2006, three percent of its total exports, that is more than just a rhetorical question. On the other hand, does the European market care?
What is certain, and according to Kothari the Indian government has proposed this, is that India within two years will go from the largest manufacturing center to the largest trading center for diamonds. And where diamonds go, the jewelry industry is sure to follow. Kothari said that the world luxury goods market has a turnover of $1000 billion of which jewelry has $149 billion at the retail level. He estimated that by 2015 the jewelry industry, should it continue expanding at a likely five percent, would have topped $230 billion.
The threat was therefore that other luxury items, particularly electronic gadgets, threatened sales of precious metals and stones. “So the whole jewelry industry has to promote jewelry per se,” said Kothari taking a global view, “and not just as Russian, Italian or Indian.”
