GJ Town India

How, diamonds presented in retail settings! CXG, a global leader in consumer insights, performed research across national and regional retailers to uncover how natural diamonds (NDs) and laboratory-grown diamonds (LGDs) are presented in retail settings. The study analyzed how the store environment, merchandising, and interactions with the Sales Advisors contribute to the customer’s education, experience, and confidence to purchase.  Key findings include: 1: It is a concern that sales advisors show little proactivity (less than 40% of interactions) in explaining differences between LGDs and NDs, use a comparative narrative, and show lack of knowledge in using ethical, provenance, and traceability arguments.                                                                                ...

Program on naturaldiamonds.com from April 3!   The Natural Diamond Council (NDC) releases the results of a new study by CXG, a leader in the luxury consumer insights space, verifying that natural diamond education at the retail point of sale is critical to sales conversion. Findings proved that 93% of customers were more inclined to make a purchase of natural diamond jewelry when they felt sufficiently educated on natural diamonds by a sales advisor.   As the study presents, there is significant opportunity for deeper education on natural diamonds at the retail points of sale. The NDC will unveil a new Education Partner Program next month offering educational tools for retailers and sales professionals to foster natural diamond knowledge leading to increased sales.   The study was conducted across national, regional, and exclusive retailers to uncover how natural diamonds are presented in retail settings when shopping for a diamond engagement ring. A total of 116 store ev...

First-Ever Batches of GIA Graduate Diamonds Diploma Program   GIA India held the graduation ceremony for its first-ever batches of GIA Graduate Diamonds Diploma Program (Blended) at its Mumbai and Surat campuses. Amish Turakhia, GIA Graduate Gemologist (GG) and Managing Partner, R. Kirti and Company, was the chief guest at the Mumbai Campus.   Also present at the Mumbai campus were Sriram Natarajan, Managing Director of GIA India, and Apoorva Deshingkar, Senior Director – Education and Market Development. As a part of the graduation ceremony in Surat, Forum Javeri, Director – Lab Operations, GIA India, presented the diplomas to the students. Speaking to the students, Amish Turakhia said, “You all are fortunate to learn from the best institute in the industry. It is important that all of you conduct yourselves with integrity and uphold the legacy of the institute.  The GIA alumni community is also a great platform to network and build lifelong relationships. We are all...

  Organised First Virtual Alumni Session   Over 100 alumni participated in the event          GIA India organised its first-ever virtual alumni guest session that was attended by more than 100 alumni. The guest speaker was Dr. C. Vinod Hayagriv, Managing Director and Director, C. Krishniah Chetty (CKC) Group of Jewellers, who spoke about managing and evolving a retail brand with gemstones and diamonds over generations and the relevance amidst changes and challenges.   The event started with a quick introduction of Dr. Hayagriv by Sriram Natarajan, Managing Director of GIA India. The participants were excited to not just hear from a jeweller at the helm of a 150-year legacy, but also from an alumnus – Dr. Hayagriv completed his Diamond & Colored Stone Diplomas from GIA’s Santa Monica, CA, USA, and Hong Kong campuses in 1982.   During the course of his presentation, Dr. Hayagriv talked about how CKC was establ...

Learn the skills needed to evaluate jewelry quality   Now is the time to expand your jewelry evaluation skills through GIA’s (Gemological Institute of America) one of a kind Jewelry Forensics seminar live via online learning. On September 9 to 10, jewelry professionals can gain the skills needed to evaluate jewelry quality using GIA’s unique 12-step process, all from the comfort of their own home or wherever there’s an Internet connection.   “Accessible education has always been a very important part of our mission,” Duncan Pay, senior vice president of education and chief academic officer. “We are finding imaginative and exciting ways to offer education through remote learning, helping people get the courses they want and need, despite the global pandemic.” The two-day seminar consists of six live sessions where participants learn invaluable information for assessing the quality of fine jewelry. Attendees will receive a digital jewelry forensics guidebook and other useful...

The group partnership with IIG in India DFC diamond education course in India De Beers Group Institute of Diamonds is pleased to announce that it is partnering with the International Institute of Gemology in India (IIG) to deliver diamond education courses throughout India. The IIG has been operating for more than 50 years and is recognised as a leader in gemology and in diamond and jewellery education in India. Jodine Perrin, Director of Education, De Beers Group Institute of Diamonds, said: “As the major player in the global diamond cutting and polishing industry, India is an area of increased focus for us. We recognise the need for new partnerships that bring education directly to students across large geographical areas, making education accessible and reducing the time and costs involved to businesses in staff training.” The partnership will initially launch with a focus on the De Beers Group online Diamond Foundation Course (DFC), which teaches students a...

Graduate Diamonds and Applied Jewelry Professional diplomas available in late 2019 GIA (Gemological Institute of America) has announced that in late 2019 it will expand distance education courses available in Japanese. In addition to the Diamond Essentials Intensive and the Diamond Grading Lab currently offered in Japanese at the GIA Tokyo School, GIA will offer four eLearning courses in Japanese: Diamond Essentials, Diamonds and Diamond Grading, Jewelry Essentials and Colored Stone Essentials. With the addition of these courses, students studying in Japanese now have the opportunity to earn their Applied Jewelry Professional (AJP) and Graduate Diamonds diplomas. “Expanding the courses offered in Japanese furthers GIA’s mission of ensuring the public trust in gems and jewelry by providing the highest standard in gemology education,” said Duncan Pay, GIA vice president and chief academic officer.

UPS students got introduced of gemmology under a GemKids Programme To ignite the love and passion of gemstones, GIA India organised the GemKids programme for the students of Universal Public School, New Delhi. More than 20 students from 6th to 8th grade attended the programme to learn about the fascinating world of gemstones. GIA India Instructor Amar Agarwal shared insights and facts on a variety of gems. The programme offered students an opportunity to learn about gemmology through hands-on activities using natural minerals and gemstones. Students explored how gems are formed in nature, the different methods used to mine them, how civilizations valued gems throughout history and more. Maya Gupta, Principal of the Universal Public School, said, “We have high regards for GIA India introducing GemKids to our school – a thoughtful initiative where students are encouraged to develop their knowledge of gemstones. This programme offers interesting content encouraging stud...

Laboratory services, diamond origin reports, sustainability panel and more You can discover all GIA (Gemological Institute of America) has to offer at booth 18019 at the JCK Las Vegas Show from May 31 through June 3 at the Sands Expo & the Venetian. Submit your colored gems to the GIA Show Service Laboratory; learn about GIA’s new Diamond Origin Report that scientifically matches rough to polished diamonds to confirm a diamond’s geographic origin; see live demonstrations of the GIA iD100 and other gemological instruments; get up-to-date on new developments and education programs; and prepare to be dazzled by the diamond covered loafers, said to be valued at $2 million, on loan from actor and former America’s Got Talent host Nick Cannon. GIA Highlights at the 2019 JCK Las Vegas Show include, 1: GIA Show Service Laboratory, 2: GIA’s new Diamond Origin Report, 3: Gemology Seminar, 4: Panel discussion & 5: Jewels of Hollywood Exhibit. 1: GIA Show Service Laborato...

Students of J K Diamonds Institute attends workshop! Learning beyond the classrooms is essential for the students that allow them to keep innovating with practical knowledge. J K Diamonds Institute did exactly that by arranging for the students to attend the workshop organised by GJEPC. They got the opportunity to learn from international designers like Paola De Luca, Farah Khan and Neha Dani on Jewelry Trends and Product life cycle. The students were introduced to various subjects like how to identify target markets and brand positioning. They learnt competitive analysis, which is vital for a brand. Along with these keeping up with the market trends is what helps you into innovating new collections. Our students also got an overview of how to select a theme that suits their brand identity and using that to their advantage. They now know how to select their color palate and shapes and various other aspects to create an aesthetic design. Getting an insight from such...

A knowledge seminar on diamonds Hosted by Shilpa Agarwal Jewellery connoisseur Shilpa Agarwal EFX hosted “A Date with Diamonds,” a knowledge seminar on diamonds, organised by GIA India (Gemmological Institute of America) – the world’s foremost authority in gemmology and the creator of the 4Cs of Diamond Quality – Colour, Clarity, Cut and Carat Weight. Ms Nirupa Bhatt, Managing Director of GIA India and Middle East presented interesting facts about the fascinating world of diamonds. This was followed by a session by Shilpa Agarwal on styling of diamond Jewellery on daily and special occasions. The event was an Invite only affair and was attended by select HNI ladies of Pune. Ms Bhatt explained the formation of diamonds billions of years ago, attributes of a diamond, its history and the 4Cs of Diamond Quality. Shilpa Agarwal gave valuable tips on styling for daily and special occasions. Guests also witnessed an exclusive collection of statement diamond jewels for invite...

GIA Career Fair Inspires attendees to join the industry Career Fair next at GIA HQ on October 11 Recently the annual GIA London Jewellery Career Fair brought together nearly 200 gem and jewellery enthusiasts from across Europe at the historic Goldsmiths' Hall in the City of London. Job seekers had the unique opportunity to network with international and local companies looking to fill more than 60 positions in all areas of the industry. They also heard from a brilliant panel of experienced industry professionals and could spend quality time in one-on-one career coaching. The event opened with a welcome address from GIA London School Director Mehdi Saadian and was followed by a wide-ranging panel discussion on “Job Success in Today’s Market,” moderated by GIA President and CEO Susan Jacques. Peter Buckie, director of Jem Services; Harriet Kelsall, founder and chair of Harriet Kelsall Bespoke Jewellery; Faris Saif, associate at Sotheby’s; and Henry Deakin, direct...

GIA Introduces New Report services, Confirmation through analytical testing! On April 30, GIA will introduce the GIA Diamond Origin Report service which will confirm the country of origin of polished diamonds. To be eligible for this new service, the original rough diamonds and resulting polished diamonds must be submitted to GIA for analysis so that they can be matched to each other and to confirm the origin information provided by the participating mining company. The new report will include the country of origin, a full 4Cs quality analysis of each diamond and a report number inscription. More information about the country of origin and diamond formation will be available for each Diamond Origin Report in GIA’s online Report Check service, accessible at GIA.edu or through the QR code printed on each report. “In recent years, there has been a growing demand for transparency and traceability in the diamond industry. Consumers want to know the origin of products and ...