The Hindu : Front Page : Diamonds are for everyone

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 22, 2005

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Diamonds are for everyone

G. Ravikiran

DIAMOND GAZER: Gemmologist Imran Sharief grading a diamond in Vijayawada on Wednesday. — Photo: RAJU. V

VIJAYAWADA: The traditional gemmologist may say there is water or `jherum' in a diamond. This is the unprofessional way of dealing with gems ahead of the prospects of having to compete with international market. A diamond never holds water, not even particles, though it does contain minute crystals. The professional gemmologist would only say a particular diamond has inclusions or clouds or crystals instead of water.

A natural diamond, a concentrated bundle of crystals, is graded for its clarity, colour and other parameters in all its body parts -- table, crown, girdle and pavilion. Special training on microscopes and loops is needed for quality appraisal of diamonds, but where is the scope for spreading this knowledge in the close-knit industry? Something held by traditional businessmen would not easily open up to an outsider, the world of diamond grading being no exception.

Fascinating ambience

The dazzling diamonds appealed to Imran Sharief on his very first visit to the famous Jewellers' Bazaar in Mumbai for purchasing jewellery for his sister's marriage. The ambience of the shops and the bustle of rich crowds there fascinated the Hyderabadi lad. He yearned to know more about the field, but did not find a place to get himself professionally trained. He was not ready to work in somebody's shop to get the expertise in the traditional way. Not hailing from a family of jewellers was no small a hurdle.

Ignoring the taunts of friends and relatives, the young man bought his own diamonds for learning the basics and used all his resources before he underwent training at the prestigious Gemmological Institute of America (GIA), New York. After 10 years, steady market changes proved Sharief's calculations right. The Ministry of Small Scale Industries roped him in for an awareness campaign to raise the standards and prepare the local industry for the international competition.

Short-term training

The Small Scale Industries Service Institute (SISI), Hyderabad, engaged Sharief's services to conduct short-term training programmes in grading and quality appraisal of diamonds in Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Viskakhpatnam. He was requested to conduct such programmes in Bangalore also. "The industry is set to undergo major changes. It requires 2,000 to 3,000 trained professionals," Mr. Sharief says.

He says that the Government is planning to set up labs, one in Hyderabad soon, and evolve its own quality parameters to streamline the trade and industry.

The trust-based, monopolistic business would be gone no sooner than the multi-national companies (MNCs) step in. They would bring with them what they call "branded diamonds", no more relying on the insider's feedback on quality and cost.

An uninformed buyer would no longer need to blindly trust a friend or a reference. It would be everybody's market and professional training would help anybody make it a profession.

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