For a shining career
To contact Madras Gem Institute, call: 2499 1513. e-mail:jeweljem@vsnl.com
BECOME A SPECIALIST: Gemmology requires constant study to acquire in-depth knowledge. Photo: G.R. N. Somasekhar
With an upcoming international market for gold, diamond and jewellery, the Gemmological Institute of America (GIA), India, is offering courses for a lucrative career in gemmology, diamonds, coloured stones, and pearls and Jewellery Business Management.
At a recent presentation organised by the Madras Gem Institute, Deepak Bagai, GIA Director in India, outlined the programmes offered by the institute's Mumbai centre through distance education, such as Gemmologist, Diamonds, Coloured Stones and Accredited Jewellery Professional.
The individual subjects are Diamond Essentials, Coloured Stone Essentials, Jewellery Essentials, Diamonds and Diamond Grading, Coloured Stones, Gem Identification and Pearls.
Mr. Bagai, an Additional Director General of Police in Himachal Pradesh, has been deputed by the Union Government to head GIA, for his knowledge of gemmology.
The resident programmes include courses such as Graduate Gemmologist, Graduate Diamonds, and Jewellery Design Certificate.
L.K.S. Syed Ahamed, president, The Madras Jewellers and Diamond Merchants Association, said India is the largest gold consumer buying 800 tonnes of gold of which jewellery constituted 80 per cent. The business had a turnover of Rs. 70,000 crore, and the gem and jewellery export is the second largest foreign exchange earner.
"Two important aspects in the trade are quality and design," he said. Gold and platinum had hallmarks of the Bureau of Indian Standards and the Platinum Guild of India, but diamonds had none, especially when 11 out of 12 diamonds in the world are cut and polished in India, with a domestic marker of Rs. 65 billion per annum. With no authentic mechanism for checking quality, institutions such as GIA can offer to set up an institute or laboratory, he said.
Job opportunities are high in this field, with the demand for diamonds expected to go up from 13 per cent in 1998 to 56 per cent by 2009. "We need more experts to examine diamonds. The Union Commerce Ministry can come forward to set up such institutes in major cities, to help the trade and protect consumers," he said.
H.M. Sultan Mohideen of the Madras Gem Institute, said GIA, a globally known institution in gemmological education, is headquartered at Carlsbad (San Diego), California. It has an institute in Mumbai and has plans to come to the south.
GIA India: 92, 9th Floor, Maker Chambers VI, Nariman Point, Mumbai - 400 021. Tel: 022-22870846/ 7/ 8. E-mail: giaindiainfo@gia.edu. Website: www.giaindia.ac.in
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