80 percent of world’s requirement of Diamonds are cut and polished in Surat. The Rough Diamond is sourced from South Africa, Canada, Russia, Botswana and Australia but are imported from Antwerp (Belgium).
Surat has 4000 cutting and polishing units out of which 300 units are large scale manufacturers. The total turnover of the industry in Surat is 200,000 crores per year and it has generated an employment for 400,000 people.
Earlier the technology, knowhow and expertise to manufacture Solitaires was available only in limited countries such as Belgium but now most of the stones are cut and polished at Surat in India.
The employment is very much community based since a lot of integrity is involved. The artisans’ education is not important as the job is skill based and anyone can be trained. These days high precision tools and laser machinery is used but human judgement is still considered to be very important in terms of the business acumen.
The other important aspect of this Industry is that it has a minimum requirement of power and practically no use of water. It is also a pollution free manufacturing industry
With the initiative of Gujarat Hira Bourse and with the assistance of the Government of Gujarat, the world’s biggest Jewellery Manufacturing Park is being set up in Surat. It will have 300 units spread over 10 lacs sq.mtrs of land with world class infrastructure.
The Indian Diamond Institute set up by the initiatives of the GJEPC, Government of India, imparts training in diamond cutting and polishing as well as jewellery designing and manufacturing. There are many other private institutes imparting training in diamond polishing and jewellery making.
World renowned institutions and certification bodies like IGI have also set up Laboratories in Surat.
Cut and polished diamonds are mainly consumed in jewellery making while some value addition is done in India, a major portion is exported.
The total exports of cut and polished diamonds, gold jewellery, silver jewellery and coloured gem stones for the period April 2011 to January 2012 is about 34000 million USD out of which the polished diamonds are approximately 20000 million USD. The Industry has a registered growth of around 14% over the previous corresponding period. As such, there is a huge scope of value addition at the stage of jewellery manufacturing.
The visit of the Delegation from Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry can be very meaningful since Dubai is the hub of jewellery manufacturing and their diamonds are sourced from Italy, Bangkok and Hong Kong.
The visit from Dubai Chamber can initiate the following opportunities:
Sourcing diamonds directly from the manufacturer – It can be a very attractive proposition. Having joint ventures with Surat based companies for manufacturing jewellery. Setting up jewellery manufacturing unit at the Gem & Jewellery Park in Surat Participating in the Gem & Jewellery show and be face to face with potential buyers and consumers
(Provided by Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry)