The tenth edition of Jaipur Jewellery Show 2012 (JJS), got off to a rousing start on Saturday at Rajmahal Palace lawns. The show, which had a humble beginning in 2003 with just 67 stalls, is growing strength to strength with 464 booths this year, with another 72 booths in waiting list.
The show was inaugurated by Sean Gilbertson, executive director of Gemfields, the world’s foremost gemstone producer. “Gemfields’ passion with gemstones has elements of devotion and transparency. Gemfields believe in collaboration, not competition, because in unity, there is strength. Jaipur is known as world’s foremost and number one centre for gemstone and it is also known as universe’s knowledge-base with centuries of experience, skills and craftsmanship,” said Gilbertson.
Speaking on the occasion, Gilbertson said that in one of the emerald mines in Zambia, 450 people work seven days in a week and dig five million kilograms of rocks to obtain one kilogram of emerald. It shows the devotion of Gemfields, he said.
“Gemfields is listed in London Stock Exchange and it maintains all the transparency to give true and factual data about its production and cost. In Zambia, we also mine amethyst. The ruby mined in north Mozambique will make its way to Jaipur market in June 2013,” said Gilbertson.
Just as each year JJS focuses on promoting a particular gemstone, this year, the focus is on promoting the king of all precious stones, the diamond. “The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) would provide Rs 45 crore grant for setting up the gem bourse in Jaipur. The GJEPC is also holding talks with the government on reducing the duty on import of rough coloured gemstones. The council is also trying to start a buyer-seller meet between Jaipur and Moscow and efforts are on for trade with Afghanistan for gemstones,” said vice-chairman of GJEPC, Pankaj Parekh.
Jewellery has always been most intrinsically connected with royalty and the city of Jaipur is most apt to be hailed as the seat of a show that is the ideal platform to showcase the best in the gem and jewellery industry, he said.
The JJS has been actively promoting various colored gemstones over the years. The coloured gemstones industry, as per the last financial year’s figures, stood at US dollar 3.44 billion, demonstrating a growth of 10% over the previous year. The industry has been growing steadily in the past five years and initiatives such as the Mines to Market held in Jaipur last year has gone further in bringing the international market to Jaipur,” he added.
“The Gem and Jewellery SEZ at Jaipur started with a modest export of Rs 5.8 crore in 2008 and today it is almost touching Rs 1,000 crore. Out of the Rs 3,200 crore exports from Jaipur, the SEZ Sitapura’s contribution is about Rs 1,000 crore,” said Jayant Mishra, development commissioner of Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Noida. He invited entrepreneurs to use the facilities at Sitapura which still has 40 blocks to be allotted.
src: TOI