DIAMONDS Art

This is what awakens that unexplained feeling of familiarity, fondness and even affinity felt towards Indian jewelry.

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Eighteen Kt gold, silver, diamonds and emerald form a long semi-traditional earrings in the shape of sunflower. Gold wire mesh with floral motifs in reverse side. The earrings are fringed with a border of emerald drilled drops.

When I asked Mr. Vasant Mehta, Deputy Chairman of The Gem and Jewelry Export Promotion Council, what kind of contribution cooperation between an Indian jewelry manufacturer and an Israeli jewelry manufacturer can make, he replied: “Since the sixties, Indian diamantaires have purchased rough diamonds in Israel, mainly rough diamonds that are not economically viable for manufacture in Israel. The advantage for the Indian diamantaires was and remains the acquisition of additional suppliers for popular merchandise at competitive prices. Recently, since the import of polished diamonds to India has become tax free, many Indian diamantaires have begun acquiring polished diamonds in Israel as well. This fact enables Indian diamantaires to meet their needs for large stones without restrictions.

Mehta emphasized: “The Israeli industry has an exceptional network for marketing diamonds. Indian jewelers can be added to the network to increase profitability. In addition, Israelis can establish partnerships for the manufacture of jewelry with Indian jewelers.”

At a time when the Indian jewelry industry is moving from traditional manual labor to more modern practices, when ethnic design is often replaced by Western designs, and at a stage when this industry regards the export of embedded gold jewelry to Western markets as one of its main targets, it would appear that cooperation with Israeli diamantaires is one of the keys to the promotion of this industry.