SURAT: With a view to overcome the shortage of skilled manpower in the Indian gems and jewellery industry, especially the diamond and jewellery manufacturing sector in Surat, the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has created a sector skill council (SSC) for the gems and jewellery sector recently. NSDC, co-promoted by the Union finance ministry with the mandate of involving the private sector in training 500 million people by 2022, has identified 21 sectors for which 150 million people will be trained by 2022 and gems and jewellery is one of the focused segments. Industry sources said that the NSDC has approved 11 board of directors in the SSC for gems and jewellery sector including five members from the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). read more...

The Saby Charity Foundation, based in Almaty, Kazakhstan, partnered with Christie’s and Avakian for an auction at the New York Public Library. For the auction, Avakian created and donated a necklace inspired by old Kazakhstani jewelry, set with sapphires, diamonds and blue topaz. Called “The Amulet,” the piece sold for $250,000, the highest bid among five other lots. Funds raised by the auction benefit the Alem Program, a sector of the Saby Charity Foundation that assists orphans, children with serious health concerns, the disabled and artistically talented youth with socially vulnerable families in Kazakhstan. read more...

Naomi Sarna, one of the world’s finest gemstone carvers and jewelry designers, is in Tanzania selecting a piece of tanzanite rough suitable to create another one of her masterpieces.  Ms Sarna, who recently won First Place, Platinum Honors and Buyer’s Choice in the 2012 AGTA Spectrum Awards, intends to be inspired by her journey to Tanzanite’s only source, in the foothills of majestic Mount Kilimanjaro.  As a guest of TanzaniteOne, and the Tanzanite Foundation, Naomi will also perform  a workshop in the surrounding local community, teaching a class of Masai ladies the technique of Wire Wrapping Jewelry making.

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Thai jewellery producers and exporters should shift their focus to more high-value and design products and aggressively penetrate the Chinese luxury market due to huge demand and rising purchasing power. Thai jewellery can no longer compete with Chinese products in the mass export markets now due to China's cheaper labour. "All the labour costs are so much cheaper in China, from polishing and cutting stones to setting gems," said Kennedy Ho, chief executive of the Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences (AIGS). read more...

Increased per-carat prices achieved at auction for emeralds from Gemfields helped the Aim-listed company increase revenue from rough and finished sales by 57%, to $45.7-million, the firm said on Monday. The gem producer attributed the revenue increase, and resultant 42% increase in profit after tax for the six months ended on December 31, at $22.0-million, to robust demand for “consistently and ethically supplied coloured gemstones across all major markets”. We are excited about the future, given the anticipated increase in production from the Kagem emerald mine, a direct result of our commitment to waste mining over the past half year," CEO Ian Harebottle said in a statement.