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<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#CC9900" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="045005a0dwnjzk.png"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jewellery Designers Den"><U><B>home</B></U></A><B>     |     </B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>Jewellery Designers Den</B></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Objective of the Organisation"><U><B>Objective of the Organisation</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Oppurtunities for Designers"><U><B>Oppurtunities for Designers</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Offers for Jewellery Manufacturers"><U><B>Offers for Jewellery Manufacturers</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="News"><U><B>News</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><B>News1</B><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Related Links"><U><B>Related Links</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us...."><U><B>Contact Us....</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Guest Book"><U><B>Guest Book</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Design Quest Application Form"><U><B>Design Quest Application Form</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Design Quest 2006"><U><B>Design Quest 2006</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> News1</div> <div> <B> Search the Web: </B></div> <div> <B> </B></div> <div> <B>  </B></div> <div> <B>        </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>  </B></div> <div> <B> </B></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <IMG SRC="08d9b5e0.gif" border=0 width="667" height="94" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <I><B><U>News From the Industry.</U></B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><U>Rio Tinto plans underground expansion, India to benefit:</U></B></I></div> <bR> <div> New Kerala Sat, 01 Jan 2005 10:46 PM PST</div> <div> [Business India]: Mumbai, Jan 2 : Global diamond mining major Rio Tinto is embarking on a US dollar 800-million underground expansion at Argyle mines in Western Australia, which would result in an increase in diamond cutting and polishing activities in the Indian sub-contintent.  </div> <bR> <div> <I><B><U>81 kgs silver jewellery recovered, 2 arrested:</U></B></I></div> <div> New Kerala Tue, 28 Dec 2004 4:59 AM PST</div> <div> [Business India]: Varanasi, Dec 28 : The GRP sleuths have recovered 81 kg. Silver jewellery worth Rs eight lakh and arrested two persons in this connection from Varanasi railway station, the sources said today.  </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><U>GJEPC for rejoinder to ILO on child labour in diamond industry : </U></B></I></div> <bR> <div> Mumbai, Dec 15 : The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) is considering to send a rejoinder to International Labour Organisation (ILO) on its report, appearing in a section of press, stating that child labour constituted nearly three per cent of the total work force in the Indian diamond industry.</div> <bR> <div> "The reports, in a section of media, quoting ILO, stating that child labour is highly prevalent in the Indian diamond industry, is absolutely baseless. If ILO has come out with such a report, then we would be sending a rejoinder to them," GJEPC Chairman Bakul R Mehta told reprters here today.</div> <bR> <div> According to the recent study conducted by the Council partnering with management consultancy firm A F Ferguson, employing child labour in the diamond industry has come down below half a per cent, Mehta said.</div> <bR> <div> "Significantly, the children employed in the industry is not engaged directly in diamond cutting but are deployed in support activities which is recognised internationally," Mehta said.</div> <bR> <div> "The Council has taken a series of initiatives to eradicate child labour in the diamond industry. Towards this, we are taking firm committment from the industry owners not to employ child labour in their units," he told PTI.</div> <bR> <div> Following the alarming child labour statistics in key diamond industry pockets, GJEPC has launched a series of educative seminars and it is working out better options to rehabilitate child labourers by providing education and other social benefits. PTI </div> <bR> <div>   </div> <bR> <div>  </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><U>HC asks I-T dept to pay for illegal jewellery seizure </U></B></I></div> <div> Wednesday, December 15, 2004</div> <div> M PADMAKSHAN </div> <bR> <div> TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2004 02:08:07 AM] </div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="626" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 1775 WIDTH="622"><div> MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has directed the income-tax authorities to pay compensation of Rs 27 lakh to a diamond exporter whose jewellery and ornaments were seized “illegally” by the I-T department at Lucknow airport four years ago. </div> <bR> <div> Diamondstar Exports Ltd, a company dealing in gold and diamond ornaments, had in January 2001, sent three employees with gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs 70 lakh to Lucknow, for participating in an exhibition. One of them was sent by flight from Mumbai to Lucknow. </div> <bR> <div> At the Mumbai airport, the air intelligence unit of the I-T department intercepted him. The Diamondstar employee produced all supporting evidence, including invitation from exhibitors, introductory letter from the Bank of India, Mumbai, to its branch in Lucknow for depositing the sale proceeds, sales tax certificate and a certificate for the gem and jewellery membership. </div> <bR> <div> The I-T officer allowed him to proceed to Lucknow after taking a declaration. But the officer sent a fax to his Lucknow counterpart, intimating him of the arrival of the passenger with gold and jewellery. Following this, the I-T officers, Lucknow served a search warrant on him and seized the jewellery, on arrival at the airport. </div> <bR> <div> Two other employees of the company were also interrogated in Lucknow. Besides, the directors of the associate company were also interrogated. </div> <bR> <div> Diamondstar then sought release of the goods seized from them, but the I-T authorities did not relent. </div> <bR> <div> The ground on which the company sought release of the seized goods was that there was no information on record suggesting that the seized materials were unaccounted or would not have been disclosed before the tax authorities. </div> <bR> <div> The company contented that the authorisation for seizure itself was illegal and all the proceedings subsequently was rendered void and illegal. </div> <bR> <div> The I-T department’s contention was that the intimation from the I-T officer at the Mumbai airport to his counterpart at the Lucknow airport itself could form sufficient ground for serving a search warrant and seizure. </div> <bR> <div> B V Jhaveri, who appeared for the company, told the court that such an intimation would not amount to information that warranted such an action, especially when there was documentary proof that the goods were stock in trade and they were being taken for participation in an exhibition. </div> <bR> <div> The division bench of Justice A P Shah and Justice S C Dharmadhikari, while pronouncing the verdict said, “Mere intimation that a person is in possession of certain jewellery or ornaments cannot be construed to be sufficient for the purpose of action under section 132 of the I-T Act, for it would amount to giving untrammelled and unrestricted power on the authorities to search against any person and such power is likely to be abused”. </div> <bR> <div> The division bench directed the I-T department to return the gold and jewellery worth over Rs 84 lakh and pay 8% interest from the date of seizure till payment.</div> <bR> <div> <I><B><U>Rough diamonds to squeeze gem sector profits </U></B></I></div> <div> <B>Latha Venkatraman </B></div> <div> Mumbai , Dec. 6 </div> <div> THE country's gem and jewellery export industry faces the prospects of shrinking profit margins during the current fiscal mainly as prices of rough diamonds have gone up and price increases in cut and polished diamonds have not kept pace. </div> <div> ``Prices of rough diamonds have risen by 15 per cent over the last six months but these increases have not been passed on to the consumer. This could impact profitability margins of many diamond exporting companies,'' said Mr Bakul Mehta, Chairman, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). </div> <div> Besides, the weakening of the dollar against the rupee does not augur well for an industry, which is into imports and exports. ``The fluctuation in dollar's value against the rupee also impacts our profit margins because import is on cash-term basis while export is on due-term basis,'' Mr Mehta said. </div> <div> As there is a shortage of rough diamonds, the possibility of their prices easing is being ruled out by the industry. ``There is no chance of a price softening. However, there could be seasonal price relaxation,'' he said. </div> <div> Even as prices of rough diamonds are seen firm in the near future, demand for cut and polished diamonds is not expected to be spectacular. This scenario has prompted the industry to look at untapped markets, particularly the Commonwealth Independent States (CIS) countries. </div> <div> ``We have got startling figures of their imports. Topmost on their import list is metals and precious metals. We plan to take a delegation to CIS countries by the end of January 2005,'' Mr Mehta said. </div> <div> India's cut and polished diamond exports increased by 25 per cent to Rs 27,483 crore (Rs 21908 crore) in rupee terms for the April-October period. In dollar terms, they stood at $6051.38 million ($4731.27 million). </div> <div> The total basket of gem and jewellery exports moved up by 34 per cent to $8,100 million during April-October from $6,049.31 million last year. Imports during this period moved up by 25.35 per cent to $5632.83 million ($4493.80 million). </div> <div> However, the US demand continues to remain stagnant, prompting the industry to look at new markets. The industry is in a much better position that it was couple of years back when war in the West Asian region and SARS had impacted buying especially in the US. </div> <div> But the industry needs to keep a watchful eye on developments in neighbouring China, Mr Mehta said. ``China is a very serious threat to our industry. </div> <div> It has manpower strength and a disciplined one at that. All its government policies are in place and the industry has finance. </div> <div> What they do not have is entrepreneurs but they can import them,'' Mr Mehta said. </div> <div> India does have an advantage over China - it has the expertise in cutting certain kinds of diamonds, he said.</div> <bR> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><U>Gems gaining popularity in India, pushing gold to back seat </U></B></I></div> <div> <B>By Vaibhav Varma, Channel NewsAsia's India correspondent</B></div> <div> Time is GMT + 8 hours       Posted: 05 December 2004 1419 hrs </div> <div>  </div> <div> NEW DELHI: The gold jewellery business has grown to reach US$6b a year in India. </div> <bR> <div> But preference for the metal is waning and gold is making way for diamonds and gems instead, reflecting the changing role of jewellery in Indian society. </div> <bR> <div> A bride in her finery, decked in gold - nose rings, necklaces, special jewellery for the head, ankles, waists and more. </div> <bR> <div> This is what she takes to her husband's home. </div> <bR> <div> "Jewellery is being given to a girl when she gets married, so that she has some kind of security. If something happens later, or if the need arises, then she can liquidate and she can use it as and when it is required. That tradition has been passed down from one generation to another," explains jewellery designer Archana Pant. </div> <bR> <div> H R Sharma, a customer, said: "If I look at my grandmother's generation, say 50 to 60 years ago, the society then looked at jewellery as an asset. It was something to fall back on in times of financial difficulty when they had to migrate or if there was famine. Jewellery made them feel safe and was a safeguard for a woman to protect her family." </div> <bR> <div> But times and tastes have changed. </div> <bR> <div> Gems are gaining in popularity, especially among the fashion-conscious younger generation, with gold starting to take more of a back seat. </div> <bR> <div> The old goldsmith in his musty parlour is virtually a thing of the past. </div> <bR> <div> Enter the department store, with sections for just about every need, from bridal jewellery and wedding gifts to everyday wear. </div> <bR> <div> Wearability and fashion have come into the picture. </div> <bR> <div> Jewellery designers and new collections are in vogue. </div> <bR> <div> Rashmi, a customer, said: "Most of the time, we are not wearing Indian clothes also. So any jewellery that will go with both Indian and western clothes would actually be the best that you can buy." </div> <bR> <div> In India, diamonds and other gemstones are cut mostly in the cities of Mumbai and Surat in the west, and Jaipur in the north. </div> <bR> <div> In fact, India is now the world's biggest diamond cutting centre for small roughs, with the trade generating over 4 billion dollars annually. - CNA</div> <bR> <div> Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="796" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP ROWSPAN=3 HEIGHT= 1 ><NOBR><div> <I><B><U>India : Sheetal Manufacturing Co </U></B></I></div> <div> <I><B><U>launches 'Kiah' brand diamond jewellery </U></B></I></div> <div> 6th December 2004 </div> <bR> <div> World's largest volume manufacturer of diamonds - Sheetal Manufacturing Company (SMC), today </div> <div> launched 'Kiah' its brand exquisite diamond jewellery in the city of Ahmedabad.</div> <bR> <div> On hand was television actress Smriti Irani, 'Tulsi' of popular serial 'Kyunki Saans Bhi Kabhi Bahu</div> <div>  Thi' to unveil the brand, propelling SMC into the retail branded diamond jewellery market.</div> <bR> <div> Speaking on the launch, Ms Irani said, "The brand essence of Kiah clearly denotes that a woman </div> <div> doesn't need a reason to celebrate as she is the occasion. It is all about celebrating womanhood." </div> <bR> <div> SMC’s Managing Director Ajay Kakadia said, "We are pleased to enter the Ahmedabad market </div> <div> and hope to further spread our presence nationwide." Kakadia said the primary need of every </div> <div> woman is to feel enriched and Kiah as a brand clearly aims to fulfill that need.</div> <bR> <div> Explaining the meaning of ‘Kiah,' Kakadia said it is an Australian aboriginal term meaning 'from a </div> <div> beautiful place.’</div> <bR> <div> Kiah was launched first in Mumbai in October last. </div> <bR> <div> The company has plans to open five exclusive outlets and 70 shop-in-shops across the country by </div> <div> early 2005. The shop-in-shops will be located in prominent shopping malls and traditional jewellery </div> <div> stores.</div> <bR> <div> With an annual turnover of 1.5 million carats, SMC has an annual produces almost three carats </div> <div> each minute, Kakadia informed. </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> </tR> <tR> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><U>Rajesh Exports plans interim dividend </U></B></I></div> <bR> <div> BANGALORE:</div> <bR> <div> India’s largest gold jewellery company, the Rs. 3000-crore Rajesh Exports has set December 13, 2004 as the date for the board meeting to consider announcing interim dividend for the year 2004-2005. This meeting of the board will be held at the company’s corporate office in Bangalore. </div> <bR> <div> This announcement is a result of the strong, consistent rise of Rajesh Exports as a corporate house, with phenomenal growth patterns being sustained quarter after quarter. </div> <bR> <div> Earlier, Rajesh Exports had announced strong results for the quarter ending September 30, 2004. This included significant increase in terms of quarter-on-quarter growth. Revenues for the quarter ending September 30, 2004 stood in excess of Rs. 871 crore, up about 76 per cent from Rs. 492 crore revenues for quarter ending September 30, 2003.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><U>Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council</U></B></I><I><B><U> </U></B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Offers unique Certificate and Advance Courses in Jewellery Designing and Manufacturing at the</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000CC" FACE="Arial" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000CC" FACE="Verdana" ><B>The Indian Institute of Gems & Jewellery (IIGJ) </B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council </B>offers unique Certificate and Advanced Courses in Jewellery Designing and Manufacturing at <B>The Indian Institute of Gems and Jewellery(IIGJ)</B>. The Institute has been set up with the main objective of developing Indian expertise in the field of Jewellery Designing and Manufacturing, a vital prerequisite for the Gem & Jewellery sector that endeavors to integrate forward into global markets for Jewellery Manufacturing and Designing.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Indian Institute of Gems & Jewellery (IIGJ)</B> provides courses that would help students develop proficiency and expertise that would meet International standards where the focus is on designing, technology and manufacturing in the Jewellery industry.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> Located near SEEPZ at Andheri East, the <B>Indian Institute of Gems & Jewellery (IIGJ)</B> offers five types of courses, a three month basic course in Jewellery Design, an advance course in Jewellery Design comprising of thirty sessions, a Computer Aided Jewellery Design & Manufacturing course consisting of sixty sessions across a three month period, an Introduction to Gemmology a fifteen week course and an Introduction to Basic Jewellery Making consisting of eighty sessions.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> While the<B> Basic Course in Jewellery Design</B> equips students with skills to sketch and render jewellery in an attractive and realistic manner and help to communicate design ideas and information to clients or product development department or artisans, the <B>Advance Course in Jewellery Design</B> aims at training students to design for various international markets as well as domestic (branded) market in a methodical manner. It helps the student to understand and interpret a design brief, support it with research and analysis, study various design possibilities and manufacturing methods and finally helps the student to decide on the manufacturing methods one should adopt.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Computer Aided Jewellery Design & Manufacturing</B> course increases the student's exposure to a computerized environment that helps create digital design elements in two dimensional as well as three dimensional models. The course also provides exclusive training on leading CAD software 'I-Deas' software in Jewellery designing and manufacturing and systematically introduce students to the methodology of CAM, that would help transform their virtual CAD models into actual physical components. </div> <bR> <div> A basic course on the theoretical and practical study of gemstones is imparted under the course<B> Introduction to Gemmology.</B> This course deals with the physical and optical properties of a variety of coloured gemstones originating from the various parts of the world. Stress is laid on the latest development in instrumentation and identification techniques, especially in distinguishing natural gemstones from the treated and synthetic varieties.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> The <B>Introduction to Basic Jewellery Making </B>course aims at giving student an introduction and hands on experience from alloying metal to the finished product. It will familiarize the student with basic manufacturing skills that will help to begin ones career in the field of jewellery. </div> <bR> <div> In keeping with global trends where designs are vastly influenced by western trends and style, training at <B>IIGJ</B> will be an orientation in this direction. In order to achieve these goal, IIGJ has employed a Technical-In-Charge who are experts in the field of jewellery design and manufacturing from<B> CIM</B> (Center for International Migration and Development) in consultation with the<B> IGEP</B> (Indo-German Export Promotion Project) under a scheme operated by the Government of Germany.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Indian Institute of Gems & Jewellery (IIGJ)</B> is centered in a four storied, centrally air-conditioned building and is fully equipped with the latest technology, state-of-the-art gemmological laboratory, workshops, CAD/CAM facilities, library and an auditorium. The Institute has been set up by the <B>Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council</B> <B>of India</B> which is sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India. <B>IIGJ</B> is ready to offer more than 25 courses both short term and long term by early next year.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> For application form and course structure details kindly call: <B>Tel: 022-28263504 / 28263505 / 28251749 or email: </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B><U>info@iigj.org</U></B></FONT><B> Web site : </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana" ><B><U>www.iigj.org</U></B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B><U>Damas to open five new outlets by next year </U></B></I></div> <div> DAMAS jewellery has embarked on an ambitious plan to expand its network of retail outlets in the region.</div> <div> The company plans to open at least five new outlets and launch several of its own brands in the next one year to further strengthen its presence in the country.</div> <div> "Launching new brands is our bread every month. We also plan to open five more outlets in the UAE." says Tawfique Abdullah, Chairman of Damas jewellery. Damas already has over 50 outlets and several exclusive boutiques in the UAE. Last month, opened a 800 squares meters showroom on AI Maktoum Street in Dubai.</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>INDUS Jewellers open new outlet</U></B></div> <div> Indus jewellers inaugurated their new outlet on AL Fahid street in Bur Dubai recently. The outlet was opened by Ahmed AI Banna of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the first sale was made by Lt. Colonel Ahmed K. Bin Hammed, diesctor, AI Rafa Police Station.</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>