Gems And Jewelry An Industry Of Trust

 

There is high demand for Nepalis’ handcrafted jewelries in the international market.

 

There are many beautiful, interesting, and unusual things in Nepal. The obvious question of “what to buy?” is bound to come to your mind. One of the answers to this could be gems and jewelry. “Most of the tourists visiting Nepal are interested to buy precious and semi-precious stones available in Nepal,” said Ramesh Maharjan, President of Nepal Gems and Jewelry Association. Besides being a fashion trend, it is a financial investment for the future as well, added Maharjan.

Jewelry includes all attractive or appealing decorative objects that can be made with gems along with other precious metals. Mostly, every form of material may be added to make an attractive piece of jewelry. Some common forms of jewelry include anklets, armlets, bracelets, earrings, necklaces, rings (engagement rings, wedding rings, class rings), toe rings and nose-jewels. Brooches, belly chains, head ornaments fit in the category of more uncommon kinds of jewelry. People can express their love by presenting jewelry to their dear ones. Common metals that are utilized in jewelry include gold, platinum and silver.

Both younger and elder generations are fond of jewelry collection. “Gone are the days of heavy jewelry trends. These days, people look forward to light and unique designs that are different from other pieces of jewelry,” said Maharjan who is also the owner of R B Diamond House. It caters to a diverse range of customers who look forward to gemstones like diamonds, rubies, sapphires or emeralds in designer jewelry. Turquoise and coral are the most common stones used in Nepali jewelry that it also deals in. Other precious stones common in Nepal include lapis lazuli, tiger-eye, garnet, and agate.

“Diamond is the most important precious stone in terms of value that generates a larger volume of revenue and business internationally,” said Mahesh Man Shrestha, owner of Gahana Griha. Even in Nepal, diamond jewelry is more popular and in demand than other gemstones, added Shrestha. Generally, diamonds are the most expensive stones but there are high quality natural color gemstones that command high price per carat like diamonds do.

According to Maharjan, in today’s market the price per carat for precious gemstones like ruby, emerald and sapphire range from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000 while price per carat for semi-precious gemstones cost about the same. There is high demand for Nepalis’ handcrafted jewelries in the international market. “Most of the gems in Nepal are used for silver jewelries that are exported to Europe and America,” said Maharjan. The handcrafted jewelries are very famous and liked by the Europeans and Americans. They are exported in different designs like earrings, rings, necklaces, pendants, bracelets, brooch, bangles, and different articles embedded with precious stones, he added. Some stones like quartz crystal, black tourmaline, moonstone, kyanite and garnet are also used as healing stones. Gemstones are also prescribed by astrologers and are adorned in the belief that they have magical and mystical powers. It is believed that these powers bring happiness, prosperity and overall betterment in a person and his activities.





There are many stones in the market these days that even the suppliers are unaware of. Apart from it, there are synthetic gemstones aplenty. Riken Maharjan, a Graduate Gemologist revealed that even today many people do not know that ruby and sapphire are the same stone. The only factor that makes it different is its color where red corundum are called ruby and blue corundum are called sapphire. “Identifying gemstones is a challenge, however, the bigger challenge is to ascertain value associated with different stones,” he said. The value of the stone depends on numerous factors, he added, it is the 4c – color, cut, clarity, and carat for diamonds while for other precious stones it’s the demand, rarity, treatments, imitation etc that count.

Understanding precious stones has come a long way. Earlier, it was difficult for the clients to understand if any red stone would be called ruby and any blue stone would be called sapphire and a colorless stone that dazzled and produced a colorful flash of light was a diamond. However, today with all the technology, research and improvement in science there is a better understanding of stones. According to Maharjan, Nepal has the technology and good professional gem cutters but the sector is suffering because the stones have not been explored well and opened for business.

 

 

 

Hari Bhakta Adhikari, a senior gems expert shared that Sankhuwasabha, Taplejung, Jajarkot, Manang and Dhading figure among the major gem locations of Nepal. He added that Nepal is a Paradise for gemologists and collectors. “This can boost tourism as well as help in export business. But, it is a pity that despite having huge semi-precious stone mines, Nepal has to import 80 per cent of the stones from India, China, Thailand, Burma and Pakistan,” he said. Entrepreneurs involved with the business shared that they need better facilities from the government and to review the existing import and export policies. Adhikari opined that in India, the government has waived off import fee on gemstones, one of the reasons which has made it very difficult for Nepal to compete with India.

“Nepal has failed to showcase its potential in the international market. Much of it is due to the lack of skilled manpower that has hit the gems and precious stones sector in the country despite it being rich in mineral resources,” said Adhikari. He opined that the government should develop adequate work force and create mechanism to extract mineral resources to propel growth. From export of 200,000 kg raw gemstone, some 5,000 small gems industries could provide around 25,000 people direct employment and another 100,000 indirect employment, he added.

According to the Department of Geology, the country has imported around Rs 130.37 billion worth of mines and mineral related goods in fiscal year 2009-10. However, due to lack of well-equipped laboratory that can certify purity of gems and other precious stones, the country has not been able to take advantage from its huge natural resources. According to Riken Maharjan, there are two things the industry keeps in mind – gemstone identification and gemstone grading. The first part is to identify the stone correctly as it makes a huge difference in price depending on the type of gemstone. The market is flooded with precious and semi precious gemstones and it is hard even for experienced eyes to tell the difference without gemological tools.

Gemstone and jewelry certification plays a vital role in the business. There are gem labs all over the world that identifies and grades gemstones, however, it’s not an established trend in Nepal yet. R B Diamond Jewelers is taking an initiative to change this by introducing GIA (Gemological Institute of America) Certification for gems and jewelries in the near future. These certificates are internationally recognized and honored and known for its grading precision, technology, research and other important factors.

“The gems and jewelry industry is an industry of trust. Therefore, it is very important for people in this industry to understand their product, to know what they are selling,” said Maharjan who has been in this business for more than 15 years now. People put their names and huge amount of money on the line. There is a lot to learn about the industry, the stones itself, treatments, grading, imitation, synthetic stones and many other aspects, he added.