India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) organized the second edition of the Diamond Detection Expo & Symposium (DDES 2017) on April 14 and 15 in Surat.
The world’s leading gemological laboratories showcased machinery, equipment and technology available to identify synthetic diamonds. The two-day event was jointly organized by GJEPC under the auspices of the Natural Diamond Monitoring Committee (NDMC).
GJEPC Chairman Praveenshankar Pandya and Tom Moses, the GIA’s Executive Vice President and Chief Laboratory and Research Officer, inaugurated DDES 2017 in the presence of Dinesh Navadiya (Chairman, Surat Diamond Association and Gujarat’s Regional GJEPC Chairman,), Ashish Mehta (Convener, NDMC, GJEPC), Nirupa Bhatt (Managing Director, GIA, India & Middle East) and Sevantilal Premchand Shah (Founding Partner, Venus Jewel).
Navadiya and several members of the trade took a solemn pledge that they will preserve the reputation of Surat and refrain from indulging in any malpractices. And Pandya announced a special 50% discount for all associations in Surat and nearby areas wanting to install diamond detection machines.
Pandya said, “DDES is one of several strategic initiatives to preserve the global trade and consumer confidence in diamonds from India. Surat – the world’s largest diamond manufacturing centre – is the ideal location for DDES 2017, since it is home to over 5,000 diamond manufacturing units, including some of the world’s largest and most advanced affordable diamond cutting factories. By leveraging digital initiatives, we intend to modernize key jewelry manufacturing hubs across India and empower them by sophisticated detection tools and techniques to safeguard ourselves against undisclosed mixing of synthetics. Mixing in any form is unacceptable.”
