Glittering Stones News,Diamonds news,Gems and jewelry news

A new initiative is creature undertaken to revive the local jewellery industry, which is almost on the verge of collapse. The initiative collaboration among Development Dimensions Limited a jewellery manufacturing firm and the College of Arts and Social Sciences at the KNUST, involves setting up a multi-million Ghana cedi Centre with the primary objective of conducting research and training jewelers to aid the manufacture of jewellery for both the local and export markets.

The US$500,000 Centre, which concerned a monetary support of US$225,000 from the Export Development and Investment Fund (EDIF), is below the Industrial Art Department of the University and is the first of its kind in the country.

It currently has two units comprising the teaching unit, which offers a six-month certificate course to be awarded by KNUST, and a production unit which is accidentally for the manufacture of jewellery for both local and export markets. It offers courses such as Gem Stones Setting, Casting, Soldering, Alloying Technologies and Finishing. The rest are, Workshop Practice for Jewelers, Science and Chemistry, Basic Drawing and Design for Jewelers, Entrepreneurship and Sales and Communication Skills.

It is ironical that in a country like Mauritius, where mineral wealth in relative terms is nowhere near Ghana’s, jewellery and processed diamonds are the third-most important export produce group after textiles, clothing and fish products.
The country, which is Africa’s second-largest manufacturer of gold, increased production from a year earlier by 3.5% to 1.46 million ounces during the first half of 2010. But very small of this production is refined into jewellery and ornaments for exports of higher value.

Blue Nile, the online jewelry seller, has created an application for Apple’s iPad, iPhone, and iPod that will allow customers to search for diamonds and view the company’s diamond jewelry pieces. The application will offer users with a database of 70,000 diamonds that can be searched by a number of parameters, together with size, price, and cut. The application allows direct purchase, or customers can contact Blue Nile.

Blue Nile Chief Executive Diane Irvine said the Blue Nile App would be a “game changer” and a “disrupting force” in the development of the diamond industry. she said, “We have listened to our customers”. The Blue Nile application can be downloaded from Apple iTunes.

Another Blue Nile application, Dream Box, focuses on Blue Nile’s collection of custom-made jewelry. While the appliance uses social networking to showcase jewelry design, it does not offer a purchase function.

Gitanjali Gems Ltd. India’s biggest jewelry retailer plans to open about 500 stores by the end of the economic year as it seek to tap demand in the world’s biggest gold-buying nation.

In this company plans to add 300,000 square feet of retail space in the year through March 31, up from its present 1 million square feet, Mehul Choksi, chairman of Gitanjali, said in a telephone interview from New Delhi. The company also plans to make bigger in China and the Middle East.

The retailer is increasing in Asia’s third-biggest economy as economic growth and rising incomes raise demand for gold and diamonds, specially for use at weddings and religious festivals, such as the Akshaya Tritiya holy day when many Hindus buy gold. Jewelers, including Gitanjali, have countered growing prices for gold and diamonds by offering cheaper products.

Choksi said, “When prices go up that doesn’t mean the product doesn’t popular, it’s just that you have to redecorate the jewelry to reach out to more people.  Shares in Gitanjali rose 0.6 percent to 127.4 rupees at the close of trading in Mumbai, forthcoming its highest level since Jan. 14. They previously rose as much as 1.1 percent. The standard Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index declined 0.1 percent.

The company, based in Mumbai, aims to move up its share of India’s jewelry market to 5 percent from 3 percent. He didn’t say by when their company plans to reach the target. The government estimates financial growth will go faster to 8.5 percent in the financial year ending March 31, from 7.4 percent in the previous 12 months. Choksi said, This company plans to double the number of stores in China to 100 in the next three years. Gitanjali also plans to open its first company-owned opening in the Middle East, where its products are currently sold through 50 non-exclusive jewelry stores.