First-ever virtual meet for loose diamonds generates great response

An initiative in the new normal, the first-ever virtual meet for loose diamonds, has generated tremendous response.

The meet hosted by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council of India (GJEPC), the apex body for promotion of gems and jewellery exports, gave opportunity for buyers and exhibitors to connect and talk business over the virtual platform.

The 10 Indian participating exhibitors are Paladiya Brothers & Co, Arjiv Exports, Unique Gems, Shree Ramkrishna Exports Pvt Ltd, J K Star, VD Global Private Limited, Laxmi Diamond Pvt Ltd., Sheetal Mfg. Company Pvt. Ltd, D Navinchandra Exports Pvt Ltd, and Narola Gems.

The volume of the trade during the meet is yet to be available.

In his opening remarks, Suresh Kumar, Joint Secretary,Ministry of Commerce and Industry, congratulated the Council’s efforts and said, “Virtual buying-selling formats will be the new normal going forward. As we do not know how fast this scenario is going to change, and we cannot wait for the pandemic to go away, so it’s prudent to shift to a virtual platform through which buyers and sellers can continue doing business in confidentiality with secured measures.”

He said that he was happy that this is one of India’s most promising sectors in terms of merchandise exports.

“Although the trade has been hit because of the pandemic, we should capitalise on every growth opportunity, especially since green shoots of revival are visible in markets like the USA, China, and Europe. This is a great new beginning for the sector which must continue using this virtual platform extensively and make it a part of your regular marketing activity to connect with buyers from different countries and sectors,” Kumar added.

Colin Shah, Chairman, GJEPC, noted: “It’s a historic shift for GJEPC to conduct the first-ever virtual buyer-seller meet. The pandemic has forced us to think out of the box. We went through several options on the technology front and we finally selected one that is proprietary and unique.”

The GJEPC is hoping that manufacturers and traders on the diamond side are able to actually transact business without dilution in their experience.

“Although the pandemic has taken its toll, there have been good positives, markets like America and China are coming back strongly and this should translate into recovery of exports for us. Supply of rough was constrained so the polished prices remained stable,” he added.

Dilip Shah, Convener International Exhibitions, GJEPC said, “India is the preferred destination for sourcing superior quality diamonds and the VBSM format is user-friendly with inbuilt security measures. We are planning to hold such VBSMs in the near future for diamond and gold-studded jewellery, platinum jewellery, and costume jewellery.”

The key features of the VBSM are unique proprietary technology used for product profiling; augmented reality to enhance product experience and parallel viewing of the product catalogue -- all these features will create a life-like simulation and ensure that communication between buyers and sellers will be through servers and therefore secure.