India’s first Jewellery Excellence Symposium organised by GJSCI held in Mumbai was a big success where experts from all over the world where invited to share their knowledge on various topics
The Indian Jewellery Excellence Symposium that took place in Mumbai on January 8 and 9 was nothing short of an indulging affair. From key note speakers to renowned jewellers and retailers, it saw the presence of the prominent members of the Gems & Jewellery industry. The event was not only informative but was also a medium to enlighten the who’s who in trade on the pressing issues of the industry and how we can benefit by sharing gained knowledge.

Dignitaries from Ministry, NSDC & Trade Bodies made their significant presence for the grand inauguration of the symposium. The inauguration saw the presence of Chief Guest – Rupa Dutta, Economic Adviser, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Guest of honour - Manish Kumar, MD & CEO – National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Pramod Agrawal, Chairman – Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), N. Anantha Padmanabhan, Chairman – All India Gem & Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC), GJSCI Chairman, Sanjay Kothari, and Director, GJSCI Shishir Nevatia and Executive Director - CEO, GJSCI, Rajeev Garg. At the event, Indian and international experts made presentations on manufacturing and business best practices to an exclusive audience comprising owner/ promoters and senior professionals from across the gems and jewellery industry. Adapted on the lines of the Santa Fe Symposium®, the IJES debut show hosted 22 seminars with top experts including Frank Cooper, Deirdre Featherstone, Hemant Shah and Ravi Giani.

GJSCI chairman Sanjay Kothari said, “Jewellery Excellence Symposium is unique, unparalleled and is great initiative by GJSCI with the support from various industry partners. Through this platform, I urge the (jewellery) industry to learn and improve productivity to be at par with global standards.” He also shared that knowledge is important and they aim to up skill the manufacturing processes and train the people so that India can eventually start supplying to top global brands. “We need to up our game and be globally competitive. Our ultimate goal is to see India flourish.”

The first edition of India Jewellery Excellence Symposium recorded a registration of approximately 300+ delegates representing more than 140 companies all over India. The first day was entirely engaged with the sessions led by eminent speakers viz. Ravi Gilani, Frank Cooper, Ashish Arora, Dr.Anand Deshpande, Peter Bubendorfer, Ms. Jill Goodson, Anikesh Pandey, Ashish Arora, Luigi Carboni all accomplished names from the gems and jewellery industry world over. The second day was equally exciting delivering various sessions by renowned experts like Jayant Murthy, Dierdre Featherstone, Hemant Shah, GaniIqbal, Meghna Saraogi, Jason Fava, Soran Jota, Fulvio Sinisi, Dr. Po. Hung Ko, along with other eminent speakers.

Talking about innovative 3D printing, Frank Cooper in his session shared how one needs to do a lot of research before investing in a good machine. “There are very large numbers of 3D printers available for the jewellery industry at different price points.You need to do a lot of research before investing in a 3D printing machine. Don’t fall for the cheapest. 3D systems ProJet (multijetting) Prints directly into photo polymeric resin. If you use budget machines, surfaces are usually uneven. The difference comes through in the finish. On the other hand Hemant Shah was seen sharing his in depth knowledge through the medium of innovation. “There are 4 types of innovation- incremental, disruptive, architectural and radical. Out of these, it is radical innovation that will help you change the game and achieve success,” he quipped. Gauge reaction of your audience and use feedback received to improve your product and process, he further added. All the way from New York, came jewellery designer Deirdre Featherstone to cast a spell on the audience. In her session, she explained the importance of a story that leads to the construction of a design that is custom made for your client. “If you work with platinum, you have to create designs that are timeless. Due to limited supply of the metal, whatever you create must be exceptional. Designing for clients involve listening to their demands, what they give value to and giving them what they want but in your own unique way,” she shared.

Augmented Reality in jewellery industry was addressed by Meghna Saraogi, who revealed how one can reap rewards of the advancement in technology. “AR helps you to digitise inventory. It can be shared with people across the globe with just a click.You can add real data like gold quality, diamond data, price etc along with the jewellery pieces.In a way AR also detects your emotions as it detects smile/ frown through face recognition. Since jewellery is a an emotion based decision, you can get better insight into likes and dislikes of consumers through AR. Consumers have short attention span and most consumers spend most time on their phones. A revolutionizing way for consumers to try on jewellery from their phones will give people instant access,” she revealed. ?

IJES indeed turned out to be a onestop source for bringing together the industry’s most innovative and diligent experts to share their ideas, innovations, best practices, experiences, techniques and insights on manufacturing excellence. The event gracefully concluded felicitating the eminent speakers & also demonstrated the commitment of GJSCI to continue IJES with yet another edition in January 2021.