Indian firm develops laser technology to cut, polish diamonds
Thursday, 1 January 2015 00:00
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Reuters: An Indian firm in western state of Gujarat developed laser technology to cut and polish diamonds hoping to increase production and reduce human errors.
Sahajan and Technologies Limited has developed the latest technology, which cuts and polishes diamonds using a high intensity laser beam. The shape of the diamond is selected on computer based design software.
Most of the diamonds are polished by people using microscopes and hand cutters.
Chief executive officer of firm, Rahul Gaywala, said that this technology would help Indian diamond industry by providing better production and diamond quality.
“With the help of this machine we have noticed that production would increase by at least 20%. The more important thing is that we have eliminated human errors to produce defect-free diamonds,” said Gaywala in Surat city on Saturday (27 December).
India does not produce any of its own rough diamonds but cuts and polishes around 80% of the world’s output, most of it in the western city of Surat, its Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) estimates.
The managing director of the firm, Dhiraj Vasoya, said they were inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign.
“The time since Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared ‘Make in India’ campaign, we have been thinking about what we can do. Our engineers worked very hard and developed this new product, which is completely made in India,” said Vasoya.
Charged by the strongest electoral mandate in three decades, Modi has staked his reputation on making India an export hub, launching his pet campaign ‘Make in India’ with much fanfare in September with a lion as its logo.
India exported 181.67 lakh (18.167 million) carats during the seven months this fiscal year, down from 194.7 lakh (19.47 million) carats in 2013.
Meanwhile, India’s long-held position as the world’s top diamond polisher is being challenged by soaring output from China, compelling the south Asian country to seek help from ally and top rough diamond supplier Russia to defend its market share.
India has traditionally relied on the middlemen in trading hubs of Antwerp, Tel Aviv and Dubai for its supply of rough diamonds, which mainly come from Russia or Africa. Most of the world’s diamond output is sent to India for cutting and polishing before being retailed around the world.
