The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council’s (GJEPC) Surat regional office yesterday hosted a seminar at Ahmedabad on “Metal Purity and Production Excellence” supported by Jewellery Association, Ahmedabad. Samir Joshi, ED, Indian Diamond Institute (IDI), Surat and Kamlesh Vyas, MD, Mars Group, Hosur made presentations on the subjects.

Joshi explained the gold refining cycle, elaborating on various stages as dore is transformed into bullion. He covered quality standards for the precious metals, discussing both the perspective of the official Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and prevalent trade practices. Highlighting some of the important provisions of the proposed Hallmarking Regulation 2018, Joshi spoke about its practical impact on the trade once it is officially made applicable.

He also touched upon different stages in the jewellery manufacturing process where the purity of the metal was likely to be impacted such as the soldering, use of outsourced findings, plating with other metals, etc. In each case, he also offered advice on the technical and operational solutions and checkpoints that could be implemented to closely monitor each of them.

In his presentation, Vyas focused on achieving production excellence, explaining the disruptions, importance of quality, working environment & conditions, welfare, ethical practices, importance of SOPs, wastage control & recovery at each stage of the production cycle. He also discussed concepts like JIT, Kaizen, Lean Manufacturing, the need for transformation and the adoption of better technology and tools.

During the seminar, Council officials shared details of GJEPC’s projects such as the Common Facility Centres (CFC), G & J Parichay Card, Swasthya Ratna, Swasthya Kosh, etc. Grasping the importance of the CFC project, the Jewellery Association, Ahmedabad expressed interest in working with the GJEPC and signed an MOU for issue of 15,000 Parichay Cards to its members and the artisans who work with them.

Pic caption: Samir Joshi, ED, IDI making a presentation on metal purity