The five-day show at the Machinery Section of India International Jewellery Show (IIJS) 2019 that concluded yesterday provided ample evidence that use of technology has taken deep roots in Indian jewellery manufacturing, both among companies catering to global markets and those servicing the domestic sector.

Held at the Hotel Lalit and Hotel Leela Sahar Airport from August 7-11, 2019, the show, after a slowish start, picked up pace over the weekend. Jewellers from across the country who were in the city to attend the main jewellery exhibition took time off to visit the machinery section – some to update themselves on the latest developments in the field and many more in search of machines that could help them upgrade and transform their systems and products.

This year the show had 155 exhibitors including 24 international companies from Italy, Germany, Turkey, the US and UAE. Many of the Indian exhibitors too were distributors and agents for global companies – displaying machines and technologies produced overseas.

Hence, the show truly offered access to cutting edge developments in the field.

Rickiee Mahendru, Country Manager, Pandora Alloys an Italian company set up in 1854 pointed out, “Ever since hallmarking took off in India there has been a growing demand for international quality alloys, not just from exporters, but also from large domestic manufacturers. The quality standards that have to be followed are essentially the same.”

Pandora Alloys had about 200 different products catering to every colour, karat and process. Latest global innovations such as a new alloy for pink gold or another for 22k hard gold were also on display at the IIJS.

“They comply with all international rules and standards – cadmium free, lead free etc, and as domestic jewellers realise that Indian consumers are also quality conscious, quite a few are willing to pay the additional premium for sourcing international quality raw materials for their factories,” Mahendru said.

He opined that the first two days of the show were disappointing, but visitor traffic after the IIJS opened on August 9, “has been good”. He felt that “it makes little sense to start the machinery exhibition before the main jewellery show.”

Andrea Zanrosso from the Sales Division of Eurografite, another Italian manufacturer, said that he was satisfied with the business over the latter part of the show, though the initial two days were slow. The company manufactures high density graphite dies and cubicles as well other accessories for casting furnaces.

He too confirms, “Indian manufacturers are showing a willingness to pay a slightly higher cost for quality materials from international suppliers. This enables them to deliver quality and consistency to the end consumer, besides ensuring longer life for their machines.”

Two other international exhibitors, Danny Stocco of Ciemmeo – Italy, which offers machines for manufacturing chains as well as lobsters and spring rings, and Adelmo Rosas, CEO of Pharos Manufacturing, DMCC Dubai, which distributes CNC machines made by Faro, Italy, both confirmed widespread use of these technologies across India. “We had a lot of inquiries over the past few days from various corners of the country – the show has been good for us.”

Rosas, who has been doing business in India for the past 15 years said that the company was providing a CAD-CAM-CN software package for its machines that enabled manufacturers to produce lighter weight jewellery which is increasingly being demanded by consumers, without sacrificing the intricate designs and patterns that are popular.

Even Stocco said that it is over 20 years since Ciemmeo’s machines were first imported into the country and now they are used quite widely across different regions.

An interesting insight was offered by Vikrant Rawa, Chief Technology Evangelist at Intriguity which has a strategic collaboration with Solidscape Inc of USA. He said that use of 3D printing for jewellery was growing across India, especially among manufacturers using the lost wax casting method.  Additionally, he said, digital solutions were now popular for a number of processes in the jewellery industry.

“Currently, the Alpha-Shot Micro, an automated solution for creating 3600 photographs of jewellery is one of the products with a high demand. It enables manufacturers to take quality photographs of their stocks in a cost-effective manner. Everyone who has a website or uses other digital marketing tools needs such images, and this compact machine which can be used to create an interactive video experience, meets that requirement,” he adds.

It is not only the international machines that are popular. Massive Tech, a Surat based manufacturer of synthetic diamond detectors, is, in fact, taking its machines overseas as well. Prakash Dholariya, Business & Sales Head, said, “Our tech solutions have received a good response in India as well as in the international markets – we have clients in Indonesia, Bangkok, Russia, Italy, US and Bulgaria to name a few.”

The company initially launched G Certain, a large machine that detected synthetic diamonds mixed in parcels of loose diamonds, and then followed it up with J Certain which could also be used for detection in diamonds jewellery pieces. “Both machines have been certified under DPA’s Assure Programme for testing of synthetic detection devices. Only a small percentage of stones may need to be referred for further testing, in the majority of cases the identification is confirmed immediately.”

At IIJS, the company has introduced the J Certain Mini which is an extremely cost-effective solution – compact and with an inbuilt screen The USP is its size as well as the price, almost 20% lower than the larger counterpart. “We received a very good response to this model with a number of inquiries and even a few definite orders,” Dholariya said, even as he expressed confidence that it would soon also receive the DPA Assure certification.

That the demand for technology has now spread beyond large companies, with even smaller manufacturers being interested in compact models was also corroborated by leading manufacturer, Sahajanand Technologies popularly known as STPL. Its laser machines have been widely used by the diamond industry for many decades and have also been adopted by jewellery manufacturers too.

Abhay Mishra. AGM Sales, North & East India, STPL says, “We have an almost 80% share of the hallmarking centre market where our lasers are used for stamping the BIS hallmark and the jeweller’s details etc on jewellery pieces.”

STPL has recently introduced a new Laser TTL machine which was being displayed at the show. “It is ideal for stamping and marking diamond jewellery. Its USP is the connection to a computer screen where the area to be stamped can be viewed in high zoom, enabling maximum accuracy,” said Mishra. “This is very useful when working with small pieces or intricate designs where the stamping area is tiny, and also for diamond jewellery as any inaccuracy in the laser work can cause damage to the diamond.”

He adds that the company is well known and participates at the show largely for branding purposes, but such shows also enable them to meet with potential new clients. “We are also participating at the show organised by the Lab-grown diamond manufacturers in Mumbai, and see this as a sector that may grow rapidly in the near future.”

Mirroring the small is more popular story, Siddesh Varsaale, Business Developer at Ankitst Exim Inc which represents Electrolaser SRL said, “Our latest laser welding and soldering machine is small and also very powerful. The combination of compact size, powerful frequency and spot diameter make it the ideal choice for factories and showrooms across India. We introduced it in February and it has been received positively with good traction at this show too.”