Gemological Science International (GSI) has opened a new laboratory in Jaipur, India. Since this state is the capital of colored gemstones, the laboratory will have a dedicated division specializing in colored gemstone geographical origin and identification.
A team of GSI professionals will provide highly qualified services for the certification of gemstones.
Rough&Polished spoke with GSI's new Jaipur office Head, Meenu Vyas, an industry expert, FGA, to find out what services and initiatives the new GSI lab will offer.
What does it mean for you to head the new GSI’s Jaipur office?
GSI is one of the major gemological organizations in the world and is well known in India. As part of this international organization, I believe I can bring an even higher level of gemological services, research, and education not only to Jaipur but to all of Northern India. This GSI facility will open new avenues for this important community of jewelry buyers, traders, manufacturers, and others.
Finally, Jaipur will have an international gemological organization that they rightly deserve and I’m proud to be the one who will manage it.
What are the specifics of the Jaipur division compared to other Indian offices?
Jaipur is the colored gem center of India, and one of the most important gemstone hubs in the world. While GSI Jaipur will offer a variety of services similar to other GSI offices worldwide, Jaipur’s office quite understandably will make color stones its main priority.
Are all Indian GSI offices coordinated? Are you planning to launch any joint projects with other Indian GSI divisions?
All GSI offices work together and coordinate their activities. We constantly exchange information and news between our different locations. Every new discovery is immediately shared with every office. In pre-pandemic times our gemologists were traveling between the different offices and had opportunities to work with their colleagues from different locations. I am sure once travel can resume these practices will be back in place.
What services do you think will be the most demanded at the lab regarding the Indian diamond community?
While every GSI office offers a ‘standard menu’ of basic services, each one also offers a variety of customized services for local needs. And of course, in Jaipur, these services will be related to color stones.
Can we say that the Jaipur office will mostly focus on grading colored gemstones? Why?
The Jaipur office will not only focus on ‘grading’ color stones, but in addition to GSI basic services, we will have color stone-related services. These services will be education, research, identification, and certification of color stones and jewelry.
How often does the Jaipur division intend to host educational programs?
Education will be one of GSI Jaipur’s main activities; we believe that education is one the most important cornerstones of our industry. As a matter of fact, we already had a number of different educational events, even before the official opening of our office. We plan to greatly expand our education operations in Jaipur and all of Northern India. And please remember, GSI already offers online natural diamond courses, as well as the first LGD course in the world.
Are there any planned already? Who can apply?
As I mentioned we already had a number of training sessions for members of the industry in Jaipur. Moving forward, we will have a large variety of different educational programs. We will have a number of both online, and in-person courses of varying duration. In Jaipur, we, of course, will concentrate on color stones, but it does not mean that we will ignore diamonds.
Victoria Quiri for Rough&Polished
