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Colorful Jaipur
Photos and captions by Eric Welch and Andy Lucas
Jaipur, the colored stone capital of India, was rich with opportunities for a GIA Course Development team to capture images on a recent trip. Part two of our insider's look into India's gem trade highlights the many facets of its colored stone industry.
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Small, independent dealers often make colored stone transactions in the streets outside of larger gem dealers.
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Viabhav Gems Limited: Accurate sorting of colored stone rough is essential for any cutting operation. The professionals who perform this critical step have years of experience making themost out of their starting material.
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Snake charmers in the Old City part of Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, which was founded by the warrior-astronomer Maharaja Jai Singh II (1693-1743).
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K.K. Gems Trading Co.: These emerald cutters use traditional cutting equipment efficiently and economically.
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Vaibhav Gems Limited: Jaipur is known fur cutting and dealing in all varieties of colored stones, and having large inventories for their customers to select from.
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Jaipur Gems, Mumbai: India is known for exporting a large volume of faceted emeralds, but a growing percentage is also being sold in fine retail stores for the domestic market.
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Viabhav Gems Limited: Cutting tanzanite in calibrated sizes. The green chemical used by the cutters gives the stones higher luster and better polish.
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Sumangal Gems: Jaipur is a major tanzanite cutting and trading center.
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Sumangal Gems: Tanzanite may be heat-treated at the cutting factories. The rough is often preformed to remove any inclusions that might expand and damage the material. Careful orientation is needed to make sure the best color is shown face up.
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Sumangal Gems: Large volumes of calibrated tanzanite are cut and sold to large wholesalers or jewelry manufacturers to meet the increased public demand.
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K.K. Gems Trading Co.: India cuts both large free-form and smaller emeralds. The preform stage is crucial to ensure maximum weight retention and orient the crystal for the best color.
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Valentine Jewellery Pvt. Ltd.: Intricate designs can be polished quickly using a cord with polishing compounds. Jaipur jewelry manufacturers combine modern technology with traditional methods.
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Valentine Jewellery Pvt. Ltd.: Casting provides the ability to mass produce and update popular designs to meet the needs of large, overseas retail companies. These wax models are being attached to a sprue so they can all be cast at once.
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National Facets: Beads fashioned from all kinds of gem varieties are available with every color combination imaginable.
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See images from "An Insider's Look at India's Diamonds," which appeared in the Spring 2007 issue.
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