When it comes to Pakistan, God has bestOwed Pakistan with plenty of precious stones. The Northern Areas of Pakistan are specially famous for this. Each year many tourists come to visit NAs and get gems as bounry.
A gemstone or gem, also called a precious or semi-precious stone, is a piece of attractive mineral, which when cut and polished is used to make jewelry or other adornments. Most gemstones are hard, but some soft minerals are used in jewelry because of their lustre or other physical properties that have aesthetic value. Rarity is another characteristic that lends value to a gemstone Color is the most obvious and attractive feature of gemstones. The color of any material is due to the nature of light itself.
The Pakistan Gems and Jewelry Company has been established for the development of the Gems and Jewelery sector through use of appropriate technology and training to human resource throughout the value chain of Gems & jewelery sector.
The main strategic initiatives of the Gems & Jewellery Strategy cover the following areas:
1. Geological Survey for Gemstones Resources.
2. Boutique Mining.
3. Gems / Jewellery Exchange Centers.
4. Gems Identification/ Certification Centers.
5. Assaying and Hallmarking Centers.
6. Common Facility Training and Manufacturing Centers (CFTMCs).
7. Marketing / Branding through:
a) Participation in International Shows.
b) Local Trade Shows.
c) Market Studies and Surveys.
d) Advertising and Promotion.
The objective of the Common Facility Training and Manufacturing Center is to provide common training and manufacturing facilities for each of the three primary activities within the industry: mining, gems processing and jewelry manufacturing.
(i) Mining:
With its abundant resources in precious and semi-precious gemstones, Pakistan can have a significant competitive advantage in the gem and jewelry market.
However, mining technology and processes are rudimentary and unscientific resulting in significant wastage at the extraction stage. Indiscriminate blasting damages the gemstone crystals and mineral specimen thus drastically reducing their value. In majority of the mines basic machinery and equipment like compressors and drill sets are not available. A large number of mines are currently inactive due to lack of equipment. The SWOG has highlighted a need for establishing Common Training and Facility Centers to upgrade mining practices in Pakistan. The CFTMC will perform two major functions:
Training in mining techniques to reduce wastage and extract better quality gems;
Provision of machines for use of local miners. The CFTMC will have a common pool of machines which will be leased out to miners on a need basis.
The overall objective of the CFTMC is to modernize mining practices, reduce wastage, improve the quality of extracted gems, and thereby increasing the income of miners. Training will improve the skills of those already in the mining industry and train new entrants, leading to an increase in the overall productivity of workers and hence better quality output. Provision of machines will have an immediate impact in terms of rehabilitation of inactive mines and improved production of ones already functioning. The SWOG has highlighted the need for mining CFTMCs in Balochistan, NWFP, Northern Areas and Tribal Areas.
(ii) Gem Processing
Due to lack of adequate processing infrastructure and skills, approximately 75 percent of Pakistan's exports are in unworked stones, representing a significant loss in value added (total value of exports in 2003 was USD 3.7 million). Gems cutting and processing in Pakistan suffers from obsolete technology, limited skills, and lack of precision.
Presently, there are more than 30,000 people involved with the industry and there are around 500 units involved in cutting and polishing of gemstones. Most of the gemstone processors are clustered in Karachi and Peshawar (Namak Mandi), with smaller clusters in Lahore, Quetta and Islamabad. Little value is gained by processing stones as cutting exists on a very limited scale in small one to three person workshops. The prevailing technique is cutting for yield to maximize weight, not value. The industry lacks expertise in precision and calibrated cutting and is not up to date with the latest treatments. The skill level of the craftsmen engaged in gems processing depends entirely on their experience and on what they have learned from their families, mainly migrants from Jaipur, India. These local craftsmen are unaware of latest technologies and international quality standards. Most of the stones are recut, once they reach international markets. While the value addition which can be accrued through processing of these stones (cutting and polishing) starts from 10 times and goes up to as high as 100 times. This reduces the potential price a dealer is willing to pay to the Pakistani seller. Lapidary training is being offered at the Gems and Gemological Institute of Pakistan at Peshawar. Experienced dealers have voiced concerns over the institute's limited resources and training capacity.
The objective of the Gemstones CFTMC is to provide state of the art training in cutting, polishing and treating gemstones as well as common processing facilities in order to enhance the value of gemstones sold into the local and international markets. The CFTMC will train a new generation of lapidarists in the latest processes thereby upgrading their skills and earning potential. Training of cutters will be focused on international standards of calibration and new enhancement techniques. The CFTMC will also provide a common processing facility that can be used by gemstone dealers and exporters. The SWOG has highlighted the need for lapidary training and common processing facilities in Quetta, Karachi, Peshawar, Northern Areas and Tribal Areas.
The CFTMC would offer long-term training and short-term certificate courses. Long-term courses would be for people who want to learn in-depth the different sort of cuts, faceting and polishing. Short-term courses would be for experienced artisans to learn the latest techniques of cutting and polishing. The CFTMC would also offer tailored courses and workshops in response to specific industry, firm or group demand.
As a result of better processing facilities and skills, buyers will be able to place larger orders as calibrated stones are preferred internationally. A common model lapidary facility will encourage the emergence of other private modern workshops leading to an overall up-gradation in the quality of stones and consequently have a direct impact on Pakistan's export earnings. Significant value addition can be accrued by precision cutting and good polishing, which can be captured by gems exporters rather than foreign buyers. By enhancing the income levels of those directly involved in mining and trading, it will have spin-off effects for the entire region.
A gemstone or gem, also called a precious or semi-precious stone, is a piece of attractive mineral, which when cut and polished is used to make jewelry or other adornments. Most gemstones are hard, but some soft minerals are used in jewelry because of their lustre or other physical properties that have aesthetic value. Rarity is another characteristic that lends value to a gemstone Color is the most obvious and attractive feature of gemstones. The color of any material is due to the nature of light itself.
The Pakistan Gems and Jewelry Company has been established for the development of the Gems and Jewelery sector through use of appropriate technology and training to human resource throughout the value chain of Gems & jewelery sector.
The main strategic initiatives of the Gems & Jewellery Strategy cover the following areas:
1. Geological Survey for Gemstones Resources.
2. Boutique Mining.
3. Gems / Jewellery Exchange Centers.
4. Gems Identification/ Certification Centers.
5. Assaying and Hallmarking Centers.
6. Common Facility Training and Manufacturing Centers (CFTMCs).
7. Marketing / Branding through:
a) Participation in International Shows.
b) Local Trade Shows.
c) Market Studies and Surveys.
d) Advertising and Promotion.
The objective of the Common Facility Training and Manufacturing Center is to provide common training and manufacturing facilities for each of the three primary activities within the industry: mining, gems processing and jewelry manufacturing.
(i) Mining:
With its abundant resources in precious and semi-precious gemstones, Pakistan can have a significant competitive advantage in the gem and jewelry market.
However, mining technology and processes are rudimentary and unscientific resulting in significant wastage at the extraction stage. Indiscriminate blasting damages the gemstone crystals and mineral specimen thus drastically reducing their value. In majority of the mines basic machinery and equipment like compressors and drill sets are not available. A large number of mines are currently inactive due to lack of equipment. The SWOG has highlighted a need for establishing Common Training and Facility Centers to upgrade mining practices in Pakistan. The CFTMC will perform two major functions:
Training in mining techniques to reduce wastage and extract better quality gems;
Provision of machines for use of local miners. The CFTMC will have a common pool of machines which will be leased out to miners on a need basis.
The overall objective of the CFTMC is to modernize mining practices, reduce wastage, improve the quality of extracted gems, and thereby increasing the income of miners. Training will improve the skills of those already in the mining industry and train new entrants, leading to an increase in the overall productivity of workers and hence better quality output. Provision of machines will have an immediate impact in terms of rehabilitation of inactive mines and improved production of ones already functioning. The SWOG has highlighted the need for mining CFTMCs in Balochistan, NWFP, Northern Areas and Tribal Areas.
(ii) Gem Processing
Due to lack of adequate processing infrastructure and skills, approximately 75 percent of Pakistan's exports are in unworked stones, representing a significant loss in value added (total value of exports in 2003 was USD 3.7 million). Gems cutting and processing in Pakistan suffers from obsolete technology, limited skills, and lack of precision.
Presently, there are more than 30,000 people involved with the industry and there are around 500 units involved in cutting and polishing of gemstones. Most of the gemstone processors are clustered in Karachi and Peshawar (Namak Mandi), with smaller clusters in Lahore, Quetta and Islamabad. Little value is gained by processing stones as cutting exists on a very limited scale in small one to three person workshops. The prevailing technique is cutting for yield to maximize weight, not value. The industry lacks expertise in precision and calibrated cutting and is not up to date with the latest treatments. The skill level of the craftsmen engaged in gems processing depends entirely on their experience and on what they have learned from their families, mainly migrants from Jaipur, India. These local craftsmen are unaware of latest technologies and international quality standards. Most of the stones are recut, once they reach international markets. While the value addition which can be accrued through processing of these stones (cutting and polishing) starts from 10 times and goes up to as high as 100 times. This reduces the potential price a dealer is willing to pay to the Pakistani seller. Lapidary training is being offered at the Gems and Gemological Institute of Pakistan at Peshawar. Experienced dealers have voiced concerns over the institute's limited resources and training capacity.
The objective of the Gemstones CFTMC is to provide state of the art training in cutting, polishing and treating gemstones as well as common processing facilities in order to enhance the value of gemstones sold into the local and international markets. The CFTMC will train a new generation of lapidarists in the latest processes thereby upgrading their skills and earning potential. Training of cutters will be focused on international standards of calibration and new enhancement techniques. The CFTMC will also provide a common processing facility that can be used by gemstone dealers and exporters. The SWOG has highlighted the need for lapidary training and common processing facilities in Quetta, Karachi, Peshawar, Northern Areas and Tribal Areas.
The CFTMC would offer long-term training and short-term certificate courses. Long-term courses would be for people who want to learn in-depth the different sort of cuts, faceting and polishing. Short-term courses would be for experienced artisans to learn the latest techniques of cutting and polishing. The CFTMC would also offer tailored courses and workshops in response to specific industry, firm or group demand.
As a result of better processing facilities and skills, buyers will be able to place larger orders as calibrated stones are preferred internationally. A common model lapidary facility will encourage the emergence of other private modern workshops leading to an overall up-gradation in the quality of stones and consequently have a direct impact on Pakistan's export earnings. Significant value addition can be accrued by precision cutting and good polishing, which can be captured by gems exporters rather than foreign buyers. By enhancing the income levels of those directly involved in mining and trading, it will have spin-off effects for the entire region.
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