Career in Gems and Jewellery Industry

India's gems and jewellery industry is a bright star of the economy and one of the important foundations of the country's export-led growth. The consumption of gold and jewellery products in India has grown rapidly over the years at the rate of 20-25 per cent per annum.

According to a recent study, India and China are now emerging as one of the leaders in the global jewellery industry in terms of consumption, besides production and trade. The countries jointly would account for over 30 per cent of global diamond market in 2015.

India possesses world's most competitive gems and jewellery market due to its low cost of production, highly skilled and best artisan force for designing and crafting jewellery.

Jewellery today is more of a fashion statement. In this context, different personalities and different senses of style have revolutionised the traditional gold jewellery and modernised it to the taste of the new era.

Now a days jewellery designing as a career is flourishing. This profession is not only rewarding but also available for anyone who has a creative bend of mind. People these days have become very image conscious and the want for jewellery is no more a symbol of financial security but a  trendy fashionable wear that can go well with different occasions.

Step-by-Step
Jewellery designing is a creative art that combines knowledge of conceptualising jewellery design and then manufacturing various jewellery products. Many institutes in India offer long-term, short-term and even distance learning programs in jewellery designing. 
The study in this field teaches you basic skills like stone cutting, polishing , engraving and testing the quality of precious metals and gems. Special skills like electroplating, metal colouring, anodising, enamelling and stone setting are also taught to students of jewellery designing. 

Career Prospects
The boom in the gems and jewellery industry has brought innumerable employment opportunities for jewellery designers. After the successful completion of your course, you can easily find vacancies in this industry. You can also start your own freelance designing business or set up your own retail and trading unit.

Courses
If you want to work in Gems and Jewellery Industry there are many courses available all over India. For joining a diploma course, you have to complete your graduation in any field and for short-term courses the minimum qualification can either be class 10 or a 10 + 2. Some courses are-

1. Polishing Diamonds  -This course will quickly bring you to a level where you can identify, grade and price diamonds according to international grading and trading practices. It will teach you grading standards followed world wide.
2. Rough Diamonds-To study diamond in its rough state is an art and science in itself. This course is one of king and the only such practical evaluation rough diamond course available in the market.
3. Coloured stones-This course imparts expertise and knowledge to a gem enthusiast and enables you to identify grade and value gemstones based on international standards.
4. Pearl Grading-This course will help you to find out the growth structures of pearls, varieties and identification of all types of pearls and their imitations.
5. Jewellery Design- It makes an apprentice designer learn the basics and complexities of designing any type of jewellery, along with estimating its cost.
   Through practical work, designers are assisted to express their creativity by designing a portfolio of their own styles.
6. CAD Design- This course will teach you to beautify your design and creations.
7. Long Distance- This course is for those who are not able to attend  IGI’s practical courses. It covers the theoretical side of diamond grading , judging the quality of a diamond and dealing with day to day problems of the trade in order to be more effective at work, whether it is dealing, promoting or selling gems.
8. Retail Sales-This course will give you the knowledge of grading of diamond based on the international grading system, identification of gemstone and pearls and types of jewellery settings and metal textures.
9. Workshop week- This course will offer you 5 distinct modules,  
   1. Synthetic Diamonds    
   2. Diamond Treatments
   3. Jewellery Grading
   4. Precious Metals
   5. Organic Gems

Remuneration
Good job opportunities and lucrative salaries make it just the perfect time to consider jewellery designing as a career option. Pay packet of a jewellery designer can differ depending on the education and experience. 

For a starter, you can expect salary to be around Rs. 10000/- to Rs. 15000/ per month. With experience, it can increase from Rs. 20000/- to Rs 30,000/ or more. Top-rated designers can easily fetch salaries in excess of Rs. 1 lakh a month. If you are working as a freelancer, then your earnings will completely depend upon your creativity and your skills in marketing your work. Here there is no limit for how much you can earn.