Designing your Career...

Jewellery designing

Fascination for adornment of self is as old as the history of humankind.
Jewellery design for centuries has been the domain of artisans who gained and passed on the expertise to their progeny. The Indian gem and jewellery industry accounts for nearly 43 percent of the world's total exports and is the second major foreign exchange earner for the country. Master craftsmen with their own distinctive and traditional designs and patterns have raptured not just the domestic market but have gained appreciation and acceptance the world over. The profession has become highly skilled and mechanised though unskilled labour still forms a large part of the workforce.

Today jewellery design as a career is steadily grabbing international attention. India has produced award-winning jewellery and accessory designers. India is the largest consumer of gold amounting to about one-third to one-fourth of the world production. Marked at Rs 40,000 crore, it is an ever-growing industry.

Where to study these courses?

There are various institutions across the country. Few institutes offer diploma and certificate courses too.
National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) offers courses in Accessory Design. NIFT centers in Delhi and Kolkata, SNTT Women’s University in association with PV Polytechnic offers courses in Jewellery Design and Jewellery Manufacturing.

Dr. Dharmambal Govt. Women’s Polytechnic College, Tharamani, Chennai also offers classes in Jewellery Designing. This is the only course conducted by the Govt. in the area of Jewellery Technology. The World Gold Council has sponsored 48 lakhs to this College, which enrolls men as well as women in this course. To get trained in technology for Gold Jewellery manufacturing, one can join the one-year training lessons. The training fee will be Rs. 15,000. The various phases of the training will include- Basic metallurgy, assess jewellery and stone jewellery and fining the hallmark purity of the Gold.

There are courses for Jewellery designing through Computers (3 Months), evaluating the hallmark value of gold (3 Weeks), polishing (1 Week), Casting technology (2 Months), Embedding stones (2 Months). One can also learn Jewellery Promotion Management and Jewellery Project Management in a short period.

Technology in Jewellery Production and Designing

When you walk into a jewellery store, you usually end up buying what is on display. What if you want a particular design with specific stones cut to your liking with desired shine? That could be possible soon as more and more jewelers fall on technology to inspire new designs sought by customers. While that vision is a few years away, jewellery designing has pretty much come out of the closet: It is no longer a trade carried out by semi-literate goldsmiths in family vaults. Instead, jewellery designers are using nifty software and computer-aided designs to create exquisite pieces.

Indian women have now moved over the 'Y' mania, flaunting designs like snake and oval shaped and chokers studded with colored stones. Tools like gemological microscopes, builders, matrix and polariscopes have enabled jewellery designers to experiment with intricate motifs and give a plethora of choice to women.

Technology is also available for production control, supply chains and inventory management. “Automatic setup, advanced software and technical expertise increases the efficiency of workers by almost five times and reduces discrepancies by about 50-70%. Because of this the finished product is of better quality and can compete with international designs", says Roshanlal of Nakoda Thangamaligai.

Jewel CAD (computer aided design) and CAM (computer aided manufacturing) -- 3D modeling systems -- `matrix’ and `rhinoceros’ are some of the software’s that are commonly used by jewellery designers. These software’s are imported from Italy, Germany, and costs around Rs. 10,000 to Rs 40,000. The final product is then obtained as per the specification and data fed in the computer.

Eternity ring designs are quick and easy with a more advanced, interactive Eternity Ring Builder that draws upon every gem available in the program. Set the shape, size, number, and order of gems and then define gem spacing and other dimensions of the band.

Software that helps enlarge the 3 D versions when creating complex and baroque designs and models comes with a timer attached that automatically records the time spent on a particular project. The greatest impact of utilisation of such technology is time saving. Up gradation of technology saves about 40-60% of time that is spent on moulding and casting a piece of jewel.
Job Opportunities

The job opportunities are immense in this arena. There are placements and campus interviews for students from reputed institutions. Some people may also start their own shop. There are job opportunities in various banks as appraiser. One can also join as marketing head in various firms. Reputed MNCs like TATA have also started recruiting people in this plethora. Exporting Jewelry has become a major revenue Market for our Economy.