Indian Jewelry » Indian Pearl

Indian Pearls:
In the past, India was operating pearl fisheries also. The traditional areas which had produced natural pearls are located in the Gulf of Mannar (Tamil Nadu) and Gulf of Kutch (Gujarat), but production dwindled in modern times. The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute of the Government of India succeeded in culturing pearls and a project was launched at the Vizhinjam centre, near Trivendrum (Kerala). Efforts were made in Gujarat to produce pearls. Following successful experiments in 1994, Rajasthan also hoped to produce cultured pearls from its Southern lakes. However, most of the cultured pearls India requires, have to be imported from Japan and China. Dependence on imports sometimes results in delays and higher costs. Production is also dwindling in Japan. India's latest efforts are to import quality pearls from Myanmar (Burma). Oriental pearls have been coming from old inland collections.

Irregular Exploitation :
Both the public and private sectors undertake gems mining but it is neither organized nor very productive. Although India has taken rapid strides in the field of industrialization and the development of indigenous heavy machinery manufacturing capacity, mining largely employs age-old methods with the result that large resources remain untapped and costs are heavy. But with the realization of the importance of modernization, some efforts are now under way to obtain foreign equipment and know-how for a greater exploitation of the country's mineral wealth. Foreign collaboration is also being negotiated now.

Technical Study & Training:
For development of mining of the local mineral resources, India has facilities for technical study and training at several centres. Many Indian universities offer graduate and post graduate courses in Geology and the curriculum includes mining. Apart from these, there is the Central Institute of Mining at Dhanbad, the coal town, where latest training and ,research facilities for mining are available.