[caption id="attachment_1433" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Milestone event in the history of the global diamond industry"]<a href="http://blog.biggstock.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/m2m.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1433" title="M2M" src="http://blog.biggstock.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/m2m.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a>[/caption]

The  Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council announces International  Diamond Conference, Mines to Market 2010 on October 12th &amp;13th, 2010  in Mumbai, India. The two day conference would witness Presidents,  Ministers from various mining countries such Angola, Botswana, SA,  Canada etc, Delegates from Mining Companies, heads of Retail and Luxury  brands such as Signet, Blue Nile, Pandora, Int. Diamond heads of various  banks such as ABN Antwerp diamond Bank and SBI. With names like Gareth  Penny, Varda Shine, Jean Marc Lieberherr among others M2M 2010 will  without doubt be the milestone event in the history of the global  diamond industry.

India entered the world cut and polished diamond market when it  commenced exports in the late '60s. In less than three decades, India  had emerged as the clear leader in the international polished market.

Over the last few years, India has not only maintained its position  as the leading diamond manufacturing centre, it has also increased its  share of the market. India today has attained the position of "World  Diamond Hub" with India's Global Share in Diamond witnessing a  remarkable increase in VALUE Terms. More importantly the last ten years  have also seen the consolidation of a process which began earlier - the  move by some Indian companies into the processing of large stones of  better quality.

Mr. Vasant Mehta, Chairman, GJEPC, speaking on the initiative said,  “Time has come to establish India as a ‘BRAND’ to reckon with in the Gem  &amp; Jewellery sector. Indian Gem &amp; Jewellery Industry today  enjoys a leadership position globally in manufacturing of diamonds,  which is attributed to the in house expertise of manufacturing and  cutting edge craftsmanship. Thus India as a diamond manufacturing centre  today has skills in producing cut and polished diamonds of virtually  every size shape and colour. There has also been a concerted attempt to  innovate and develop new cuts. India's Diamond share in the world market  also witnessed an increase in this period from 60% to 70%.”

India has seen an accelerated development on the jewellery front as  well, both in terms of quality of the product and the expansion of the  industry in terms of sheer size. On the domestic front there has been a  proliferation of brands being offered to the Indian consumer. Today the  jewellery industry is set to take off on a journey of exponential growth  with increasingly open policies, a rapid development of Special  Economic Zones in different parts of the country.

One of India’s leading foreign exchange earning sectors over the year  has witnessed a considerable growth in the volume of exports which were  pegged at US$ 28 Billion. From export figures of US$24894.39 million in  the FY 2008-2009, the exports have shown considerable increase and have  registered at US$ 29433.70 million in FY 2009-2010, thus indicating an  increase of 18.23% in the total Gem &amp; Jewellery exports.

Thus the 3rd Mines to Market Conference aims at taking stock of the  Diamond industry globally, and evolving a way forward for future. Each  Country would present a paper on their current scenario and future  programs, along with Panel discussions on the same.

The Mines to Market Conference in the past, has received enthusiastic  response from all stakeholders in the diamond industry, and has emerged  as a platform for meaningful interaction and forging business ties.

Ref: <a href="http://www.gjepc.org/news/view.aspx?NewsId=7843" target="_blank">GJEPC</a>