National News
IIGJ Lab (GJEPC project) simplifies ruby treatment description to align with Global Standards
IIGJ Lab is committed to serve the Gem & Jewellery Industry by providing independent quality assessment of Gemstones & Jewellery. IIGJ’s Ruby Identification service is well known and is availed by gemstone manufacturers, traders, and retailers.
Effective 6th November 2025, IIGJ Lab (A Project by GJEPC India) sponsored by Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Govt. of India has updated description for ruby treatments to harmonise with major gemmological laboratories, maintaining highest levels of scientific analysis and transparency.
IIGJ Lab is a project of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council – sponsored by The Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India. Mission of the Lab is to help trade and consumers to make informed choice.
Rubies are commonly heated using substances like fluxes (e.g. borax), which often is mixed with silica-based materials or high-density glass containing elements like lead (Pb), bismuth (Bi), barium (Ba), yttrium (Y), zirconium (Zr), etc. Under the current policy all these components are mentioned separately, which is now updated to reflect more unified and simplified descriptions on the ruby reports issued by the IIGJ Lab.

Kirit Bhansali, Chairman, GJEPC said, “GJEPC is committed to serve India’s Gem & jewellery Industry by providing world class Grading, Identification & Certification services. Jaipur is an important centre for Coloured Gemstones and is growing rapidly as jewellery manufacturing centre. We believe the revised description of treatment in Ruby Reports will become important sales tool for the coloured gemstone industry to gain confidence of the Customers. We continue to invest in building skills and Lab infrastructure to meet the growing needs. “
Following are the updated description / treatment comments mentioned on the ruby reports issued by IIGJ Lab:
| Treatment Type and Features | Description |
| Indications of heating with residues and silica-based substance in fissures or, high-density glass (Pb, Ba, Bi, Y, Zr) in fissures where no flash effect is observed | Var.: Natural Ruby Spe.: Natural Corundum Comments: Indications of heating and clarity enhancement with residue in fractures and cavities. Extent: (TE1-TE5) / (F1-F3) – as applicable Remarks (if lead is detected): Lead glass was detected. |
| Presence of High-density glass in fissures / cavities with flash effect, numerous gas bubbles, indistinct single crystal | Var.: Glass-Filled Ruby Spe.: Natural Corundum Comments: Indications of clarity enhancement by lead/bismuth/barium glass in fractures and cavities. No quantification in this case |
| High density coloured glass in fissures with flash effect, numerous gas bubbles, colour concentrations | Var.: Glass-Filled Ruby / Sapphire Spe.: Natural Corundum Comments: Indications of clarity enhancement with coloured glass in fractures and cavities No quantification in this case |
National News
Senco Gold & Diamonds Partners With Olocker to Give Customers Free Jewellery Insurance, Letting Precious Memories Be Worn, Not Hidden Away
A Customer-First Initiative Designed to Help People Wear Their Precious Memories with Confidence.
Senco Gold & Diamonds, one of India’s most trusted jewellery houses, has partnered with Olocker, India’s first dedicated jewellery insurance platform, to offer free jewellery insurance to its customers, protecting purchases against risks such as snatching, robbery, and housebreaking.
On the surface, it’s a simple value-add: buy jewellery from Senco, get it insured, at no extra cost. But the thinking behind it is more personal — the freedom to actually live with the things you love.
There is a quiet ritual that plays out in homes across India every wedding season, every anniversary. A piece of jewellery is bought with love, worn once or twice with pride — and then, almost apologetically, tucked away in a bank locker for “safekeeping.” The very thing meant to be cherished ends up spending most of its life in the dark.
A Locker Is No Place for a Memory
Ask any family that owns fine jewellery, and you’ll hear the same quiet anxiety: the fear of stepping out wearing something precious, the fear of a break-in while the house is empty. For many, the solution has always been the same — lock it away, take it out only for weddings and festivals, and let it sit untouched the rest of the year.
It’s a practical response to a real risk, but it also means jewellery bought to mark a marriage or a milestone ends up being seen far less than it deserves.
This is the exact problem Senco Gold & Diamonds’ Managing Director, Suvankar Sen,

has spoken about wanting to solve. Known for a customer-first philosophy that goes beyond transactions, Sen has often said jewellery should be something people live with, not something they merely own. “Jewellery is never just metal and stone,” Sen said, explaining the thinking behind the Olocker partnership. “It’s a wedding day, a mother’s blessing, a promise kept. When customers can’t step out wearing it, or can’t leave home without worrying about a break-in, something is broken in that experience. We wanted to fix that.”
That sentiment is the quiet engine behind this initiative. Rather than simply selling jewellery and stepping back, Senco has chosen to walk the extra mile — ensuring that once a customer takes a piece home, they can wear it freely and pass it down through generations, without the constant undercurrent of worry.
What the Partnership Actually Offers
Through this collaboration, Senco customers receive free jewellery insurance via Olocker on qualifying purchases, protecting against snatching, robbery, and housebreaking.
Olocker, India’s first digital platform dedicated to jewellery insurance and asset tracking, brings the technical and insurance backbone — while Senco brings its decades of trust, built since 1938, to make sure customers actually use it.
For a family that has just bought a piece for a wedding, this means peace of mind — wearing that necklace to a dinner without the nagging thought of “what if someone snatches it,” or “what if someone breaks in while we’re away.”
A Partnership Built on Shared Intent
The excitement isn’t one-sided. At Olocker, the partnership is seen as validation of the idea the platform was built on — that jewellery insurance should be a natural, everyday companion to ownership, not a niche afterthought.
“This is genuinely one of the most exciting collaborations we’ve been part of,” said Milind Shethia, Founder & Chief Marketing Officer at Olocker. “Our mission has been to help people wear their jewellery instead of locking it away, and partnering with a name as trusted as Senco brings that mission to millions of customers at once.
What’s heartening is Mr. Sen’s own approach — he didn’t look at it as a marketing tie-up, but as giving something back to people who’ve trusted Senco for generations. That kind of intent is rare, and it’s exactly the spirit we built Olocker around.”
That mutual sense of purpose is what gives this partnership its quiet credibility. It isn’t a scheme or a promotional hook, but two organisations agreeing on a simple, shared belief: jewellery should be lived in, not locked up.
A Bigger Idea About Ownership
There is a broader philosophy at play, one Suvankar Sen has championed throughout his tenure at Senco — that jewellery is an emotional asset as much as a financial one, and customers shouldn’t have to choose between enjoying it and protecting it.
This partnership feels less like a marketing initiative and more like a promise kept, reflecting a leadership style that measures success in something harder to quantify — how cared for a customer feels long after leaving the showroom.
As jewellery increasingly doubles as adornment and investment, initiatives like this one may well set a new benchmark for customer care in the industry.
Senco, through its partnership with Olocker, isn’t just insuring jewellery against snatching or a break-in — it’s giving people back the freedom to wear their memories, out loud, without fear.
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