National News
VAJRA INDUSTRY RESEARCH AND ACADEMIC MEET (VAIRAM) 2025 organised by GJEPC, IIT Madras inaugurated in Chennai
The Vajra Industry Research and Academic Meet (Vairam) 2025, a joint effort by GJEPC and InCent LGD IIT Madras, was officially introduced at the IITM Research Park in Chennai.
Madras at IITM Research Park, Chennai, was unveiled by Prof. V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, Prof M S Ramachandra Rao, InCent-LGD, IIT Madras, Mr. Manish Jiwani, Co-Convener, LGD Committee, GJEPC and Mr. Sabyasachi Ray, Executive Director, GJEPC among other dignitaries and industry experts.
The workshop features several panel discussions. “Beyond Gems: Next-Generation Applications of OLab-Grown Diamonds” explores LGDs’ potential in various industries beyond jewellery. “Lab-Grown Diamond Growth and Treatment Recipes and Challenges” delves into the intricacies of CVD and HPHT methods. “Diamond Quality Checks and Certification” addresses the crucial need for standardised quality control for gems, jewellery, and seeds. “Lab Grown Diamond Machines and Processing Equipment” will highlight the importance of indigenous equipment manufacturing to bolster India’s self-reliance. The workshop has drawn 150 + participants from the industry.
Key Takeaways
Diamond Quality Checks & Certification:
- Advanced treatments challenge LGD grading and certification accuracy.
- Key challenges: ensuring grading accuracy, standardization, and detecting undisclosed synthetics.
- Emphasis on advanced testing methods, tech-driven grading, and industry consistency.
- Traceability of tested items is a major issue.
- LGDs are both supplementary and complementary to the diamond industry.
- Mimicking natural diamond growth patterns in LGDs remains a challenge.
LGD Growth & Treatment Recipes: Key Takeaways
- Increasing nitrogen in HPHT accelerates growth, benefiting gem-quality diamonds but not other industrial uses.
- Focus on optimizing growth parameters, impurity control, and enhancement for superior diamonds.
- Challenges include consistency, reducing defects, scalability, and reliance on high-purity raw materials.
- Future focus on refining processes, improving sustainability, and enhancing research-industry collaboration.
Diamond Quality Checks & Certification (Continued): Key Takeaways
Strengthening quality assurance frameworks is essential to ensure consumer trust globally.
Grading LGDs differs from natural diamonds, especially in color; secondary reference masters needed.
Labs must assess hue saturation and intensity, not just color for LGDs.
Clarity characteristics differ due to metallic inclusions in LGDs.
Color grading challenges arise in borderline clusters where AI struggles.
LGDs are cut for perfection, unlike natural diamonds, which are cut for weight retention.
National News
PNG Jewellers’ CMD Dr. Saurabh Gadgil Launches Debut Memoir ‘Choosing Gold’
~Inside the mindset that built PNG Jewellers: a sixth-generation jeweller on conviction, patience, and choosing the harder path ~
He inherited one of India’s oldest business legacies in his mid-thirties. Today, Dr. Saurabh Gadgil, Chairman and Managing Director of PNG Jewellers, tells the story of everything that came with it, in ‘Choosing Gold’, his debut memoir, released nationally by Penguin Random House India.

‘Choosing Gold’ is a deeply honest and personal book. It is the story of a man who inherited one of India’s oldest business legacies at a young age, and who has now, at forty-nine, paused to reflect on that remarkable journey. Not as the world sees it from the outside, but as he truly lived it.
The memoir traces the moments that shaped him, conversations with his grandfather and mother that stayed with him for life, lessons that revealed their meaning only with time, and difficult decisions that tested his conviction before they proved their worth. The 194-year-old legacy of PNG Jewellers forms the backdrop of this journey. But at its heart, the book is about the man himself, his growth, his choices, his struggles, and the courage it takes to carve one’s own path while honouring what came before.
Dr. Saurabh Gadgil, Chairman and Managing Director, PNG Jewellers, said:

“For most of my life, I was too busy living this journey to examine it. Writing this book forced me to sit still for the first time and ask myself questions I had avoided for nearly three decades. Which of my decisions was I actually proud of? Which ones do I still lose sleep over? What did I get right by wisdom, and what did I merely get right by luck? Choosing Gold is my honest attempt at answering those questions, without the polish, without the retrospective genius we all like to grant ourselves.
What surprised me most in writing it was discovering how much of my story was shaped in the quiet moments, a conversation with my grandfather I didn’t realise I’d remember forever, a failure I hid from everyone, including myself, and advice I dismissed at twenty-five and only truly understood decades later. Those moments made me far more than anything that shows up on a balance sheet. I wrote this book for every dreamer standing where I once stood, ambitious, uncertain, carrying expectations they never asked for, wondering if they have it in them. I don’t offer them a formula, because there isn’t one, but the truth and first-hand virtues that have traced me to where I am today … something that balance sheets won’t ever reflect. If my story helps even one reader make their next hard choice with a little more courage and a little less fear, then this book has done everything I hoped it would.”
Anuj Datta, Lead – Penguin Enterprise, Custom Publishing, Penguin Random House India, said, “As publishers, we’re always looking for stories that offer something beyond success. What struck me about Choosing Gold was its honesty. Saurabh doesn’t just talk about achievements; he reflects on the difficult decisions, setbacks and moments of doubt that shaped his journey. That’s what makes this memoir compelling. It’s not simply a business story; it’s a deeply personal account of leadership and resilience. I believe readers, whether they’re entrepreneurs, business leaders or professionals at any stage of their careers, will find something meaningful in these pages.”
‘Choosing Gold’ is Dr. Gadgil’s honest ledger of his choices, written for readers far beyond the jewellery trade, inheritors carrying weight they never asked for, first-generation entrepreneurs building without a name to lean on, and professionals at every stage confronting self-doubt head-on.

The book was formally celebrated at a private launch event in Mumbai on 6th August, where Dr. Gadgil was joined in conversation by actor Madhuri Dixit for a Q&A on the journey behind ‘Choosing Gold’.
‘Choosing Gold’ is available at all PNG Jewellers stores across India as well as pngjewellers.com and is open for pre-order on Amazon. The book will be available at leading bookstores nationwide by 31st August 2026. The Kindle edition will be available soon.
-
National News17 hours agoPNG Jewellers’ CMD Dr. Saurabh Gadgil Launches Debut Memoir ‘Choosing Gold’
-
ShowBuzz7 hours agoShringar House Of Mangalsutra Limited Successfully Unveils ‘SHRINGAR NXT – The Legacy Expands’ At IIJS Premiere 2026
-
New Premises17 hours agoKeemti Accelerates Maharashtra Expansion With Twin Stores In Pune
-
National News22 hours agoIAGES Celebrates A Power-Packed Day 1 At IIJS Bharat Premiere 2026, Mumbai With Accreditation Recognition Presentation

