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
Zi Launches As A Modern Indian Design House Redefining Everyday Luxury
The New Jewellery Brand Makes Its Debut With 925 Sterling Silver, With An Expanding Design Vocabulary Across Titanium, Gold and Lab-Grown Diamonds
Zi, a new Indian design house, has launched with its debut collection of 925 sterling silver jewellery, bringing contemporary, everyday designs to a category traditionally shaped around occasion and ceremony. Starting at Rs 3,500, the collection marks the first chapter of Zi’s ambition to build a modern jewellery house where luxury is defined by design, material and wearability rather than spectacle.
Zi begins with a simple shift in how jewellery is approached: pieces need not be saved for a particular occasion. Its debut collection is designed to become part of an everyday wardrobe, with clean forms, considered detailing and versatile silhouettes that can be worn repeatedly, styled differently and carried across settings.



The collection is divided into three edits: Staple Edits, featuring everyday essentials; Forever Favourites, comprising versatile pieces designed for repeat wear; and Evening Elegance, bringing a more elevated expression to after-dark and occasion dressing. Across the edits, the pieces are designed to work independently or together, allowing customers to build a personal jewellery wardrobe rather than buy around individual occasions.
925 sterling silver forms the foundation of the launch, chosen for its versatility and as the starting point for Zi’s design language. The collection also incorporates other considered metals across select designs and is finished with premium rhodium plating. The jewellery is nickel- and lead-free, with a focus on material quality, finish and everyday wearability.
But silver is only the beginning for Zi. The brand is developing its next phase around more considered, design-led jewellery, including upcoming collections such as The Classics and The Atelier. These collections will build on the restraint of the debut while introducing greater depth and design expression, expanding the idea of what everyday luxury can look like over time.
The house is also developing jewellery across a broader material palette, including titanium fused with gold and lab-grown diamonds. Each material has been selected for a distinct role: titanium for its strength and lightness, gold for its warmth, and lab-grown diamonds as a contemporary interpretation of an established luxury material. The move reflects Zi’s intent to build a design house with a considered material philosophy, rather than remain defined by a single category or metal.
Beyond jewellery, Zi is exploring future lifestyle categories, with design continuing to anchor the brand’s approach. The long-term ambition is to create a design-led house that evolves across materials, products and categories while maintaining a consistent point of view.
The debut collection is available exclusively through Zi’s online platform from 24 August 2026, with prices starting at Rs 3,500.
With its launch, Zi is introducing a different proposition to India’s jewellery landscape: luxury designed not only for the moments that call for it, but for the everyday ones that make up a life. The debut in silver is the starting point; the larger ambition is to build a house with a design language that can evolve with the way modern India wears luxury.
-
International News1 hour agoVan Cleef & Arpels Gives Its Iconic Alhambra a Pink Enamel Makeover
-
National News3 hours agoZi Launches As A Modern Indian Design House Redefining Everyday Luxury
-
National News4 hours agoGJEPC Holds “Chaupal – 3Es: Educate, Empower And Export” For Zaveri Bazar Members
-
BrandBuzz5 hours agoCartier Unveils Five New Creatures In Its “Into The Wild” High Jewellery Collection

