By David Brough
SURAT, India – Shree Ramkrishna Exports (SRK) harnesses artisanship alongside the newest technologies, including AI, to supply polished diamonds for export to markets such as the United States and the Far East.
SRK, India’s leading manufacturer of larger-sized natural diamonds, crafts diamonds in two state-of-the-art facilities, SRK Empire and, three minutes’ drive away, the newer SRK House, in the manufacturing hub of Surat, in Gujarat, western India.
Family-owned SRK, whose sales team offer polished diamonds at the top international and domestic jewellery trade shows, are also recognised for their outstanding duty of care to employees.
Akshay Dholakia, head of SRK’s rough diamonds procurement and production, told Jewellery Outlook Editor David Brough during a visit to SRK on August 2, 2023, that high craftsmanship and use of the latest technologies, have long been key to SRK’s vision to achieve the highest standards in natural diamond crafting.
He said that the ongoing integration of AI into crafting processes, was likely to boost productivity in future, without necessarily eroding employment.
The SRK facilities employ diamond planners, who determine how to maximise yields, as well as skilled polishers.
SRK offers training to potential new recruits in areas such as diamond planning and grading.
During a visit to SRK House, a class was under way as part of a 60-day course to train several young women in diamond grading.
The company plans to have offices in the Surat Diamond Bourse, a vast area now in the final stages of construction on the outskirts of the city, which is expected to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this year.
Diamond manufacturers, including SRK, which have co-financed the Surat Diamond Bourse, see potential for the area to become an integrated hub for the sale of polished diamonds in the coming years.
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