Pakistan Gems and Jewellery Development Company (PGJDC) has recently signed an agreement with the London Assay Office (LAO) for the establishment of state-of-the-art Assaying and Hallmarking Centres in Karachi and Lahore, Chief Executive PGJDC, Bashir Ahmed Abbasi said.
In an exclusive interview with Business Recorder on Wednesday, he said that in line with the agreement the LAO would assist PGJDC in establishing the state-of-the-art model Assaying and Hallmarking Centres in Karachi and Lahore. "This initiative will increase customers' confidence, enhance quality of products, bring competitiveness in international markets, boost gems and jewellery exports from Pakistan, provide third party quality assurance and Pakistan will also join the Vienna Convention," Abbasi hoped.
He said that PGJDC had launched a petition signing campaign for assaying and Hallmarking with an idea to get maximum confidence of the gems and jewellery stakeholders in Pakistan for this initiative. The overall idea is to create maximum awareness in the gems and jewellery industry about the need of assaying and Hallmarking in order to ensure better quality of products.
Abbasi said that Pakistan was the eighth biggest consumer of gold in the world with annual imports of 127 tons of yellow metal, and expressing regrets that "there is no consumer satisfaction and Pakistani jewellery industry suffers from unfair competition by those who alloy gold and therefore sell at a lower price". Non-existence of Hallmarking results in Pakistan's increasing loss of export and lesser acceptability of Pakistani products both in the local and global markets. He said that in order to improve the quality of jewellery products, complete quality assessment and Hallmarking of gold is imperative.
Talking about the objective of "awareness campaign on Hallmarking" in the gems and jewellery industry, Abbasi said that currently Hallmarking was virtually unknown in the gems and jewellery industry of the country. "PGJDC aims to reach out to every retailer through various promotional efforts in order to bring awareness in the industry about the significance and need of Hallmarking and bring it to the desired standard making the industry more and more competitive in the global market", he maintained.
He said that the gems and jewellery traders should realise that the implementation of Hallmarking in the country was an initiative for consumer protection and facilitating the traders and entrepreneurs in the industry to improve their quality besides enhancing business locally and increasing exports to the global markets.
The decision to develop Hallmarking centres in Pakistan is part of national strategy submitted by SWOG and Ministry of Industry's support. It was aimed at helping Pakistan's small and medium sized enterprises to reposition themselves on a more competitive footing in the domestic and global markets. He said that as a first step towards implementation of Hallmarking in Pakistan PGJDC has submitted the Hallmarking Act draft to MOI&P for initial approval.
He said that PGJDC wanted the Ministry to realise the importance of bringing Hallmarking law in the country in order to ensure standardisation and quality assurance in the local industry; thus it should approve the Hallmarking Act and put it forward to the relevant authorities for further approval and implementation at all levels.
He said that they also wanted the industry to appreciate this initiative taken by the company with a positive spirit and assure maximum support for its execution at all levels. He said, "once industry learns about the benefits of Hallmarking and realise its significance, it would whole-heartedly support this initiative".
Hallmarking refers to physically marking a piece of jewellery according to specific laws to certify the purity of metal. Hallmarks are small markings stamped on gold, silver and platinum articles. A hallmark means that the article has been independently tested and guarantees that it confirms to all legal standards of purity (Fineness). These tests are carried out only by an Assay Office. A number of successful jewellery industries in the world use Hallmarking both as a marketing tool and to ensure consumer confidence, he added.
He said that Hallmarking would have multiple positive impacts on the trade as it would help building consumer confidence, discouraging unfair competition, and boost export through incorporating standardisation, facilitate exchange of gold, ensure accurate valuation of gold and bring transparency in overall carats composition.
He said the company had undertaken implementation of geological surveys for gemstone reserves, boutique mining, gems and jewellery exchanges, gems identification labs, assaying and Hallmarking centres, gems and jewellery training and manufacturing centres besides marketing and branding through participation in international shows, local trade shows, market studies and surveys and advertising and promotion of the industry. With adequate support from the government, PGJDC is on its way to realising these objectives and providing required infrastructure for the gems and jewellery industry of Pakistan, Abbasi said.
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