Gemological institute of America (GIA) organised an Alumni Meet for its Members and Industry Leaders on February 22,l 2008. The event was graced by Russel Mehta of Rosy Blue, Ashish Mehta of Kantilal Chhotalal, Satish Shah of Deccan Institute, Hyderabad, Sultan Mohiden of Madras Gem Institute, Nirupa Bhatt, MD GIA India and Middle East and other GIA alumni who traveled down from Hyderabad, Delhi, Madras and Kolkatta.

The event kicked off with a presentation of GIA courses by Deepak Bagai. Russel Mehta spoke about protection of consumer confidence and synthetics. He said, “The complete understanding of diamonds is very important and this can come through education. We need to understand that certification is very important and now a days buying happens online.”

Satish Shah spoke about color-stones being given stepmother treatment. “The Cartel is advocating diamonds and color-stones though in abundance in nature and equally beautiful, are being ignored,” he explained. Asish Mehta also seconded Russel Mehta’s opinion that synthetics were a threat and could take on the markets if they were not identified on time and proper training was not imparted to diamond merchants.

Some other GIA graduates spoke on the occasion about the institute’s reputation in the trade and how the courses had helped them in their business. The event ended on revival of fond memories of days spends at the institute.