Editor’s Note
This article offers a glimpse into the meticulous world of gemstone artisans in Jaipur, where discerning an imperfection can be the mark of true expertise.
[JAIPUR, India] Inside a bright, bustling room in a factory in the city of Jaipur, Rajasthan, Neeraj Lunawat held out a piece of rubellite, its deep red glinting faintly under the fluorescent lamp.
To my untrained eye, the gemstone looked flawless.
But Lunawat, 58, pointed out a line in it – foreign substances like another mineral crystal, liquid or gas can often get trapped inside a gemstone as it forms.
He explained that jewellers like himself have to get the stone cut in such a way that the colour and shine of the stone would absorb the trapped substances.
For generations, Jaipur has been known for the unmatched expertise of jewellers and artisans who can transform unpolished rocks into dazzling emeralds, rubies and other coloured gems. But in recent months, the livelihoods of thousands who depend on the jewellery trade have come under threat.
In August, the US – India’s largest export market for gems and jewellery – imposed a 25 per cent tariff that was later doubled to 50 per cent as punishment for India importing oil from Russia.
The impact was immediate: Orders were halted, shipments were put on hold, and buyers were left wondering if they should start developing alternative markets.
The timing of these developments was particularly inopportune because almost half of all jewellery sales in the US occur during the Christmas quarter, a period that jewellers look forward to.
Ankur Daga, 47, who co-founded Angara, an online bespoke jewellery platform specialising in diamonds and coloured gemstones, noted that the jewellery trade would be unable to recover its losses in 2025 even if an India-US trade deal is in place by October or November.
The fourth quarter of the year accounts for 40 per cent of total jewellery sales in the US, with shipments taking a minimum of 10 days to reach the US from Jaipur.
He has stopped manufacturing for the US market from his Jaipur factory, which churns out 40,000 jewellery pieces a year and employs 75 people, with the slack being picked up by his other two locations.
Daga’s company also has factories in Bangkok and Los Angeles, and he is planning to launch his website in Singapore on Oct 6.
Referring to the heavy tariffs, Lunawat, whose company has around 800 workers and handles nearly 200 gemstones at any given time, said:
India is home to several jewellery hubs. For instance, Surat, in the state of Gujarat, dominates diamond cutting and polishing, while Mumbai thrives as a gemstone and diamond trading centre.
But Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, holds a special place.
Here is where the art of coloured gemstone cutting and jewellery-making has been nurtured for centuries. Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, who founded Jaipur in 1727, had invited artisans, painters, weavers and jewellers to settle in his new capital.
When it comes to coloured gemstones, a human eye and touch are still essential.
Unlike diamonds, which are cut and graded using machines, coloured gemstones are more fragile. They chip easily, and the trapped substances, called inclusions, need to be cut in such a way that they enhance the shine of the gem. Jewellers point out that it is the inclusions that ensure each gemstone is unique.
As a result, the expertise of artisans and jewellers in Jaipur is not easily or immediately replaceable, said those in the trade. They call it “the eye” – the ability to recognise the quality of a gem and to figure out how to splice and cut it to maximise shine and minimise flaws.
He held up an iridescent emerald necklace studded with diamonds.
Jewellers in Jaipur consider Thailand, which has been slapped with a 19 per cent tariff by the US, to be Jaipur’s only true competitor.
Jaipur has a deep connection to the US built up over several decades when it comes to the gemstone trade.
The city exported jewellery and gemstones worth 178.9 billion rupees (S$2.6 billion) in the financial year from Apr 1, 2024, to Mar 31, 2025, with 17 per cent of that bound for the US.
Traditionally, many family-run jewellery houses in Jaipur have been sending a member of the family to live in the US to help source for gemstones from the mines in Latin America and facilitate exports to the US market.
Devendra Surana, now 72, went to New York in 1972 to support his family business in Jaipur.
When he arrived in the US, there were very few jewellers from India. Now, there are around 100 offices in New York alone, he added, underlining how the connection has deepened over the decades.