Diamond-studded yellow and white gold trees using Livingstones’ new casting process.

Going back in time, Shishir Nevatia of Sunjewels notes how import restrictions, combined with low educational levels and a general reluctance to share know-how within the industry, forced companies like his to develop indigenous materials and technology themselves. Sunjewels was one of the first in the world to develop the process of stone setting in wax and export its products to Germany in the 1980s. Today, of course, this technology is prevalent throughout the industry and, according to Nevatia, is widely used by a large number of Indian jewellery exporters.

Perhaps the latest innovation to come out of the jewellery manufacturing sector are the important modifications to the Lost Wax Investment Casting process developed by the Livingstones R&D team led by Dr K.D. Desai. As Dr Desai explains, the traditional wax tree-making process has been modified so as remove the carbonised wax and sulphur dioxide quickly from the investment, thus reducing the main cause of porosity. Among the multiple benefits of the new process cited by him are: upto 60 per cent saving in energy costs, upto 60 per cent reduction in process time, upto 75 per cent reduction in casting loss, and a reduction in the gold finish process cost by 30 per cent.

Dr. K.D. Desai

In more specific terms, Desai points out, “As far as SEEPZ is concerned, there are more than a hundred manufacturers, each with two to three furnaces of 10 kW electrical power rating. With the wax burning process reduced to five hours from the earlier 12, the estimated energy savings alone for SEEPZ would be Rs. 2 crore annually, or about Rs. 1.2 lakh per furnace.”

Continuing, Desai says, “In the old process, nearly 0.2 per cent of the gold would get absorbed in the investment powder and was unrecoverable. Thus, 0.2 per cent of gold is saved through the new process. Also, the filling technique used during the casting fills the entire gold tree, without any half-filled or unfilled pieces. Further, these pieces have a nearly 80 per cent reduction in porosity and move smoothly through the finishing process, cutting down time and cost of tools and reducing the process cost by 30 per cent.”

Pinpointing an essential difference between the Livingstones innovation and what prevails overseas, Desai says, “All new Western processes having been adding to the cost of material and equipment, whereas with our technology, these costs are reduced, and at the same time the casting quality is enhanced.”

The cast spherical ball through Livingstones’ new casting process shows a complete filling of the sphere, compared to the old casting method which leaves voids in the casting.

International recognition of the significance of this innovation in casting technology has come in the form of invitations to Desai to present his paper at the Platinum Guild International conference in New York in February 2005 and at the world-renowned Santa Fe Symposium in May 2005. According to Desai, a representative from Yahal, a noted US-based jewellery equipment manufacturer, was impressed by the technology and the company is likely to become a dealer for the California market.

With a view to disseminating this technology, which has been patented in India and the US, within the Indian industry, Livingstones organised a seminar at the Indian Institute of Gems and Jewellery in August 2004. “Subsequently, ten companies have approached us,” says Desai, adding, “We provide the technology, impart training, implement the process at their own place and thereafter provide continued support.” The company is trying to spread this new technology overseas as well, particularly among NRI manufacturers, and in this connection Desai had addressed a seminar in Dubai in November 2004.

Among Sunjewels’ pioneering technological innovations are a mould-making rubber which was exported in the 1980s to Germany, and abrasive rubber wheels which Nevatia says are “still better than those available abroad for specific purposes.” More recently, in 1999, he applied for a patent for a metal-backed rubber mould whereby one gram of gold can be fashioned. “That really hit the market,” he notes, adding that 10 tonnes of fine gold is used in this process by the industry annually. This process can be developed further and used for making thinner cast gold jewellery as well as industrial products, he adds.

Besides its new casting process, the Desai-led Livingstones R&D team developed a non-cyanide electro stripping machine a few years ago which is available for Rs 2 lakh as against its imported counterpart costing Rs 5 lakh. Notes Livingstones group HRD head Niteen C. Gupte, “Cyanide is banned all over the world, but not yet in India. However, a similar ban will come here soon, and we can say we already ahead of our time here.”

Both Nevatia and Desai underline the importance of constant innovation to stay ahead in a highly cost-competitive global market. Referring to the “secretiveness” within the domestic industry till only recently and its over-dependence on the West, Desai notes, “Our industry could survive because of low-cost, skilled labour. The entry of engineers in this field has been belated. Moreover, mass production requires changes in technique, equipment and skills as well as continuous training.” As he points out, “The type of skills required for jewellery manufacturing are quite different from diamond manufacturing, and if these skills are not updated, rejections and costs will climb.” In this connection, Desai is all praise for Livingstones director Sandip Kothari, who “has given us the freedom to interact with other industries.” As he notes, the trend of sharing technical expertise was started by Kothari way back in 1989 when Livingstones brought a laser machine from abroad for diamond cutting and sawing.

Nevatia too stresses the necessity to keep on innovating technically, adding though that “innovation really happens in the market with customers”. “A person who technically develops anything new gets very excited about it. But unless it sells and gets the customers excited, it is of little use, “ he elaborates. In a nod to the typical Indian talent for adaptability, he affirms that “in India the horizontal spread of knowledge is very vast.” To enhance this learning process, Nevatia says, “Dr Desai, Nariman Wadia, Dilip Shah and I have been among those who have been educating the trade through the Jewellery Product Development Centre and the IIGJ,” adding, “Imparting of knowledge helps one to learn and think more and innovate.” Needless to say, this “knowledge transfer” also happens through the movement of staff and workers to other companies.

Desai is very clear about the crucial edge that technological innovation can provide the jewellery industry. He notes that even during periods of stagnant demand in a declining overseas market, and with other costs remaining the same, technology-based cost reductions help to keep down a company’s expenditure.

Nevatia does not see technological innovation as an industry-wide phenomenon as yet, and nowhere in the same league as India’s known strengths in diamond manufacturing. But he is optimistic that its time will come. Enumerating two requirements for this to happen, he says a technological innovation must make a significant difference to the manufacturing process and, secondly, it must be patented. In this connection, he feels more effective Indian patent laws would have a positive impact on the growth of technological innovation – “slow to start with, then explosive.”