Technology Changed Face of Indian diamond Industry
The picture has changed, and for the better. No more squatting on the floor in dingy, damp units for your average diamond cutter in Surat, India. Instead, modern well-lit and well-ventilated factories, equipped with the latest high-tech machinery are common place nowadays. Certain sections of some of any large manufacturing facilities can put an IT company to shame, what with hundreds of computers interconnected within the premises. Certainly, this scenario is a far cry from the very traditional and rather miniscule cottage industry of yesteryears. Surely, Indian diamond cutting industry has come of age. In the developing stages of the diamond cutting and polishing industry, say the mid-1970s or so, manual work was the order of the day. Usage of machinery and technology hardly existed in India. Most of the cutting and finishing was done by hand using developed skill and judgment; and of course using the hand-operated instruments that were available at that point of time. Surat was kn