IIG Official Cofee Table Book

About The Brand
Founded in Mumbai, the International Institute of Gemology, powered by SRDC, is one of India’s premier
gemological institutes, helmed by the Managing Director, Mr Rahul Desai. The institute has its roots in a cutting and
polishing factory, established in 1965, which was responsible for imparting valuable training in diamond
cutting to 500 workers. In the early 1980s, the factory made way for Shri Rajendra Diamond Classes (SRDC), a
full-fledged gems and jewellery institute that was a precursor to IIG. IIG is affiliated with the University of Mumbai,
having trained 1,00,000 students since its inception. It offers an extensive variety of courses on gems, diamonds, and
jewellery designing and merchandising. These are open to both students and professionals looking to enhance
their skills, and include seminars, certificate courses, diploma programmes and business programmes. The institute
is one of the few in India to offer training in rough diamond assortment. It is also the sole tutor of the Venus Grading
System, a highly precise system of diamond grading devised by eading diamond manufacturers Venus Jewel.
While the gems and jewellery industry is an age-old sector in India, the mission of IIG is to bring India’s gem and
jewellery industry on par with global standards and unite its players by offering the latest in training, technology and
best practices. At IIG, the system of education provided is student-driven in nature. Through market-oriented,
practical training with access to world-class specialized equipment and an extensive library, the institute endows its
students with the tools to survive in the extremely competitive gem industry. Courses are flexible and can be
completed at one’s own pace. IIG also provides attractive campus placement opportunities with major market
players such as Venus Jewels, Notandas Jewellers and Tanishq. In keeping with their belief of providing education
opportunities to all those who seek it, IIG offers several scholarship programmes and is associated with the SPJ
Sadhana School for the underprivileged.
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Mr. Kantilal B Desai
Founder SRDC - IIG
Image Title
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Mr. Rahul K. Desai
Managing Director SRDC - IIG
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Jewellery Designing Seminar at
SPJ Sadhana School for the underprivileged
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Our Branch at Vile-Parle
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Our Branch at Charni Road
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One of our First Batches
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Our Ideology
At IIG we teach our students to be as hard as diamonds. We consider each student as a raw rough
diamond and believe that after polishing they will shine brighter than before and that’s what we have
been doing for more than 50 years now. We believe in learning together. As an educational institute we
practice what we preach our culture is our strength. We are standing tall for 5 decades on our four pillars
which are, “Integrity, Transparency, Purity and Perseverance”. Having a balance of both theoretical as
well as practical knowledge is the key to success in current diamond industry. We believe in giving back
to society.
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Mr Rahul Desai
Managing Director
Mr Rahul Desai is the present Managing Director of the International Institute of Gemology, one of the top
gemological institutes in India. He graduated with a degree in commerce from NM College of Commerce &
Economics in 2001, after which he rejoined his family business in the gems and jewellery industry. Mr Desai brings
with him the expertise he gained from his father Kantilal B Desai, who had been at the helm of a
successful diamond cutting and polishing factory since 1965 and was responsible for training over 500 workers
in the skill of diamond cutting. In 1981, the factory made way for a full-fledged gemstone and jewellery training
institute — Shri Rajendra Diamond Classes (SRDC) — which presently functions under the name International
Institute of Gemology (IIG). While carrying forth the family legacy of expert know-how of the gems and jewellery
industry, Mr Desai is forwardlooking and works towards providing each student of IIG with access to the latest
training and technology to enable them to build successful careers in the gems and jewellery industry. He has
also trained jewellers around the globe, including in Istanbul, Ankara, Burma, Dubai, Hong Kong and Bangkok
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Mr Rahul Desai at a
SRDC Convocation Ceremony
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Mr Rahul Desai at a
Seminar in Mandalay
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Affiliations and Sister Concerns
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R JEWELS
INDO SINO BRIDGE
WORLD GEM
FOUNDATION
GEMATLAS
L.D. SHETH GROUP OF CO’s
INT’L (HK) LTD.
INDIA BULLION AND
JEWELLERS ASSOCIATION
LTD. (IBJA)
IBJA SKILL
DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
VIVA INTERNATIONAL
HK LTD.
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Rebranding
The Big Switch!
SRDC, one of India’s premier gemological institutes officially announced its rebranding as IIG
(International Institute of Gemology) at a grand ceremony on July 19. To mark this proud milestone, Mr
Ramnikbhai Shah, founder of leading diamond manufacturing house Venus Jewel and Mr Arvindbhai
Parikh, MD and founding partner of Crystal Diamonds inaugurated IIG’s new institute in Panchratna
Building, Opera House. The organization’s new logo was unveiled by industry veteran Mr
Ghanshyambhai Dholakia, Founder and MD, Hari Krishna Exports Pvt. Ltd. The event was graced by
around 150 eminent members of the gems and jewellery industry.
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Unveiling of New Logo and Name
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Unveiling of Flagship Course
Public Speaking & Personality Development (PSPD)
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Unveiling of Flagship Course
Jewellery Retail Sales Management (JRSM)
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Unveiling of Flagship Course
Diamond Online Trading (D.O.T.)
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Unveiling of Flagship Course
Bagging & Fluting (BNF)
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Global Outlook
Everyone at IIG has a knack for imparting knowledge about diamonds to others and keeping this in mind our MD
Mr. Rahul Desai has conducted various seminars in Yangon and Mandalay over the years. To further our reach we
have established our base in Hong Kong with the help of our partner VIVA International HK LTD. This outreach will
help us spread our knowledge throughout SEA. We have also participated in multiple exhibitions around the world.
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Announcement of IIG - VIVA International
Joint Venture
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Seminars
Along with conducting seminars in places like Yangon and Mandalay, we also conduct weekly seminars at our
Head office at Opera House, Mumbai. These seminars are focused on topics that will help are students and other
diamond enthusiasts to gain more knowledge about the gem and jewellery industry. These seminars are either
conducted by our own faculty or some prominent members of the industry.
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Seminar on “Future Trends and Designs”
by Ms Karin HoellHuber
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Seminar on “Secrets of the Jewellery World”
by Ms Tatyana Pfaifer
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Seminar on “The Road from Blood Diamonds to
Blockchain Diamonds” by Mr Rahul Desai
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Seminar on “How to be a better Communicator”
by Mr Craig Travasso
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Practical Seminar in Mandalay
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Practical Seminar in Yangon
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Legend Interactions
We have always helped our students and promoted their talent, and what could be a better way than
getting them face to face with the industry legends themselves. Our students have got the chance to
interact with people like Arun Kumar Mehta, K. Srinivasan, Ali Pastorini, Tatyana Pfiefer to name a few. These
legends have shared their stories inspired our students to do more personally and professionally.
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Mr. Rajendra Jain
MD Swarovski - India
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Ms Ali Pastorini
President - Mujeres Brillantes International
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Mr Arunbhai Mehta
Co-Founder - RosyBlue
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Ms Tatyana Pfaifer
Jewellery Expert and Connoissuer
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Mr K. Srinivasan
MD and Chairman - Emerald Jewellery
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Award and Convocation Ceremonies
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Ms Saloni Agarwal
Winner - NJA - Student of the Year Award
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1st IBJA Convocation - January 2017
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Convocation - October 2017
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Convocation - July 2018
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Convocation - January 2019
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Industry Speaks
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Mr Arunbhai Mehta
Co-Founder - RosyBlue
It is always great to hear the progress of SRDC. Today would
be great and appropriate occasion to pat your back for
the same and congratulate you for the herculean task of
imparting finest education to the Gem & Jewellery industry
for the last 50 years. Congratulations for getting
recognition from University of Mumbai and also for SRDC
World Gem affiliations.
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Mr Navinchandra Mehta
D. Navinchandra Exports Pvt. Ltd.
SRDC courses are well organized in such a way that a
business person can refer to it after several years also. I can
confidently say that the knowledge which students gain
here is sound and I would like to share it with my team. It
was honor to be a chief guest at the inaugural function of
SRDC & Hinduja College.
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Mr K. Srinivasan
Emerald Jewellery Industry
"IIG is an excellent institute and is doing a great job training
students from not only a jewellery background but also
students from outside the industry. I would love to help the
institute and students in any way possible.”
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Mr Ghanshyam Dholakia
Hari Krishna Exports Pvt. Ltd.
“It is heartening to note that SRDC is giving a very valuable
contribution to the diamond Industry by empowering the
youngsters to pursue insights of diamonds right from its
manufacturing to marketing. The education covers all
aspects of Gem and Jewellery sector for which I hope that
more and more people will be inclined to be part of such a
well respected and remunerative Industry. I wish you all the
best in your endeavor for grooming successful
entrepreneurs of future.”
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901, Panchratna, M. Parmanand Marg, Opera House, Charni Road East, Mumbai - 400004
M: +91 93222 62357 | info@iigindia.com | iigindia.com