A DIAMOND testing facility is part of plans to expand Bahrain’s famed gemstone laboratory.
The move by Bahrain Institute for Pearls and Gemstones (Danat) comes in line with its efforts to cater to the jewellery market, which is not limited to pearls, said its chief executive Noora Jamsheer.
The lab, which was established in 2017, has examined more than 10 million pearls.
“Danat was formed as part of Bahrain’s national plan to revive the sector,” Ms Jamsheer told the GDN.
“We are always committed to enhancing pearl testing methodologies.
“However, the jewellery market today consists of other gemstones and diamonds.
“Therefore, Danat is working towards developing a diamond testing unit and launching new services to cater to the larger jewellery consumer market.”
Business was upbeat at Danat despite the slowdown due to the pandemic, said Ms Jamsheer, adding that there was an increase in demand for pearls globally.
“Despite the pandemic and the global slowdown in jewellery market, we saw a resistance in the number of pearls brought forward for testing,” said the former expert in natural resources at the UN Security Council.
“There was a slight dip in pearl submissions due to closure of businesses and interrupted imports from international markets, however, overall pearls submitted for testing in the lab continued to hold up strongly.
“Moreover, natural pearl continued to perform very well in auctions internationally.
“Majority of natural pearl items submitted for auctions outperformed and were sold at well above the expected sale price.”
Demand for natural pearls is higher than the cultured kind, said Ms Jamsheer, defending Bahrain’s investment in the field of research on pearls.
“We are seeing a strong comeback to pearls because pearls are rare and one of a kind – it is a product of nature, unique and precious,” she said.
“They speak luxury and communicate a special message.
“As a result, Danat’s plan is to continue investing in the field of pearl research to be able to better detect natural pearls from non-natural pearls that are formed due to human intervention.”
She further explained citing the involvement of the market, underlining the need to maintain the confidence of customers.
“The key here is market confidence; consumers should know what they are buying, natural, cultured or imitation.
“Improved detection will increase consumer confidence and will increase the value of natural pearls.
“For instance, today we know that pearls are being formed in ways that are not typical to the culturing process.
“These pearls, which we call as pearl X but the market might refer to them as Keshi pearls (by products of pearl cultivation), are being cultured to compete fraudulently with the natural pearls.
“Therefore, Danat is investing resources to enhance pearl detection.”
A cultured pearl is initiated by a mussel or oyster farmer under controlled conditions using two very different groups of molluscs – the freshwater river mussels and saltwater pearl oysters.
“But the cultured pearls are often too perfect but far from natural as the core is made from inferior material,” pointed out Ms Jamsheer.
“Natural pearls are beautiful and their subtle imperfections and incomparable lustre make them priceless.”
Among the other plans of Danat in the post-pandemic phase is to protect Bahrain’s abundant offshore pearl beds.
“Danat’s scope is to preserve the heritage of the pearling industry and to strengthen Bahrain’s position as a global centre for the trade in natural pearls,” added Ms Jamsheer.
“Securing our natural pearl beds is vital for this.
“We are encouraging pearl diving and divers and also ensured measure to make the job – pearl diving – less dangerous by using oxygen tanks.”
The GDN earlier reported that 822 Bahrainis have been awarded a licence to dive for pearls, after completing a course covering extraction techniques and regulatory issues.
This was part of national efforts to reinvigorate the pearling industry and boost tourism.
raji@gdn.com.bh
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