De Beers Group Institute of Diamonds is partnering with the International Institute of Gemology in India (IIG) to deliver diamond education courses throughout that country.
The IIG has been operating for more than 50 years and is entrenched in gemology and in diamond and jewellery education in India.
“As the major player in the global diamond cutting and polishing industry, India is an area of increased focus for us,” De Beers Group Institute of Diamonds education director Jodine Perrin commented in a statement issued on Wednesday.
“We recognise the need for new partnerships that bring education directly to students across large geographical areas, making education accessible and reducing the time and costs involved to businesses in staff training.”
The partnership will initially launch with a focus on the De Beers Group online Diamond Foundation Course (DFC), which teaches students about the entire diamond pipeline from diamond formation to jewellery sales.
It also includes an introduction to synthetic diamonds where students will learn how to explain to consumers the differences between natural and laboratory grown diamonds.
The online DFC is targeted towards retail staff, or those wishing to extend their knowledge beyond their current expertise within the diamond value chain.
De Beers Group has been offering diamond education services since 2017 and is focused on enhancing confidence in the selling and buying of diamonds for industry stakeholders.