JNA Awards 2012 Jewellery Industry Best Practices

40 JNA AWARDS 2012 KGK Jewellery Manufacturing Ltd Category: Manufacturer of the Year Country/Region: Hong Kong When founder Keshrimal Kothari began trading coloured gemstones in India and Burma more than a century ago, he never envisioned that his Jaipur-based start-up would grow into one of today’s foremost players in the global gem and jewellery industry. Established in 1905, the India-headquartered KGK Group now spans several divisions supplying a diverse range of loose diamonds, coloured gemstones and jewellery across seven continents. For more than a century, it has built a solid reputation as a leading manufacturer of top-quality goods with impeccable customer service. Keshrimal’s son, Ghisilal Kothari, was instrumental in the group’s development, expanding the business from Jaipur to Chennai before finally setting foot in Hong Kong. By the 1970s, with new leadership at the helm of the group, the business diversified into diamonds and slowly tapped into markets such as Japan, Thailand and the US. From a mere trading company, KGK Group set up manufacturing units in several regions including South Africa and Russia. It also fortified its presence in China and India, which was a pivotal point in the group’s history. In 1996, the group established a jewellery manufacturing unit in China, which today supplies a variety of products to its 16 wholly-owned branded stores in China, Hong Kong and India. The following year, the group became a DTC Sightholder in India. Offices were opened in the UAE, Germany, Spain and London, and the group’s foray into retail marketing was initiated. KGK Group’s strict adherence to quality was further recognised with an ISO 9001: 2008 certification for its operations, a Business Process Procedures (BPP) certification from Asia Quality Focus and an SGS compliance certification. Keeping its commitment to excellence, the group continuously invests in infrastructure, product development as well as research and development.