« Diamond and Precious Metals Week In Review: 9/30/05 | Main | Salesclerk, This Bud's For You!! »
Israeli Cutters Compete with China, India.
Israeli diamond manufacturers in an attempt to become more competitive with the Chinese and Indians have seen the Israel Diamond Institute’s (IDI) technological center develop and offer Israeli companies an automated machine that will polish diamond sizes of .25 carat to one carat at $17 per carat.
The new service comes about as Israeli scientists have completed a fully automated cutting and polishing machine. The technological center is looking for a commitment of at least 3,000 carats a month from Israeli dmanufacturers in order to break even for the service.
Israel has been losing much of its manufacturing of smaller diamonds to countries with lower wages such as India and China. The IDI has been working on the fully automated project in an effort to transform Israel into a more competitive market in the manufacturing of small to medium-sized diamonds.
Developing a machine that can do this for irregular shaped diamond rough such as Marquise, Oval, Pear, etc. will really be a technological feat!!
