IIJS Bharat Premiere 2026 opened at the Bombay Exhibition Centre on 6 August, the 42nd edition of the show, with Union Minister Chirag Paswan telling the hall that “Made in India” has to become the world’s trusted choice. He inaugurated the BEC venue alongside executives from De Beers, Malabar Group and India Gold Metaverse. GJEPC chairman Kirit Bhansali opened the ceremony.
Paswan put the charge in plain terms. “I urge the industry to uphold the highest standards of quality and craftsmanship so that Made in India continues to earn the trust of consumers worldwide,” he said. He tied the sector to the Viksit Bharat 2047 programme and to reforms aimed at ease of doing business.
That is the official record, and it is worth reading closely. The number Canadian buyers should carry home from the week is 348.
Who opened IIJS Bharat Premiere 2026, and what was said?
Paswan holds the food processing industries portfolio, and he opened the BEC venue at NESCO, Goregaon. Guests of honour were Paul Rowley, executive vice president of diamond trading at De Beers Group; K.P. Abdul Salam, vice chairman of Malabar Group; and Lamon Rutten, managing director and chief executive of India Gold Metaverse. GJEPC was represented by Bhansali, vice chairman Shaunak Parikh and executive director Sabyasachi Ray.
Bhansali used his opening to argue that India has moved past being the world’s manufacturing floor. He pointed to recent free trade agreements and to India’s chairmanship of the Kimberley Process this year. Indians also hold the presidency of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses and the vice presidency of the World Diamond Council. GJEPC’s target remains US$100 billion in gem and jewellery exports by 2047.
Rowley was blunt about where India now sits in De Beers’ thinking. “India is far more than a market for De Beers. It is a trusted partner, a source of inspiration and increasingly a co-author of the next chapter for natural diamonds,” he said, calling India the fastest growing natural diamond market despite global headwinds.
Abdul Salam took the branding line further. “We have evolved from manufacturing for international brands to building Indian brands that are respected across the world,” he told the room. Rutten spoke last, on technology. He described a jeweller who stays a trusted craftsman and advisor while also becoming a national retailer, a financial gateway and a creator of wealth for the community.
What did the show put on the floor?
GJEPC bills it as the world’s second largest business to business gem and jewellery exhibition. This edition also marked 25 years of IIJS, and it ran across two venues because a single hall no longer holds it.
| Measure | IIJS Bharat Premiere 2026 |
|---|---|
| Edition | 42nd |
| Dates | 5 to 9 August at Jio World Convention Centre, 6 to 10 August at Bombay Exhibition Centre |
| Exhibition area | 135,000 square metres |
| Exhibitors | 2,100 plus |
| Stalls | 3,600 |
| Expected trade visitors | 50,000 plus |
| International buyers | 2,700 plus from more than 80 countries |
| Machinery exhibitors (IGJME) | 249 across 348 stalls |
Four curated programmes ran inside the halls. The Select Club curated couture jewellery and 20 Under 40 recognised emerging leaders. JewelStart Demo Day put jewellery technology startups in front of buyers, and Innov8 Talks ran sessions on diamonds, artificial intelligence, precious metals and where the business goes next.
The India Gem and Jewellery Machinery Expo also ran at BEC from 6 to 10 August. Casting lines. Refining plants. Laser welders, CNC supported benches, gold melting and rolling equipment, laboratory grown diamond testers, automated wax setting. India put its production tooling on sale beside its production, and 249 companies turned up to sell it across 348 stalls.
Why does the machinery hall change what Canadian buyers get quoted?
Dhyey Mehta of Semsons Tech gave the reason at the show without decoration: automation is a key solution for labour shortages. That sentence came from inside a country with one of the deepest craft workforces on earth. Volume and consistency now decide who wins an export order, and neither is a question of headcount any more.
The effect lands on a Canadian buying sheet as tolerance. A supplier running automated casting and CNC finishing quotes 200 units of a bridal semi mount to the same spec as 20. Repeatability closes a programme order, because a store reordering into a set case needs piece 187 to match piece 4. Canadian workshops answer that with hands, and hands do not scale the same way.
Read Paswan’s charge in that light. Turning a country of origin into a quality guarantee means every piece landing the same, every time. Craft earns that reputation. Equipment is what holds it at volume.
What happened to Canadian training in the same period?
The pipeline narrowed. In March 2025, George Brown College halted new intakes across four jewellery and gemmology programs for the fall, citing enrolment decline and funding pressure. Interim dean Ana Rita Morais pointed to the financial squeeze running through the college sector. Students already admitted got letters telling them their seat was gone.
Seventeen months on, the picture is mixed. Canadian Jeweller checked the three jewellery programs on 25 August 2026.
| Program | Code | Status, 25 August 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Jewellery Essentials | F111 | Open for Fall 2026. Winter and Spring 2027 not available |
| Jewellery Arts | F114 | Suspended |
| Jewellery Methods | F110 | Closed and not accepting applications |
One open intake remains at the country’s best known jewellery school, and it runs once a year. Statistics Canada publishes no standalone count of working bench jewellers in its regular releases, so those seats are the closest public proxy available. That gap is worth naming rather than papering over with an estimate.
How much Indian product already reaches Canada?
More than most retailers assume. India shipped US$306.05 million of pearls, precious stones, precious metals and coins to Canada in 2025, according to UN COMTRADE data. One country, one chapter of the tariff schedule, one year.
It arrives under a tariff line that still favours the Canadian wholesaler. Ottawa removed India from the General Preferential Tariff on 1 January 2015, so finished jewellery under heading 7113 pays 8.5 per cent on arrival while CETA, CUSMA and CPTPP goods enter free. A C$50,000 order therefore carries C$4,250 of duty before a single piece reaches a case. Canada and India completed a third round of Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement talks in Ottawa in July 2026. Both sides are on record targeting conclusion this year. Our earlier reading of what a concluded CEPA does to that 8.5 per cent carries the arithmetic in full.
What changes when India trades stones rather than only cutting them?
Two announcements pointed the same way. The Taxation and Other Laws Amendment Bill, 2026 proposes a 15 year tax exemption on rough diamond sales through Special Notified Zones. GJEPC also signed a memorandum of understanding with the India International Bullion Exchange during the opening.
Bhansali put the intent without ambiguity, saying India will become a global hub where diamonds are bought and sold, not just made. Antwerp, Dubai and Ramat Gan anchor the trade in rough and polished today. A fourth anchor inside the world’s largest cutting centre would move quoting behaviour across the chain, and it would move faster than an annual buying plan can absorb.
The Monday file
Five items, none of them theoretical.
- Price one repeat programme both ways. Take a bridal semi mount you reorder, and quote it domestically and from an Indian exhibitor with the 8.5 per cent included. Record the gap now, before a trade agreement erases it.
- Count your bench. Names, and years to retirement. A store with one goldsmith over 60 and no apprentice has a succession problem, not a staffing problem.
- Vet before you wire. Ask any new Indian supplier for the GJEPC membership record and the IIJS stall number. The council represents more than 10,900 members, and both details are checkable in one email.
- Read the CEPA text on chapter 71 lines specifically. Headline coverage will report the deal. Heading 7113 is where the margin sits.
- Ask what runs the line. Put one question to any supplier quoting you volume: which casting and finishing equipment produces it. The answer tells you whether a quoted price holds at 200 units or only at 20.
Canadian retail will keep buying Indian jewellery, and there is nothing wrong with that. What has to be decided now, while the eight and a half points still stand, is how much of the making stays here.
Frequently asked questions
When and where was IIJS Bharat Premiere 2026 held?
It ran 5 to 9 August 2026 at the Jio World Convention Centre in the Bandra Kurla Complex, and 6 to 10 August 2026 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, NESCO, Goregaon, in Mumbai.
Who inaugurated the Bombay Exhibition Centre venue?
Shri Chirag Paswan, Union Minister of Food Processing Industries, on 6 August 2026. Guests of honour were Paul Rowley of De Beers Group, K.P. Abdul Salam of Malabar Group and Lamon Rutten of India Gold Metaverse.
Does jewellery imported from India into Canada pay duty?
Yes. Canada removed India from the General Preferential Tariff on 1 January 2015, so finished jewellery under heading 7113 pays 8.5 per cent. Goods from CETA, CUSMA and CPTPP partners enter duty free.
Which George Brown jewellery programs are running in 2026?
As of 25 August 2026, Jewellery Essentials (F111) is open for Fall 2026 only. Jewellery Arts (F114) is suspended and Jewellery Methods (F110) is closed to applications.
What is IGJME?
The India Gem and Jewellery Machinery Expo, held alongside IIJS at the Bombay Exhibition Centre from 6 to 10 August. The 2026 edition drew 249 exhibitors across 348 stalls showing casting, refining, laser and CNC equipment.
Sources: GJEPC press release, “Made in India Jewellery Must Become the World’s Trusted Choice”, 6 August 2026; GJEPC show data; Gulf News GN Focus coverage of the opening; Gold Book Magazine report on the GJEPC opening; Diamond World coverage of the machinery expo; CP24 reporting on the George Brown program suspensions, March 2025; George Brown Polytechnic program availability pages, checked 25 August 2026; UN COMTRADE trade data for 2025; Global Affairs Canada, Canada India CEPA.
Author: Canadian Jeweller Editorial Team
The editorial team of Canadian Jeweller Magazine, Canada’s jewellery industry publication since 1879. We report on retail strategy, diamonds and gemstones, watches, precious metals, technology, and the business of jewellery across Canada. Editorial inquiries: editor@canadianjeweller.com.
