Female Jewellery

The art & craft of fine quality jewellery manufacturing are deeply rooted in the traditional heritage and history of Pakistan. It was however in the Mughal period that the artisan class of goldsmiths arose to attain a distinct status in the subcontinent. The most famous among the various jewellery types that emerged during the times of the Mughals include, Minakari, Kundan, Polki, and Nauratan, etc. Presently, metropolitan cities of Lahore and Karachi are the major hubs of jewellery manufacturing. There are more than thirty major cities and nearly three hundred smaller cities/mandi towns where jewellery manufacturing and trading clusters cater to domestic demand. In addition, there are at least 45,000 villages where jewellers operate as single-shop, manufacturing and selling units to meet the demand of rural population.

Pakistan is a country with a population of more than 150 million people and a rich tradition of craftsmanship in jewellery manufacturing. Skilled/semi-skilled labour force is available at relatively lower rates, which offers a comparative advantage to the country. Their skill enhancement through training would lead to greater competitiveness.

Pakistan has been gifted with abundant resources of several precious and semi-precious gemstones, at present mostly found in Northern Areas and NWFP, but with a huge future potential in Balochistan. Most important of the currently found stones are emeralds of Mingora (Swat), pink and golden topaz of Katlang (Mardan) and aquamarine of Chitral and Neelam Valley. At present, there is no formal survey available to identify the geological resources of gemstones in the country. Furthermore, due to lack of realization of its importance as an industry, those who are engaged in the mining, cutting/polishing and trading of gemstones in Pakistan have not been able to exploit the full potential of this sector.

The first gemstone mine in Pakistan was discovered in 1951, in the Haramosh Range in Gilgit. But it took no less than 27 years for the establishment of Gemstones Corporation of Pakistan (GEMCP), under the administrative control of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources, in 1978. GEMCP was responsible for exploring, mining, auctioning and exports of gemstones. Within 15 years of its establishment, GEMCP was disbanded in 1993-94 and private sector was encouraged to invest in the sector. The impact of privatization proved to be positive, as exports of gemstones have risen since then, albeit slightly. In 2003, the total value of gemstones export was worth US$4 million. Factors including lack of appropriate skills, vested interest, regulatory bottlenecks, technological limitation and so forth, have been responsible for hindering the efforts of new investors to make any significant progress in this regard.