The modest shop is hidden in a crowded alley within the pink walls of Jaipur, the capital of India's northwestern desert state of Rajasthan.

But the jewellery on display is far from modest.

Rows upon rows of elaborate diamond necklaces and earrings glow in well-lit showcases, making the room look more like a jewellery museum than a commercial establishment.

"We've been in Jaipur for 265 years and in this building for 150 years and this is where we display a lot of our traditional pieces," said Prakash Chand Surana, seventh in a generation of traditional kundan jewellery makers once patronized by the Moghul emperors of Delhi and later the maharajas of Jaipur.

"We have recently built another showroom a little ways from here so we can display our modern jewellery collection," he said.

For generations, the Suranas have made ornate chokers, earrings and bracelets in traditional kundan work, in which they combine flat precious stones set in 23-carat-gold frames with decorative fringes of tiny emerald and ruby beads.

The back of each piece is a riot of exquisite, minuscule arabesque motifs of flowers and birds in red, white and gold enamel work.

Business potential

But Surana, like thousands of other Indian jewellers, is now breaking away from classical designs and awakening to the business potential of modern Western-style jewellery not only for export but also for an ever-expanding domestic market.

"We see this segment growing greatly in the next few years as we see potential for new clientele, both Indian and foreign," he said. "Not everyone likes traditional jewellery."

A traditional diamond necklace made by the Suranas that would cost more than one million rupees ($22,980) could take an army of craftsmen more than two months to make.

Some of Surana's international customers included the royal family of Nepal and the late Princess Diana, who had a ring repaired at the shop while on a visit to India.

The older pieces made by the Suranas fetch handsome premiums at international auctions.

But these days, Indian jewellers are also seeking a place on the global jewellery map.

The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council, an apex body of Indian exporters, says the country exported $6.15 billion worth of gems and jewellery from April 1998 through March 1999.

Jewellery exports accounted for about a billion dollars of the total, which is more than double the amount exported in 1993/94.

Largest gold consumer

Although India is still not a big jewellery exporter, it is the world's largest consumer of gold and has an abundance of skilled craftsmen and jewellers to help it move into the international market.

"Jewellery exports really only started in the mid-1990s and now they are growing at about 15-20 per cent annually, there is a lot of potential," said Aziz Zaveri, convener of the gold jewellery export panel, part of the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council.

Industry officials say that until the gold industry was liberated in 1990, cumbersome licences and restrictions prevented exporters and artisans from expanding business. Jewellers had no choice but to cater to the domestic market, dominated by ethnic designs.

That is why the industry still lags far behind India's gem trade, which has been exporting cut and polished gems for centuries.

"Of the gemstones exported from India, we think that eventually about half of the amount could be exported as jewellery which is made here," he added.

Demand is still healthy for traditional jewellery, but sales of Surana's rings and necklaces using cut gem stones set stylishly in gold and silver, are even more robust, making the traditional jeweller keen to expand his market.

"We have always made our jewellery to order and we are always changing our designs to suit the customer's needs. Some people like large earrings, some like them smaller," says Surana as he stands in his showroom in his socks, a habit that goes back to the days when jewellers sold their goods seated on the floor.

"The new line is just a part of that process of making what the customers want."

(Agencies via Xinhua)