First gold jewelry lab gets license

(MENAFN- Arab News) JEDDAH: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has issued license to the first laboratory for gold and jewelry in Saudi Arabia according to the National Committee of Precious Metals and Stones at the Saudi Council of Chambers.
Committee Chairman Karim Al-Anazi said the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has issued a license to the first gold and jewelry laboratory in the Kingdom which is considered the second in the Arab world.
'The laboratory currently working in Riyadh city is considered an achievement for the Kingdom in general and the workers and those who are interested in the jewelry sector in particular' Al-Anazi told a meeting of the committee at the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday.
Laboratory Solitaire Director General Muhannad Al-Sudrani said the new laboratory would save travel to laboratories outside the Kingdom.
'The new laboratory will check diamonds and precious stones and metals and will also allow exchange of information among all other laboratories across the world within a closed network which will facilitate the process of obtaining quick and guaranteed information which in turn will enable it to provide services with total professionalism and credibility.'
The jewelry checking at the lab would take only three to 10 minutes and would be accurate he said adding that the mobile lab could be sent to those who have large quantities of jewelries.
Muhammad Azouz a national committee member said a study has been made for the real need for investment in the industry of precious metals and stones in the Kingdom and submitted to the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA).
"It speaks about the feasibility of the investment and that it should not be the target of the foreign investor just to convert business establishments and small workshops to investment facilities without providing any additional benefit for the industry except creating more burdens and risks" he said.
"As a sector we need to bring in the development achieved by the developed world and countries specialized in the sector and we submit to the SAGIA what is useful and beneficial to the national economy and the entrepreneurs in the field" he added.