Nikki remained jobless for some time after her return. “I approached an organization with the proposal to work on the quality control of gemstones but they didn’t consider my offer,” she recalls. Her vigor was dampened.
However, after a couple of months Handicraft Design and Development Center (HANDECEN) approached Nikki with an offer. At the age of 22, Nikki started teaching people who were twice her age. “People at that age are like filled vessels, so teaching them and renewing the information they already had, was a challenge,” she shares.
“Students often harassed me with weird questions and some openly told me that they just attended the class to see how a young girl taught,” reminisces the first Nepali GIA graduate. Now, her classes have more than 150 students.
At present, her teaching career has extended to other organizations such as Gold & Silver Association along with HANDECEN.
However, Nikki always didn’t aspire to be a gemologist. Though she belonged to a diamond merchant family, being a fashion designer topped her goal list and accompanied her grandfather and father to the royal palaces to get jewelries and gemstones orders.
“Due to my father’s untimely demise I switched my studies to gemology,” says the 27-year-old and adds, “When I started learning more about the subject, I got more interested.” However, she is not complacent about what she already knows. “The field is continually evolving and so, I’ve plans to study further,” she puts in.
Opening a testing lab is also in the pipeline. “To identify whether a gemstone is real or fake, it has to undergo five to six tests. And our country lacks proper instruments and labs for the quality control,” she apprises.
According to her, Nepal is enlisted among gemstone mines in a book of GIA. She feels that if provided a platform, gemology has a good scope in the country.
Nikki knows some amazing stories on different types of gemstones found in Nepal. She relates, “Crystals, which are known as chheparo ley chateko dhunga (stone licked by chameleon) in the local language, is abundant in Lapsifedi, near Gokarna. These crystals are sold as cheap scraps in the streets of Kathmandu.”
Nikki’s interests are not limited to gemstones. She’s also into designing jewelries and collecting gemstones, be it a shaligram (fossils), big shells or precious stones such as a Nepali amethyst.
Republica caught up with this young trailblazer and dug up some do´s and don’ts on gemstones.
Dos
1) When purchasing diamonds, always ask for ‘diamond grading reports’ because they help indicate the quality of the gem.
2) Go for an engagement ring with bold contemporary looks that guarantee attention and satisfaction for a lifetime. Ask your retailer to engrave a special romantic inscription inside the ring shank to make it intimate.
3) In recent years, pearl strands and diamond solitaire pendants have won a place close to heart of jewelry lovers. So get one. And if you can afford, get a solitaire above 0.50 carat.
4) For better investments, conduct researches on stones before purchasing them – especially for colored stones.
Don’ts
1) Jewelry items especially diamonds are dust friendly, therefore don’t put them on before you apply make–up. Don’t ever spray anything on them. Foremost, don’t neglect your ring when performing household chores. It is wise to pull it off and put it aside to prevent abrasion.
2) When storing your jewelry, don’t jumble them up. It is wiser to have different sections for different jewelry items.
3) Salt water harms your ornaments. So keep them away, for instance, while at a beach.
4) Prevent dropping emerald ornaments. Emeralds are fragile and crack very easily.
Related story
Preeti Khatri: A trailblazer in adventure tourism
