De Beers Group is pleased to announce it has officially launched its education partnership with the National Gemstone Testing Centre (NGTC), China's leading authority in the testing and inspection of gems and jewellery, extending the accessibility of De Beers Group's diamond education courses to students in China.

The partnership, which was officially launched at the Beijing Jewellery Show in China on 13 December, will provide a variety of diamond education courses, supporting the needs of multiple groups across the diamond industry. Courses will focus on a range of content, including:

• Insight into the diamond pipeline from start to finish, supporting the ability of participants to develop knowledge for commercial purposes, such as with sales presentations in a retail environment.

• Lab-based courses to examine how to grade polished diamonds to a professional standard.

• Synthetic diamond detection techniques so that students can effectively identify synthetic stones.

Jonathan Kendall, President of De Beers Group Industry Services, said: "It is a great honour to be collaborating with the NGTC to bring China a set of top quality educational courses. These courses have been designed to appeal to a full range of people - from those who wish to simply learn about diamonds and the diamond industry to those working in the industry, from manufacturing to retailing, who wish to extend their knowledge to be more successful in their careers. We look forward to helping people in China develop their skills and supporting the development of the Chinese jewellery industry to achieve its full potential in the years ahead."

Mr Sun Fengmin, Vice Director of National Gems & Jewellery Technology Administrative Centre, said: " We are honoured to partner with the world's leading diamond company, De Beers Group, who will share their 130 years of experience, technology and expertise to contribute to the development of China's diamond industry. The NGTC and De Beers Group will cooperate to run a series of courses on diamond identification, grading, the diamond value chain, synthetic diamonds and other related topics. I believe that with the joint efforts of both parties, the capabilities of our students will develop rapidly, enabling them to become skilled and knowledgeable professionals within a competitive industry. The initiation of this cooperation between the two parties highlights that De Beers Group has taken a significant step forward in the diamond sector in China, and with the spirit of cooperation from both parties we are creating an exciting future."

Jodine Perrin, Director of Education for De Beers Group Industry Services, said: "We are thrilled to work alongside the NGTC to bring this collaborative approach to education to our students across China. Through our combined expertise, they will benefit from innovative, flexible and informative diamond courses all specifically designed to encourage ongoing professional development in one of the world's most important diamond countries. We look forward to working alongside companies that recognise the critical role education can play in their strategic plans and operational success."

De Beers Group began providing industry-leading diamond education services in 2017 and is focused on enhancing confidence in the selling and purchasing of diamonds for all industry stakeholders.