From goldsmith to GNBS-certified jeweller – Stephen Naraine tells his story

Stephen Naraine has always had an interest in arts and craft. At a tender age, he would rush home from school to join his uncle – a goldsmith – in his workshop at Alexander Village, Georgetown, and it was these moments that led to the origin of Steve’s Jewellery World.
“Since in primary school, my uncle had a basic workshop and when we came home in the afternoon, I tend to fall in as I was interested in arts and anything done by hand,” he recalled.

After many afternoons and weekends at the workshop, Naraine eventually became versed in making gold jewellery, and in later years he was left in charge of the business after his uncle migrated.
In 1992, Steve’s Jewellery was established with its first location at King Street, Georgetown. Since then, the business – now located at 301 Church Street, Georgetown – has been manufacturing a wide range of jewellery and custom-made patterns requested by clients.
Confident that the products sold by his business were ready for the next step, Naraine soon began pursuing certification from the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) to the Guyana Standard (GYS 50:2010) – specification for gold articles.
“At that time, I thought it would be a good thing to be certified for myself and my business and I was very much interested… although the road to certification was a bit challenging,” the businessman noted.

After several tests and retests, Steve’s Jewellery was certified in 1998 to manufacture gold articles under the requirements of the national standard. Since then, the business has remained under the GNBS product certification programme. Its products are re-certified annually.
The GYS 50:2010 specifies requirements for the manufacturing, alloying, and testing of gold articles of 23, 14, 12, 10, and nine karat gold; requirements for findings and solders to be used in the manufacture of gold articles; methods for assaying gold, alloyed gold, solder, findings, and gold articles. It also stipulates requirements for the marking and labelling of gold articles.
The standard, however, does not specify requirements for the design of gold articles and does not apply to gold articles intended for industrial purposes such as dentistry, electronics, official coins, gold bars and other such uses. The businessman thanked the GNBS for its support during the first assessment period and every year thereafter.
“The support was excellent, no complaints,” he asserted.
Naraine noted that certification led to customer growth and subsequently the expansion of his business, which now serves persons living overseas as well.
“With certification, we found that our business just went to another level in terms of growth, in sales, in customer service, because we would have had to follow a certain direction guided by the GNBS and we follow those steps…”
“I found that the customers were so satisfied, they sent their families and relatives specifically to us and they did not worry about quality because our quality has been consistent,” he proudly stated.

Because of its consistency, Steve’s Jewellery persisted to win the 2017 National Quality Awards (NQA) in the small business category. The NQA is hosted by the GNBS every two years to award competitive businesses in the manufacturing and services industries for consistently maintaining quality and standards.
To anyone considering the certification of their products or services, Naraine said: “Go right ahead and get the certificate,” as he also extended an olive branch to jewellers who require assistance.
Apart from gold jewellery, the GNBS certifies other locally manufactured products including PVC pipes, concrete hollow blocks, bathtubs, and shower units.
To access the certification programme, contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 219-0069, 219-0065, 2190062, or visit the GNBS website: www.gnbsgy.org.