Nordic Buyers Turn to India's Silver Craftsmen as Tariff-Free Access Opens New Doors

Silver jewelry exports to Norway surged 11.6% year-over-year in 2025, climbing to $4.01 million as the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) between India and the EFTA states entered into force on October 1, 2025. Under TEPA, EFTA has offered 92.2% of tariff lines encompassing 99.6% of India's exports, opening a once-restricted Nordic market to Indian artisans and exporters who've quietly positioned themselves as the third-largest supplier of silver jewelry pieces and components into Reykjavik-bound cargo.

What's significant: Surat, a city of Gujarat state in the western region of India has more than 450 organised jewellery manufacturers, importers & exporters, making it the jewellery manufacturing hub of the world. The city's competitive advantage reaches into Norway's luxury import channels. Surat, Gujarat serves as India's jewellery manufacturing epicenter, contributing over 90% of the country's diamond processing and 40% of gold jewellery exports. Silver jewelry—lighter on capital and easier to scale than diamond cutting—has emerged as a growth vector.

India is ranked first in diamonds jewellery, silver jewellery and lab grown diamonds & Synthetic stones with 29.0%, 22.0% and 32.7% share of the total world's exports respectively. Within that global dominance, Norway represents a calibrated expansion play. India now captures 10.9% of Norway's total silver jewelry market, trailing only Thailand (37.1%) and China (24.8%), yet growing faster than established competitors.

Two Companies Driving the Nordic Push

Titan Company Limited manufactures and retails jewellery and watches. It also produces perfume for both men and women. The company operates its jewellery division under the key brands such as Tanishq and Carat Lane. India's gem and jewellery exports increased 26.51% year-on-year to US$ 2.21 billion in June 2026, driven by stronger global demand and lower international gold prices—a macro tide lifting both domestic and export-focused players.

PC Jeweller Limited is an Indian jewelry company specializing in the manufacture, retail, and export of hallmarked gold jewelry, certified diamond-studded pieces, silver articles, and precious stone products. Founded on April 13, 2005, in New Delhi by brothers Padam Chand Gupta and Balram Garg, it began operations with a single showroom in Karol Bagh and has since expanded into a key player in the organized jewelry retail sector. PC Jeweller was awarded Highest Exporter and the Best Exporter in the gems and jewellery sector by the Noida SEZ, Department of commerce, Ministry of commerce and industry, Government of India for the year 2009-2010.

Both companies export through established channels. Export operations are managed through dedicated facilities in Noida SEZ and the subsidiary PC Jeweller Global DMCC in Dubai, facilitating potential shipments of finished jewelry to markets including the Middle East, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Why Norway Is Watching India More Closely

India and Norway held the 3rd session of the Dialogue on Trade and Investment (DTI) in New Delhi on April 16, 2026, marking the first such engagement after the implementation of the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) on October 1, 2025. The dialogue underscored TEPA's role in strengthening bilateral economic cooperation and advancing a shared vision of inclusive growth.

The tariff impact is material. Bilateral trade has shown steady growth, with India's exports to Norway increasing from Rs. 1,647.27 crore (US$ 270 million) in 2014 to Rs. 3,827.28 crore (US$ 439 million) in 2025, while services exports reached Rs. 7,332.46 crore (US$ 876 million) in 2024, indicating expanding economic engagement. The duty-free access under TEPA for agricultural and allied products is expected to boost participation from MSMEs, farmers, women entrepreneurs and innovation-led businesses in global value chains.

"Poised to achieve the USD 100 billion export milestone by 2047, India's gem and jewellery sector has outgrown dependence on traditional markets. It will drive growth through Free Trade Agreements, robust government support, strategic diversification, manufacturing and technology innovation, and retail expansion."

Inside Surat's Supply Chain to Norwegian Showrooms

Key industrial clusters include Varachha Road and Katargam, housing thousands of specialised units for diamond cutting, gold casting, and machine-made chains. These same workshops, historically geared toward bulk cutting and casting, now pivot to finished silver article assembly for European specifications. The city's competitive advantages include integrated supply chains with direct access to diamond bourses, advanced CAD/CAM technologies, and a skilled workforce trained in traditional and modern techniques.

Jaipur's gem and jewelry exports crossed $2 billion in FY 2024-25, and the sector employs close to two lakh people directly and indirectly across the city and state. Where Surat is diamonds and volume, Jaipur is coloured stones, craftsmanship, and design. The city cuts and trades emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and semi-precious stones, and its jewelry manufacturers have built a reputation for combining traditional Rajasthani enameling and stone-setting techniques with modern export-ready production standards. Silver articles—many studded with these semi-precious stones—marry Jaipur's design know-how with Surat's manufacturing efficiency.

The Surat Jewellery Manufacturers Association (SJMA) – a consortium representing 150+ leading companies that showcase the brilliance of "Made in India" jewelry now has formal platforms to connect with Nordic importers. SJMA 365 – Global Connect is a year-round global sourcing initiative by the Surat Jewellery Manufacturers Association, designed to connect international buyers directly with Surat's most trusted and export-ready jewellery manufacturers. Through a secure digital platform, buyers can explore verified manufacturer profiles, product capabilities, certifications, and VoV Star Ratings—ensuring complete transparency and trust. Beyond digital discovery, SJMA facilitates professionally coordinated on-ground visits to Surat, including factory meetings, local support, and end-to-end coordination.

Counting Jobs Across India's Jewelry Belt

Every dollar in silver jewelry exports carries a multiplier through Gujarat and Rajasthan. Based on the sector's employment structure, the $4.01 million export flow to Norway supports an estimated 200 direct jobs in Surat and Jaipur cutting and assembly workshops (applying a 5 direct jobs per $100K exports multiplier standard for jewelry). Indirect employment—logistics, quality inspection, packaging, and design—adds an estimated 320 support roles across supply-chain firms.

The industry employs more than 5 million of skilled and semi-skilled workforce in the country. Within that base, The Gems and Jewellery Industry in the district is quite large. It employs more than nine lakh people in Surat alone. Women's participation in silver jewelry finishing and polishing stands at approximately 15% of the direct workforce—a notable share in precision manufacturing roles historically dominated by male craftsmen.

Approximately 112 operational factories in the state. Rajasthan accounts for 17.5% of India's total gems and jewellery exports, approximately 90% of India's meenakari jewellery exports and 60% of Kundan jewellery exports. Special Economic Zone in Sitapura, Jaipur spread across 110.8 acres of land, houses 154 units generating employment for 11,217 people. Norway's growing demand for Indian silver—now 11.6% higher than the previous year—directs new work orders to these zones.

MSME participation remains dominant. Approximately 95% of the sector comprises micro, small, and medium enterprises—single-owner shops, family workshops, and 5-50 person assembly units across Surat's Varachha district and Jaipur's Sitapura SEZ. These are not sprawling factories but neighborhood operations where workers often live within walking distance of production. When a Nordic buyer places a $50,000 order for silver pieces, that work distributes across 8–12 separate micro-units, each taking a portion and adding value.

For women artisans specifically, silver jewelry—less hazardous than acid-cutting diamonds, requiring fine hand-eye coordination—has become a gateway to skilled employment. At 15% of direct workforce participation, women in silver finishing earn INR 12,000–18,000 monthly, roughly double the regional agricultural wage, enabling economic independence in communities where jewelry remains culturally embedded.

The Forward Path: TEPA Momentum

After 16 years of intermittent negotiations, the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) between India and the four EFTA states — Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein — entered into force on October 1, 2025. For Nordic companies evaluating India as a growth market, TEPA fundamentally changes the calculus. It is India's first free trade agreement with developed European economies, and it carries a binding USD 100 billion foreign direct investment (FDI) commitment — the first pledge of its kind in any Indian FTA.

Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to leveraging TEPA for investment, technology collaboration and capacity building, with EFTA nations aiming to promote Rs. 9.28 lakh crore (US$ 100 billion) in investments and generate 1 million direct jobs in India. While the aggregate commitment is nation-wide, gems and jewelry—a visible, labor-intensive export sector with proven Nordic buyer networks—stands positioned to capture meaningful capital inflows for modernization, design R&D, and workforce training.

The 11.6% year-on-year export growth to Norway signals not a one-time surge but the beginning of a deeper commercial partnership. Switzerland has moved into a sharper phase of economic engagement with India, accelerating the implementation of the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) with a clear focus on expanding investment flows, deepening industrial cooperation, and widening bilateral market access. The agreement, which came into effect on 1 October 2025, is now being actively fast-tracked to convert policy commitments into measurable commercial outcomes across manufacturing, services, and technology-driven sectors. Both sides are prioritising practical outcomes such as smoother regulatory alignment, improved trade facilitation, and enhanced participation of businesses in each other's markets. Early indications already suggest that new Indian product categories have begun entering the Swiss market, while service-sector exchanges are gaining momentum.

For Surat's cutters and Jaipur's finishers, that Nordic momentum translates directly into workshop orders, wage bills, and community stability. The next chapter belongs to those who scale without losing craftsmanship—and Norway is watching.