About Us

Bilal Mahir earned his credentials as a Graduate Gemologist from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). He pursued the Graduate Colored Stones Program from the GIA Bangkok Campus and the Graduate Diamonds Program from the GIA Mumbai Campus. In addition, he has also completed the AIGS Synthetics and Treatments Course from the Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences (AIGS) in Bangkok, Thailand.

Bilal’s journey started as a mere 3rd generation gem trader. Being born to a father who worked in the same industry, his passion for gems only increased. Frequent visits to gem markets both locally and internationally gave him the exposure to the diversity of the gem market; markets & mines ranging from Ratnapura, Beruwela to international markets in Bangkok, Chanthabari, Mumbai, Surat.

In addition, he was able to experience the process behind the heat treatment of gems while he was in Bangkok, which provided him supplementary knowledge of gems and their treatments. Having witnessed the early processes of gem treatment and production, the urge to find more about the latter stages of manufacturing started stirring. He sightsaw a variety of companies like Lexus Softmac (Surat, India), Hari Krishna Exports (Surat, India) , Rus Gems (Synthetics manufacturing company, Bangkok, Thailand) and some other diamond and synthetic gem stone manufacturing companies.

While he was in Bangkok, he had the privilege of attending the world’s renowned and longest-celebrated gems and jewelry trade fair in the industry, the Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair (BGJF), wherein extensive collections of raw gems from colored stones, diamonds, pearls, amber and semi-precious stones from all around the world were featured. Prior to the inauguration of LGL, Bilal worked at the Precious Gem Testing Lab (PGTL) in Colombo, Sri Lanka where he received the opportunity to polish his skills and competence in Gem testing.