From April 9 to 12 Shanghai hosted the 5th International Jewelry Exhibition - Jewelry Shanghai 2010. The event turned out to be the largest jewelry show in the first half of the year in the Mainland China. Certainly, by its size and scope the Shanghai exposition was inferior to world-wide jewelry shows, but by the density of diamonds per visitor capita it could be quite a competitor. Four hundred exhibitors from fifteen countries took part in the show introducing their products at more than 1000 stands.
Jewelry Shanghai 2010 was organized by the Gems and Jewelry Trade Association of China, National Gems and Jewelry Technology Administrative Centre, Shanghai Gold Exchange, Shanghai Diamond Exchange and other authoritative organizations.
The exposition was accommodated in five pavilions of different geographic and jewelry orientation with a total area of 23,000 square meters which made it possible to organize space for convenient visitor foot traffic as well as meeting the interests of local manufacturers in the first place: to reach the international pavilion it was necessary to cross the hall of Chinese jewellers.
The Taiwan pavilion, the biggest by its area, represented collections of jewelry with emeralds and corals from Taiwan jewellers. The diamond pavilion showcased top quality gems of finest cuts manufactured by more than 20 diamantaires registered with the Shanghai Diamond Exchange. This pavilion along with the color stones area enjoyed perhaps the greatest success among visitors.
The pavilion of the Pan Yu County boasted of state-of-the-art techniques in manufacturing and processing as well as modern trends in jewelry design. The joint pavilion of jewelry exchanges provided information on the Shanghai diamond and gold exchanges, and also advised visitors on the registration procedure and necessary documents for exchanges participants.
The International Pavilion organized with the assistance of the Embassy of the Republic of Sri Lanka in China and Jewelry Association of Sri Lanka presented, besides Sri-Lankan jewelry, attractive pieces made by jewellers from Thailand, Germany, Belgium, the United States, Israel, India, Myanma, Singapore, Poland and other countries.
Besides, there were separate exhibition areas for color gems and pearls. Pearls have long been in great esteem in China considered as the pinnacle of all adornments. The well-known words by Princess Diana that if a girl were to have only one jewelry piece in her life it should be pearls found its reflection in all the variety of refined jewelry with pearls displayed at the exhibition. China is the largest supplier of pearls producing 95% of fresh-water pearls in the world. If earlier a large part of this output went for export now the country’s internal demand for diamonds is increasing by leaps and bounds. In the opinion of your correspondent, the most impressing exposition of pearl jewelry was presented by Ruans Pearl, a Chinese company.
Visitors were attracted to various business forums and discussions of business aspects within the diamond and emerald trade, as well as problems related to appraisal and certification of gems under various standards. The highly topical program of events within the exhibition included a series of seminars run by the International Gemological Institute (IGI) which attracted as contributors Howard Pomerantz of the WFDB Mark and other established experts. The conferences covering various problems regarding trade organization, purchasing activity and processing of diamonds, emeralds, color gems and pearls allowed experts from vatious countries to exchange experience and modern innovations. HRD Antwerp demonstrated its D-Scope, while the Chinese analogues of this equipment for identification and certification of polished diamonds, though being more modestly displayed at the exhibition, nevertheless attracted great attention on the part of visitors. China’s National Gems and Jewelry Technology Administrative Centre performed free tests of diamonds and anyone interested could check their stones for authenticity and conformity to the declared characteristics.
Here is just a short list of exhibition participants from China and Hong Kong: Forever Diamond Trading, Hotan Jade Oriental, EZ Diamonds SinoGem, China National Gem&Jewelryy Import&Export Corporation, Shanghai SU-Jewelryy, Shanghai First Asia Jewelry, Brio Jewelryy, A.S. Diamonds, Wing Fung Precious Metals, WCJ International, Delicacy Forever Jewelryy, Diamond Charm, and Swiky Jewelryy.
Shanghai Jewelry Show 2010 was held in the run-up to the long-awaited Shanghai Universal Exhibition or EXPO-2010, a symbol of unification of world cultures and peoples. This produced a considerable impact on the jewelry show. Some of the participants of Jewelry Shanghai 2010 even manufactured appropriate collections devoted to this significant event and this way adding the jewelry exhibition a unique accent.
Olga Patseva, Rough&Polished, Shanghai
