Last month Hong Kong played host to the June Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair which celebrated its 23d anniversary this year. Such a long lifespan of this exhibition proves the advantages it brings to business and positive effect produced on visitors. Its organizer was UBM Asia Ltd, one of the pace-setting exhibition operators in Asia, and it was sponsored by the Gemological Association of Hong Kong, Gemological Institute of America (Hong Kong) and others.
This jewelry fair is also known as a sort of "equator" for the Asian jewelry industry as it is one of the main events in the jewelry world on the mid-year boundary. A further attraction about the fair was that it coincided with yet another event of interest for jewelry business persons, which was Asia's Fashion Jewelry and Accessories Fair putting emphasis on fashionable trends. The visitors had a convenient opportunity to see both exhibitions as they were seated in the same place – the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
More than 1200 exhibitors from 30 countries have taken part in the Hong Kong Fair. Sixteen pavilions organized by a territorial principle including the expositions of Brazil, Philippines and Turkey, which were newcomers to this event, welcomed their visitors with a rich variety of precious jewelry pieces from China, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States.
The fair also hosted the pavilions of eight organizations promoting trade, including the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute, Japan Jewellery Association, Japan Jewellery Designers Association, Platinum Guild International, etc.
The Hong Kong Fair featured seven thematic expositions:
The Hong Kong Pavilion exhibited the best jewelry pieces made by local manufacturers;
The Fine Jewelry Pavilion showcased refined jewelry items reflecting the latest trends in jewelry fashion;
The Diamond Pavilion displayed collections produced by diamond companies from all over the world and featuring sparkling diamonds of every possible color, shape and cut, as well as diamond jewelry;
The Pavilion of Pearls offered a huge choice of pearls of different configurations;
The Pavilion of Gems;
The Pavilion of Silver, Packing, Tools and Equipment;
The Gallery of Jade presenting nephrite, jade and jasper, as well as associated jewelry pieces.
With a view to assist in establishing business relations between participants and visitors the Hong Kong Trade Development Council organized 78 groups of buyers comprising more than 4,700 persons. These groups included representatives of jewelry companies from every corner of the globe: the Australian jewellers from Prouds Jewelrys, Brazilian jewellers from Vivara, Canadian jewellers from The Shopping Channel, Shanghai jewellers from Laofengxiang Co., Ltd, Polish jewellers from APART, American jewellers from Fred Meyer Jewelers Inc, etc. According to Rapaport, buyers at the June Hong Kong Fair showed edge up on prices but resisted high seller asking prices.
More than 20 various events were held during the exhibition, including seminars, conferences, jewelry shows, auctions and business cocktails which promoted exchange of experience and professional information among the participants.
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council invited Didier Brodbeck, International Adviser with the GIE Perles de Tahiti Group to hold a workshop on the Influence of Top-Class Jewelry on the Market, while You Yongcheng, the regional representative of the World Gold Council in Southern China and Hong Kong and also CEO of the K-gold Project, and Shi Lihua, General Manager of Shanghai-based company Laofengxiang Co., were invited to hold a workshop dedicated to the Analysis of the Retail Jewelry Market and Consumer Habits in Mainland China. Besides, the organizers arranged a conference on the newest techniques in jewelry identification intended for provide buyers with most complete and trustworthy information about purchased products. As the purchasing capacity of people living in Mainland China is improving their requirements to quality, design and materials of jewelry are growing as well. Speaking at the workshop, Wang Manjun, Secretary General of the All-China Committee for Standardization of Gems and Jewelry, delivered a message explaining the latest classification standards introduced in China for diamonds, pearls and jade.
In recent years in China it is has become popular to wear spinel whose luster, colour and hardness is comparable to those of rubies. The organizers of the exhibition, taking into account the latest trends, invited the director of the Swiss Gemmological Institute to conduct a workshop dedicated to the specific features of spinel and its use in top-class jewelry.
Besides the specialized industry events the fair also held jewelry shows whose main purpose was to demonstrate the aesthetic value of jewels, as for example did the mobile show of Thai jewelry pieces as well as the Italian jewelry show. The Hong Kong Development Council also launched the Exciting Russia exposition displaying thematic jewelry pieces viewed by celebrated top models invited for this occasion.
The fair also showcased masterpieces designed by the Hong Kong jewellers, the winners of the contest for the best jewelry artwork held earlier this year.
Olga Patseva, Rough&Polished, Shanghai
