By Cynthia Unninayar

Rightfully claiming the title as the world’s largest jewellery trade fair, the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair broke its own attendance and exhibitor records last September. For many exhibitors, these numbers represented cautious optimism for a recovery in the jewellery and gem sectors.

With two separate venues focusing on jewellery at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre in Wanchai and loose diamonds, coloured gemstones, pearls, and packaging at the AsiaWorld- Expo location near the airport, this international trade show, held September 14 to 20, welcomed 44,274 trade professionals—13 percent increase from 2009—from 135 countries and regions who came to see the wares of some 3205 exhibitors from 45 countries and regions—5 percent growth over last year. Hong Kong-based visitors totalled 15,788, for 36 percent of the total, with the remaining 64 percent coming from around the world, an increase of 22.5 percent over last year.

“The remarkable growth in visitor numbers not only points to the Fair’s steady progress but also confirms its importance and the effectiveness of our promotion efforts,” said Celine Lau, director of Jewellery Fairs, UBM Asia. The greatest number of visitors, by far, came from China and India, followed by the USA and Taiwan. “The Fair results left us with no doubt that China and India are driving jewellery demand worldwide today. However, there were also other markets that showed notable participation: Belgium, Brazil, Israel, the Russian Federation, Taiwan, Turkey and the United States. This performance is beyond our expectations and tells us clearly that apart from traditional and mainstream jewellery markets, there are emerging markets that show great potential to become a force of growth in the future.”

Sectors of the fair included the world’s largest diamond pavilion (400 companies from Antwerp, Israel, India, and the USA), the “Pavilion of the Year” (India, with 130 companies), the largest overseas pavilion (Thailand, with 439 companies), 22 group pavilions representing countries from around the world, and the world’s largest showcase of Hong Kong jewellery (1,387 exhibitors in the two venues) as well as sections for silver, jadeite, pearl jewellery and the Designer’s Avenue. Among the themed pavilions were the Fine Design Pavilion in the Grand Hall, the Hong Kong Premier Pavilion, the International Premier Pavilion (brands from 19 countries),and the Fine Gem Pavilion at the AWE location. As can be imagined, jewellery of every type and price point could be found at the fair, ranging from inexpensive silver and steel items to extravagant pieces made of platinum and gold set with fine gemstones and diamonds. The images on these pages are just a few of the many examples of fine jewellery and gems that could be found last September in Hong Kong. Next year’s Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair will be held from September 19 to 23 at the AsiaWorld-Expo and September 21 to 25 at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre.

A Few Exhibitor Comments

We are satisfied with the result and have received some orders. I think the number of buyers from India and Australia is up from last year. I like the image and design of the International Premier Pavilion… We will exhibit again next year. – Antonio Calvo Garcia, Director Commercial of Magerit Joyas, Spain.

There were obviously more buyers from China and India this year. We received orders from Eastern European buyers… We will exhibit again in the HKPP in both June and September. – Ray Chan, Marketing & Product Manager of Sunlight Jeweler, Hong Kong.

We met many target buyers from the USA. The number of Australian buyers doubled from last year… The product sectorization helped bring buyers who were focused on our products. We are satisfied with the result. – M C M Nawaz, Chairman of Bright Gems International (Pvt) Ltd, Sri Lanka, exhibitor at AWE.

It’s the first time we exhibit in Hong Kong and so far we have met customers from the USA and Asia. We are looking forward to the next few days for more business opportunities. – Hartin Heinz, Jorg Heinz, Germany.

We think this year’s fair is very good in all aspects, including the scale, quality of buyers and the organizer’s service. We met many buyers from Asia, in particular from India. – Amer Murad, Director of M S D, Belgium, exhibitor at AWE.

I am satisfied with the overall results at AWE. Since the product sectorization last year, meeting our target buyers has becomea lot easier. I met many buyers from the USA, Canada, and Indonesia... I will exhibit again next year. – Michael Knight, president of tools and equipment supplier, Castaldo, USA, exhibitor at AWE.

A Few Visitor Comments

This is my first visit to a jewellery fair in Asia. I’ve long known about this Fair and I’m happy I finally got to see it. It is very impressive. The presence of many excellent suppliers from different countries exceeds my expectations… The Fair is buyer-oriented. The product sectorization policy helped facilitate my sourcing trip. I will visit again next year. – Rickey Joel Erickson, VP Retail Merchandising of Riddle’s Group, USA.

This is my first visit to the September Fair. I came to look for new suppliers of diamonds, gemstones, pearls, and fine finished jewellery. The quality of exhibitors is good. I met some suppliers from Germany and the United States. The product quality is high and prices are competitive… I’m visiting the next edition. – Olga Bukatina, General Manager of Luxuria Jewellery Studio, Russian Federation.

This is my tenth visit to the Fair… Products are of good quality and are competitively priced. The sectorization of products made my sourcing efficient. Also, instructions are very clear so it was easy for me to locate products… I’d like to visit again next year. – Jack Giang, Manager of Venezia Jewellery, Australia.

I visit the September Fair not to find suppliers but to update myself with the latest market information. I want to know the market trends, such as buyers’ preferences. I think the overall organisation of the Fair is good and I feel the organizer has put much effort into making the Fair even more attractive. I usually find many new elements in the Fair during each visit… I will visit again, definitely. – Feng Kang, representative of Anteng Jewelry Speciality Shop, China.

exhibitions.jewellerynetasia.com