The ICA Congress closed its doors May 10 after a very successful six-day event in the city of Panyu, China. The attendance was the largest in ICA’s history, with 200 overseas delegates from 26 countries and more than 750 local Chinese participants.
There was general agreement among foreign delegates that new business opportunities exist in the vast Chinese market. To help understand how to gain access to this increasingly important market, high level Chinese government officials and industry players explained the ins and outs of doing business in the nation, which has a middle class of over 200 million people. Experts feel that the Chinese domestic market for jewelry will also double in the next few years, becoming the largest market in the world. A whitepaper on the Chinese colored stone market co-sponsored by ICA and China Gold News was distributed at the end of the conference to all delegates.
Other items on the ICA agenda were the Lifetime Achievement Awards honoring two individuals for their significant and meaningful contributions to ICA and the growth of the international gemstone industry and trade. This year, there were two honorees, both veterans of the colored gemstone industry, Mr. Campbell Bridges and Mr. Yip Kun Poon. Bridges, a founding member of the ICA, is the discoverer of tsavorite and the first person to provide tanzanite for identification in the USA. British-born, he lives in Kenya where he continues his important work in the gemstone trade. Hong Kong-based Yip Kun Poon was also an ICA founding member. He has worked tirelessly for decades to bring colored gems to the Japanese market, while forging long-term relationships with suppliers all over the world.
Among the main topics at the ICA event was the presentation of a project for the standardization of colored gemstones in China in order to improve quality, industrial competitiveness, and consumer awareness in that nation.
Another important announcement was that ICA is becoming a member of CASM (Communities and Small-Scale Mining), a World Bank initiative “to reduce poverty by improving the environmental, social, and economic performance of artisanal and small-scale mining in developing countries.”
ICA’s new president and board were ratified as well. Heading up the organization will be: Wilson Yuen, president; Jean-Claude Michelou and Charles Abouchar, vice presidents; Michael Haag, Treasurer; Secretaries Clement Sabbagh and Benjamin Hackman; and Executive Board Member Asraf Sultan.
Just before the closing gala dinner, a press conference was held for the local Chinese press with approximately 35 print and television journalists present.
The ICA conference organizers and premier sponsors included: Gem & Jewelry Association of China (GAC); National Gemstone Testing Center (NGTC) in Beijing; China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Panyu Branch (CCPIT); Worldmart Jewelry & Gems Emporium (HK) Ltd.; Jewellery News Asia; UBM; Guangzhou Mickey Weinstock & Co. Diamonds Manufacturing Ltd, Panyu, China; China Gold News; and Guangzhou Panyu Jewelry Manufacturers Association.
