The strong turnout and business dealings at the IIJS 2010, came as a welcome break after the gloomy scenario of 2009, reaffirming the turn in the market and business sentiment and underlined the hope of the industry of a stronger market in the forthcoming months. Diamond World reports on the fifth largest show in the world. Rarely do shows start off with the kind of bang that the IIJS 2010 did. There were crowds milling round the halls from Day 1, and it was a trend which continued through the duration of the show.

The show was inaugurated by Chhagan BhujbalDeputy Chief Minister of the State of Maharashtra, and Anil Mukim, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt of India in the presence of leading members of the industry from India and abroad, exhibitors, and the media.

Speaking on the occasion, Vasant Mehta, chairman of The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council, organizer of the show, said, “Today, India’s gem and jewellery industry requires little introduction to the world. We are the undisputed leaders in the cut and polished diamond segment, having strengthened our position in the last few years to take a share of almost 70% in value terms and 85% in volume terms of the world market. As an industry, we have been coming up with a stellar performance year after year.”

He attributed the performance of the industry and the heights to which it had reached to “the overall approach that the industry has had since its early days in the late 1960s”. Elaborating he said, “Entrepreneurs of this industry have believed in being at the cutting edge and have been leaders in adopted the latest technology, be it in the diamond or the jewellery arena.”

The Deputy CM was fulsome in his praise for the industry and the GJEPC for their efforts in building up the IIJS so successfully. “They have worked hard to create a platform from which to build strong trading relations in gems and jewellery,” Bhujbal said. He went on to say that Maharashtra was extremely proud of the industry which contributed a significant share of 56% of the state’s exports. “The importance of this industry is evident from the fact that the Govenrnment of India has bestowed upon the show the‘Made in India’ status.”

Haresh Zaveri in his concluding remarks said that the show has been generating extremely good business. Last year a survey by the IMRB revealed that business worth Rs. 3400 crore (Rs 34, 000,000,000) was conducted. “This year we are projecting that business will touch Rs 4000 crore,” Zaveri said. He said also, that the Council was innovating and adding new features each year to the show.. Notable amongst these this year, was the introduction of a loosed stones section, and the gallery displaying a sampling from export oriented jewellery companies to facilitate buyers to reach the right suppliers.
The fair organizers reported that the show attracted a total of 32,823 visitors including 28, 589 domestic trade visitors and around 2329 overseas visitors. The show had pavilions of six leading countries including Belgium, Thailand, Israel, Italy, Turkey and UAE, making this a truly global sourcing event. There were trade delegations from China, Malaysia, Japan, Iran, UAE, Syria, Morocco, Libya, Bangladesh, Russia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, UK, Hungary and Poland too.

“The IIJS this year has been successful beyond belief - in terms of footfalls as also the satisfaction expressed by the exhibitors and buyers alike,” said Haresh Zaveri, Convener, Exhibition Sub-Committee, GJEPC. “Over the past week, we have received calls from various industry players expressing their delight. IIJS 2010 saw 25% new visitors being registered. I would also like to point out that the magnitude of IIJS is such today that exhibitors prepare for two to three months before the show to create new lines and collections, buyers stop purchasing as they await the greatest sourcing event ever seen.”

The recognition for the show and the industry is evident from the ‘Made in India’ tag conferred by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry (MoC&I) Government of India. This means that the IIJS is making its contribution to building the “Brand India” label, a direction which the Indian government has chalked out.

The response from the floor was enthusiastic. Again in a rare first, one did not meet a single person who did not have a smile on their face or by even a flicker indicated disappointment at the show. It was rah-rah all the way.

Nitin Goenka, Managing Director of Goenka Diamonds and Jewels Ltd, said that his company received “very good response”. He said, “There were less window shoppers. Most people came to buy.” He observed that there was a strong demand for larger diamonds and that there seemed to be a shortage of goods in those sizes. The best moving items were in the 2ct to 3 ct range. “There should now be some development on the B2C front,” he said, implying that he was looking forward to the season’s sales at the retail level.

Ghanshyam Dholakia, Managing Director, Hari Krishna Exports was vocal in his appreciation. “It was an excellent show,” he enthused. “The Hari Krishna Group was exhibiting both loose diamonds and our Kisna brand of jewellery, and we got a very good response for both.” Kisna especially did exceedingly well. “There were buyers from all over India from towns and cities that one may not even have heard of,” Dholakia continued. There is unbelievable potential in this country from growth in this sector. We saw a 100% increase in business at the IIJS this year. Now the only thing the show needs is more space. There is a demand for at least 500 more stall to be accommodated.

The Antwerp Pavilion also found a lucrative market in India. Said Mia De Dooy, Senior Manager Marketing and Head of Department, AWDC (Antwerp World Diamond Centre), “I thought that the IIJS show was the best since the start of the organisation of the Antwerp Diamond Pavilions. Although the Antwerp Diamond Pavilion was in its new location together with the other country pavilions, the exhibitors were pleased with the traffic in the area. Also the companies selling stones of 1 ct and up were very pleased with the sales results.”

De Dooy was also struck by the overall mood at the fair. “The show was buzzing with life and excitement,” she said. “The academic program was very interesting with diverse subjects. We also visited several factories through the show's intermediary and these visits were highly interesting. The shows' premises improved a lot compared to the former years but there is still room for improvement such as rest rooms and restaurants. What we appreciated very much were the jewellery shows in the evening. These events proved once more that India's economy is going forward at an impressive pace.”
But the bane of the Mumbaiites also got to the visitors – “The only aspect that was rather negative was the traffic in the city,” said De Dooy. “It takes too long to travel from one point to the other and this often forces you to stay where you are. I am looking forward to next year's show and hope to see an even more developed event!”

Retailers who came to buy were also happy at the sourcing opportunities at the show. “We have also placed orders for samples in various categories – loose diamonds, traditional jewellery, gift items, international style jewellery and more. Clearly the market has revived,” said Nitin Vijay of Guptasons Jewellers, Delhi
Pratap Kamath, CEO, Abaharan Timeless Jewellery of Bangalore remarked “Bangalore is a very cosmopolitan market and is seeing good demand. The consumer there buys everything from high end to regular fashion jewellery. So a show like this satisfies my requirements as I get a chance to see a huge variety across every category and from across india.”

“The variety of jewellery is really amazing and I was able to find whatever I was looking for which is quite a wide range, as we have different types of clients across our showrooms – two three-storied outlets in Akola, one in JewelWorld at Mumbai as well as a presence in Nagpur,” said Nitin Khandelwal of Khandelwal Jewellers, Akola.

Perhaps in deference to the high prices of gold, there was an attempt to also offer a range of lightweight jewllery, though there was a preponderance of chunky gold jewellery as well. The Indian national bird, the peacock found expression in many a company’s creative urge. Peacocks in various shapes and sizes were to be seen in many windows – from designer Farah Khan to award winners Ansaa Jewellery to several others.

The evenings were filled with networking events, glamorous shows and parties, led by the official closing show of the India International Week held prior to the IIJS. “The Best of the Best”, depicting the collections of all participants in the IIJW, held the audiences in rapture as one scintillating piece of jewellery after the other was put on display in a glittering ambience.

There was no doubt that the IIJS was a stunning success. The only challenge which remains to be conquered is that of an adequate exhibition centre. Two aspects that most people commented on was the need for more, additional space, and of a exhibition ground with better facilities for ancillary aspects like parking, approach etc. Hopefully that is something that the industry will be able to tackle sooner than later.

Security Systems that Work

As if the excitement generated by the show was not enough, the final day of the show was marked by an incident of theft, discovered just as it was closing on the last day.

Around 889 carats of diamonds estimated to be worth Rs 6.6 crore were stolen from the Dalumi Diamonds booth. What was remarkable however was that the thieves, Mexican nationals, were apprehended within 24 hours and brought back to Mumbai by the Mumbai police.

What helped the police crack the case so rapidly was the security system put in place by the show authorities, both in terms of hardware and procedures..

Jaymit Security Systems Pvt. Ltd, the official agency of IIJS from last 10 consecutive years, had placed 500 CCTV cameras at different locations of the entire venue. The cameras record round the clock i.e. during and after the show. There is a CCTV monitoring room with about 30 Monitors displaying the live footage from the floor manned by monitored live by the CISF, Police and Private Security Agencies.

It was the footage from these cameras that helped identify the thieves and to get their passport details at the time of entry. So much so that one of the Jaymit team even with the help of C ISF and police zeroed onto an unmatched footage of the culprits from entry till exit and transferring of the diamond box from one to another bag.

It was the case amongst similar cases which has been solved and the thieves apprehended in the shortest possible time and has earned kudos for the Mumbai Police from all over the world.