Turkey’s jewellery industry received a huge boost with government decisions taken in the early 1980s to liberalize the gold trade and foreign exchange, according to the Turkish Jewelers Association (TAJ). The TAJ promotes the export of Turkish jewellery, advances the interests of the Turkish jewellery sector internationally, and supports the activities of the Turkish jewellery export sector.
Well-known Jewellery Brands
Gilan
The family story and its love affair with
luxury begins in the town of Gilan, where
four generations ago, the great- great- great
grandmother of the founders had designed
and sewn tailor-made dresses for the
Ottoman pashas. It picks up again, in
1980, where the brothers Muharrem
and Ferhan Gilan opened the first 1.5
sq mtrs jewellery store. Their hereditary
passion for design and luxury led them
to move to Istanbul and to set the basis of
Gilan which is a world known jewellery
house among socialites and the affluent
today.
Urart
Inspired by the history of
Turkey, fine jewellery brand
Urart artfully fuses ancient
styles with modern motifs and technology. From the Ottoman,
Byzantine and Seljuk cultures to the
ancient Sumerians and Phrygians, Urart’s
collections often focus on one specific
period, exploring the themes and motifs
of the past through decidedly modern
jewellery.
Atasay Jewellery
Atasay Gold is the leading producer,
exporter and importer of gold jewellery in
Turkey. Atasay Jewelry, a company with roots
in the Turkish Republic’s formative years, has
been a leader in the Turkish jewellery sector
for three generations. From its founding
in Çivril, Denizli, in 1937, Atasay has risen
to become a leader for the transformation
of Turkey’s jewellery-making from small
business operations into an industry.
Altınbaş
Altınbas, launched in 1975, now has a
number of locations across Istanbul and
offers a wide variety of styles to suit any taste.
Altınbas collections, by the expert design
team, the team, following world trends and
innovations, and Turkish motifs from history,
emerges as an aesthetic interpretation of the
universal dating back to the line. ISO 9001
quality certified production, Turkey’s largest
gold factory with a closed area of 15
thousand square meters in Istanbul,
Beylikdüzü, equipped with the
world standards and the latest
technology, is taking place in
Altınbas Factory.
Jewellery Demand
According to the Gold Demand
Trends Q1 2017 report, after the
usual Q4 uplift, demand in Turkey
sank to a four-year low of 7.7t. Continued
currency weakness in Turkey meant that the
price of gold in lira rose more than in any
other currency during Q1 (+12 per cent),
undermining jewellery demand. The fragile
economic and political conditions that have
beset Turkey over recent years were again
a key factor behind the weak Q1 number.
The mid-April referendum on changing
Turkey’s constitution from a parliamentary to
a presidential republic weighed on demand
for the sector. And the outlook for the
market is weak as the local price
remains prohibitively high for
many at a time of deteriorating
economic indicators.
Turkey also witnessed far lower levels of recycling during the most recent quarter. Price and currency moves played their part here too, but the constitutional referendum was also a factor: the populace was reluctant to sell its gold holdings in the face of an uncertain political outcome.
Trends
According to a report published in
2016 by Euromonitor International, in 2016
overall value sales of jewellery demonstrated a
15 per cent current value decline, as a result
of rising gold prices and political instability
in the country. The terrorist incidents in
Ankara and Istanbul in 2016 had an effect
on the jewellery industry as the people were
averse of going out, especially to crowded
places and shopping centres. This decline in
the overall category stemmed from the 22 per
cent current value decline in fine jewellery,
which accounted for a 72 per cent value share
within jewellery. Gold is purchased not only as
an accessory, but also as a means of investment
in Turkey. This means that people buy gold
when gold prices are at their lowest, and they
sell gold when prices go up. In 2016 Turks sold
the gold they owned rather than buying new
gold accessories, since in the first quarter of
2016 the unit price of gold was considerably
higher than at the end of 2015.
Competitive Landscape
In 2015 jewellery remained very fragmented
with small independent local companies,
covered under “others”, accounting for a 69
per cent value share. The leading chained
jewellery companies were Atasay Kuyumculuk
San ve Tic and Altinbas Kuyumculuk Ith Ihr
San Tic, with 7 per cent and 6 per cent value
shares respectively in 2015. These companies
are established in the market and are active
in terms of marketing, states the Euromonitor
report.
Promoting Business
According to reports, the Embassy of Sri
Lanka in Ankara, Turkey in collaboration with
the Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka
and Export Development Board (EDB) of Sri
Lanka, organised a promotional programme
on “Business and Investment Opportunities
in Sri Lanka” from 15th to 18th May 2017 in
Turkey. The recent event was organized to
make a concerted effort to achieve the target
in the desired time frame, while cashing in on
the conducive business environment that has
been growing steadily since the end of the civil
war. During the event, the Istanbul Jewellery
Exporters Association expressed its keenness
to collaborate in joint ventures involving Sri
Lanka companies, which are engaged in the
sector. Since Turkey is the second biggest
jewellery manufacture in the World, it offers
an immense trading potential to Sri Lanka’s
precious and semi-precious stones.
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