September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair Steady, not Spectacular

The boom in demand that had been expected at Asia’s largest gem and jewellery show failed to materialize. But exhibitors who had come well prepared did steady business, even if it fell short of their expectations, report Arpit Kala and Gunjan Jain. There were high expectations as members of the gem and jewellery trade converged on Hong Kong in mid September for Asia’s largest trade fair in the sector. After all, the March and June shows in the same city had seen robust demand far beyond what had been expected by the participants. However after almost a week of the exhibition, split this year across two venues and virtually two different shows, most returned home a trifle disappointed. For the anticipated boom had not come, even if business was steady enough to be deemed satisfactory.

The first part of the show began at the Asia World Expo on September 14 and focused mainly on loose diamonds and coloured gemstones, with some presence from machinery manufacturers and other ancillary sectors. While visitor traffic seemed strong on Day One, the momentum was not sustained over the next few days, leaving many with mixed feelings at the end.

The biggest change compared to last year was the relatively lower turnout from Chinese buyers. Many believe that the overlap with the dates of the Shenzhen show, and the problems at Customs while taking goods to China could be responsible for this. Others cited the timing of the show as a possible cause – too late for the major festivals in October and too early for subsequent ones. One exhibitor remarked that China had great potential and demand would surely pick up in a month or two.

As a result, the floor was dominated by Indian buyers – as one visitors remarked tongue-in-cheek, “It seemed like it was the IIJS Show taking place in our long dream about international convention centre!”

Hong Kong based companies, with a well established local buyer network reported good business, but international exhibitors felt the impact of the lower Chinese turnout.

Piyush Patel of Dharmanandan Diamonds, Mumbai, says, “The Chinese buyers were not there, but overall the show was ok for us. We had done our homework and had pre-fixed appointments on all days.”
Patel stated that diamonds in the 50 pointers to 2 ct range across all qualities did well and the demand was mainly from Chinese and Indian buyers. Visitor turnout from the Gulf countries and US was slow, he noted.

Other responses mirrored these views, and diamond prices remained strong, which is a good sign for the coming period. But it also meant that buyers who had come in search of bargains, had to return disappointed.
On the loose gemstone front, exhibitors noted that Columbian and Zambian emeralds showed moderate response, while tanzanite prices were stable despite the government ban on rough exports above 1 gm.

Hemant Phophaliya, AG COL. Inc, New York, told DW that the show had been satisfactory for his company which deals mainly in tanzanite, and as one of the largest manufacturers of the blue stone has demand from regions across the world. “In tanzanite all shapes are in and prices are stable,” he said, adding, “It is a beautiful stone that's why people buy it.”
According to him, the Caribbean markets are doing well, and Europe and Middle East have some demand, and while the first six months of this year were good in US, after the Vegas Show it has become very slow. In his opinion, “The next important market for tanzanite could be India. It is a substitute for sapphire which Indian don't generally wear. So, if tanzanite is marketed in India it could create a huge demand.”

Phase two commenced on September 17th at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) focusing entirely on finished jewellery. The huge location housed a massive 1,700 exhibitors, including over 100 Indian companies at the India Pavilion which had been designated as the Pavilion of the Year. The mega promotional effort undertaken by the GJEPC helped focus the 'Made in India' brand strongly in HK for the first time.

Here the first day was relatively dull with low visitor attendance, and though traffic to the halls picked up later, it definitely fell short of the general expectations. Nevertheless, well prepared exhibitors offering attractive new collections reported a positive outcome. Hong Kong and Bangkok companies who are strong on quality and design, attracted attention and also the India Pavilion, where many participant displayed silver, gemstone and kundan meena jewellery.

A few highlights included the new premium brand FengHuang by Karp Jewellery HK which the company also plans to launch in India soon, and launches of different web and mobile based applications by companies like Shree Ramkrishna Export, Dimexon, Dharmanandan Diamonds and others. Bridhichand Ghanshyamdas launched Ardishya, a fusion collection of jadaau with sapphires set in invisible setting. Speaking to DW, Rajiv Jain MD, Sambhav Gems Ltd . and then Vice-chairman, GJEPC said that the Council had spent a lot on promotions as they felt that the September HK Show is the most important for the industry. “We are trying to build an image for ‘Brand India’,” he noted, adding that the GJEPC hoped for a better location and bigger space at next year’s show so that many other member companies who had wished to participate could be accommodated.
“If that happens, India could do even better business,” he added.

An attraction to many were the jewellery parades that took place regularly which included Hong Kong Premier Pavilion Jewellery Parade, Lorenzo Jewelry Limited Jewellery Parade, Hong Kong Premier Pavilion Jewellery Parade, Fair Reception and Jewellery Parade of the “Pavilion of the Year – India”, ENLIGHTENED – Swarovski Elements.

Special display of exquisite creations like Buyers’ Favourite Jewelry Design Competition 2010 – Display of Final Entries, 2010 Gold Expressions Collection, The Gallery of Gioiello Italiano, GOLD UP by Oroarezzo – Vogue Gioiello in collaboration with Assicor-Arezzo Chamber of Commerce also held visitors interest.