The first edition of GJS 2022 was declared open when chief guests of honour Union Minister of State for Railways, Coal & Mines, Raosaheb Patil Danve, along with GJC Chairman, Ashish Pethe; Vice Chairman and GJS Convener GJS, Saiyam Mehra; Co-conveners GJS, Avinash Gupta and Nilesh Shobhawat; Founder & Chairman GJC, Ashok Minawala, Chairman of GJEPC, Colin Shah; Director at WGC, Ajit Mauskar and Chief Business Officer at BSE; Sameer Patil, National President of IBJA, Prithviraj Kothari and other important delegates lit the auspicious lamp on April 3 and cut the big, fat, red ribbon followed by much cheer!

Ashish Pethe, Chairman of the Council then expressed the great happiness he felt at that moment. He said, “It is now here that a collective dream that lasted almost 2 decades has come true. The entire Indian jewellery industry is under one single roof. We, as jewellers should engage not only with the government but also other associations. Let us all drive together under this roof, in the same direction – the direction of progress.”

Chief Guest of honour Raosaheb Danve, Minister of Railways Coal & Mines asked, “I am a minister of black coal, I wonder why I was invited to this event of glitter and glamour? This parishad is for gold and I am for coal! India a country of poor farmers and when we go to buy gold we don’t see people’s names, we look for trust in the hundred-year old jeweller’s family name. Trust is worth more than gold. That’s why hallmarking was introduced and I recall the many meetings I had earlier with the Council members.”

The GJC catalogue was launched as Saiyam Mehra, Vice Chairman GJC and Converner GJS took to the podium and said, “If the government has fed 80 crore people during the pandemic, even the Domestic Council has taken care of 10,000 karigars by depositing Rs 1,500 in their accounts during Covid.” Interestingly he compared Council members to characters form the Mahabharat and said, Ashok Minawala was Pitahmaha, Nitin was Krishna, Avinash was Bhim and Arjun together, Nilesh played Nakul and Sahdev and Ashish Pethe was Udhishthir. He then requested the Union Minister of Rails to create a special car or train for easy transport of gold, as transport of gold via train is not legal. “Do create problems for anti-social elements, but spare us for safe transit of gems and jewellery!”

Indian Jeweller(IJ)’ Show Review and Highlights: GJS 2022

· 1^st edition of GJS brings positivity amidst looming low season due to volatility due to unstable gold and diamond prices. With 650+ booths, this was the first exhibition in JIO World Convention Centre in Mumbai.

· Industry was overwhelmed by the venue, it was par with any international convention centre in terms of facilities, space and interiors. Cars dropping till the porch, massive parking, hassle free entry and exit. Big relief for visitors and exhibitors for food and hygienic washrooms.

· Day 1 started off with good response for gold jewellery and continued till day 3. Though quantity were less, but exhibitors were satisfied considering low and volatile season.

· Day 2 and 3 saw major turnout of quality buyers, which brought decent orders to other segments i.e. diamond, antique and jadau/polki jewellery participants.

· Many visitors share the opinion that there should be more and better located help desk. Show floor needs to be segmented and planned better from buyers perspective.

· Hall 2 - Jasmine also can be allotted with companies of other products not just be specific to Gold Jewellery.

The domestic industry was eagerly anticipating “Our Own Show”, GJS 2022 with hopes of generating internal business opportunities, especially during the festive season. At the event, there was excitement galore. Trader and businessmen from all across the nation had planned trips to attend this event. Ashish Vijaywargi from Vaishnavi Gems & Jewels, manufacturers, wholesalers and exporters of diamond jewellery said the show was good. “Business response was excellent and better than we expected.” Divyesh Mehta from Laxmi Jewellery had attractive wedding sets with temple motifs on display. When asked how was business, he said aloud in one word, GJS is “excellent”. Mahavir Bohra from Aabhushan Jewellers was among the first buyers present at GJS 2022. He said, “The show is beautiful, well organized and I love the venue. We hope to see more jewellers with modern designs and antique jewellery. Loved shopping here and bought a lot of stuff for our store!” ABS Sanjjay from AVR SwarnaMahal too looks content with what the show had to offer. He said, “We were able to notice a lot of curated and designer jewellery at the show. The location is nice, the experience is good and we’re looking to here more often!” Finally, Mind Speak 2.2 seminars and talk session got attention of many visitors.