The {{25th edition of the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Watch Fair}} was held with extra glitter and exuberance befitting its Silver Jubilee, at two world-class venues, AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE) and the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), from September 23 to 28 and September 25 to 29 respectively. It very well qualified to be a double extravaganza! %% This global event endeavoured to be the ultimate showcase for the world’s most resplendent gems and jewellery. More than 2,500 exhibitors from 48 countries and regions occupied Halls 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7, Mezzanines 1 and 2, the Grand Hall and the Expo Drive Hall at the HKCEC, and Halls 3, 5, 6 and 7 at AWE, covering a total of 80,000 mt2. of exhibition space. Buyers at both venues feasted their eyes on a wide array of products, from fine finished jewellery to polished diamonds and gemstones, as well as all varieties of pearls, jade and jadeite, jewellery timepieces, jewellery packaging and display materials, plus jewellery-making equipment, tools and machinery. Trade associations and publications including the Journal House notables from Jaipur, and others from all over the world also participated in the Fair. %% This popular trade fair held in the second half of the year attracts an increasing number of buyers each year. In 2007, in addition to regular visitors, more than 12,800 buyers from 111 countries and regions had pre-registered, contributing to the overwhelming response to the Fair.

2007-Important Milestone:

“The jewellery exhibition industry is very competitive. To lead the industry, continual improvement and innovation are indispensable,” said Director of Jewellery Fairs for CMP Asia, Celine Lau. She added, ”The 25th anniversary of the Fair is an important milestone that could only have been achieved with our accumulated experience and professionalism plus great support from the global precious industry. As organizer, we do everything possible to keep abreast of new developments in order to create more business opportunities. The breakthrough of holding the Fair at two venues is providing more exhibition space for more exhibitors and greater choice for buyers, we have another new arrangement this year: the Fair is opening in AWE two days earlier than at HKCEC, allowing buyers to have sufficient time to browse products at both AWE and HKCEC, plan their purchase strategies and contact new suppliers.”

19 National & Group Pavilions:

At this year’s Fair there were 19 national and group pavilions representing: Antwerp, Brazil, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, mainland China, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United States and the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA), all showcasing different styles of glittering jewellery products. %% Pavilions classified according to categories were:

Diamonds & Diamond Jewellery Pavilion:

Highlighted sparkling high-quality diamonds, mainly from Antwerp and Israel.

Gemstones Pavilion:

An array of unpolished and polished gemstones and gemstone jewellery was on show.

Fine Design Pavilion:

Focused on rare and invaluable fine jewellery, precious jewellery, diamonds, gemstones and pearls.

Hong Kong Pavilion:

Pearls & Pearl Jewellery Pavilion:

More than 1,000 Hong Kong exhibitors showcased their products, illustrating high levels of workmanship and design.

The biggest pearl fair in the world featured companies displaying a variety of pearls, from the finest South Sea and Tahitian to Akoya and Freshwater pearls.

Silver Jewellery Pavilion:

Following its successful debut last year, the Silver Pavilion once again offered outstanding variety of silver jewellery.

Jadeite Gallery

Showcased translucent and flawless jade and jadeites. %% At the Show, an exclusive diamond pavilion was created at the Expo Drive, to facilitate diamond dealings. Amongst the products that received an enthusiastic response were the 2+ carat diamonds, with more than 50% buyers of 2+ct loose stones being Indians. The high number of Indian buyers can be attributed to the removal of the import duty on loose diamonds, a boon for the Indian industry. %% Colored gemstones too made their mark with emerald in high demand, and sapphires valued at sky high prices. Most of the traders were apparently confused about new US policy involved for selling irradiated Topaz in US. The jewellery display was emphasized with a Grand Pavillion exhibiting some worthy collections of fine jewellery. High-end jewellery too proved an attraction for the buyers. %% Another key highlight at the Show was the launch of TanzaniteOne and IGI’s Tanzanite Grading Services, along with Signity launching its Gem Vision-2008. The Israel pavilion took a pause after the first two days due to a Jewish festival held during the Show days. %% The Hong Kong Fair is clearly a big success for diamond sellers. Walking around, the Hall of Diamonds, dealers reported strong sales. %% Demand for bigger gemstones of lower colors was hot. Buyers were willing for some compromise as the higher colors were scarce, hence they looked for the next best offering.

Indians Carry the Cake!

The strongest sellers and buyers were Indians, obviously looking to satisfy, among others, a growing local market. %% In Hall 5, where more diamond traders were located together with many jewellers, some dealers reported a slightly softer sales situation, though those who came prepared were reaping the rewards.

Even Early Departure!

Sales in the Fine Design Pavilion were strong across the board. One dealer even joked that he was packing up and leaving early – as he nearly sold his entire stock in two days! %% According to Ankit Shah of Ankit Gems, “With the construction work going on at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, shuffling of the stalls was done this year. All the loose diamonds stalls were placed together in the Expo Drive Hall so only serious diamond buyers came to the Hall. %% The show was very good for us. We achieved better than projected sales and huge number of enquiries; our customer database also increased. Our major sales in VVS and VS goods came from the customers of Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia, China and Taiwan. Customers demanded more and more of triple Excellent and Ideal make certified stones. %% The other major factor that helped the success of the show was the growth experienced by the stock markets of Hong Kong and China. %% Overall all loose diamond exhibitors were happy because of brisk buying by the Indian and Chinese retailers of 3ct plus diamonds in larger quantities. The hike mentioned in Rapaport Diamond Report in 4-5 caraters didn't affect the sales and proved better for the Israeli diamond Industry.”