ROUNDUP: Hong Kong International Jewellery Show in full swing

Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the 36th HKTDC Hong Kong International Jewellery Show opened yesterday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). The five-day show (28 Feb to 4 March) has attracted 2,615 exhibitors from 38 countries and regions, among which Jordan, Latvia and Liechtenstein are taking part for the first time. Also new this year are pavilions from Mexico and Indonesia, bringing a new dimension to the event. The show presents a diverse array of finished jewellery, from the rarest and most luxurious to the exclusive collections of internationally renowned brands, as well as works from emerging designers, amber jewellery and wedding jewellery. Meanwhile, the sixth HKTDC Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show, focusing on jewellery raw materials, opened on Tuesday (26 Feb) at AsiaWorld-Expo and runs until Saturday (2 March). Together, the two shows have attracted a record of more than 4,600 exhibitors from 48 countries and regions and continue to form the world’s largest jewellery marketplace. HKTDC deputy executive director, Benjamin Chau, said: “By bringing together exhibitors from all corners of the world and showcasing the finest jewellery and jewellery raw materials, the two HKTDC shows serve not only as a one-stop promotion and sourcing platform for the industry, but also make Hong Kong a top jewellery trading and sourcing hub for buyers globally.” He added: “In the midst of the current economic instability, these jewellery trade shows help brace the industry for the challenges ahead.” This year, with support from the Japan External Trade Organisation and the Consulate-General of Japan in Hong Kong, the HKTDC has collaborated with the Japan Pearl Exporters’ Association and the Japan Pearl Promotion Society to invite Japan as the shows’ partner country for the first time, highlighting the country’s top-quality jewellery. Mr Chau pointed out that Japanese jewellery items, and the country’s pearl products in particular, have long been coveted in the market. The Japan Pearl Exporters’ Association and the Japan Pearl Promotion Society have set up a Japan Pearl Jewellery Pavilion and Japan Pearl Pavilion at the Jewellery Show and Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show, respectively. About 130 exhibitors in the two pavilions are promoting Japan’s cultured pearls and pearl jewellery to buyers from around the world. Other than regular fine pearl jewellery, exhibitors also present the rare Tsushima Blue and Tsushima Green pearls, bringing new business opportunities to the trade. A number of new themed zones have been added to the Jewellery Show this year, including the Avenue of Jewellery Creators set up by the Asia Pacific Creator Association to introduce jewellery designers from Hong Kong and Mainland China, with a particular focus on presenting culture, art and creativity from across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Pavilions from emerging markets such as Mexico and Indonesia are making their debut appearance to feature jewellery with a distinctive local flavour. Among the new exhibitor groups in 2019 are Donghai, a county in Jiangsu province in the mainland famous for its crystal products, and Dongguan, a Guangdong city known for its fine silver jewellery. The Hong Kong Jewellery & Jade Manufacturers Association and Italian Exhibition Group SpA are collaborating to present the “T-GOLD+METS” Pavilion, featuring professional jewellery and watchmaking machinery along with jewellery-making equipment, technology and supplies from international exhibitors. Other group pavilions are from France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Peru, Portugal, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and more. Various themed zones have been set up to meet the sourcing needs of buyers, with the Hall of Fame continuing to attract some of the world’s most famous jewellery brands. Lao Feng Xiang (Booth No: CEC 3B-D06), a well-known brand in the mainland, brings to the show one of its latest gold necklace collections. The Feather of Phoenix − Ling Yu, which uses an innovative colour filament drawing technique and combines Chinese art and culture with exquisite craftsmanship. Other participating brands include Italy’s Giorgio Visconti (Booth No: CEC 3B-D14) and Japan’s Kuwayama (Booth No: CEC 3B-E08), as well as new participants such as Hong Kong’s Asia Star (Booth No: CEC 3B-F10), Japan’s Kawamura (Booth No: CEC 3B-E13), Russia’s Kabarovsky (Booth No: CEC 3B-E11) and the UK’s JT Jewellery Theatre (Booth No: CEC 3B-D18). Riding on the positive response to its debut last year, the IT Solutions for Jewellery zone returns in 2019 to show how the latest technologies can help jewellery companies increase their operational efficiency to stand out from the crowd. For example, the smart display shelves developed by Hong Kong’s Megasoft Limited (Booth No: CEC 5B-D24) use smart sensors to collect customer preference data to facilitate sales and bolster security. Jewellery chip technology developed by another Hong Kong company, Wenwen Technology (Booth No: CEC 5B-E35), can turn luxury jewellery into tools for communication, messaging or even emergency alerts. Wenwen’s waterproof smart chips can be embedded into high-density ceramics and gemstones, or set onto jewellery pieces such as bracelets, necklaces and earrings. Various other exhibitors introduce the latest management technologies for the industry, including solutions for jewellery designing, production and e-commerce, and Internet of Things (IoT) equipment suitable for use by jewellery companies. The Hall of Extraordinary returns to the show, showcasing masterpieces from some 100 companies and continuing to be a crowd-pleaser. On display are a collection of striking, valuable and rare jewellery pieces. Paraiba tourmalines, considered the “king of tourmalines”, have been very much sought after in recent years. Dehres (Booth No: CEC GH-B02), an internationally renowned jewellery brand, is attracting attention with an exquisite ring adorned with a nine-carat Mozambique paraiba tourmaline stone with a deep blue hue. Jadmily Jewelry Corporation Limited, a Hong Kong company (Booth No: CEC GH-BO5), presents a jade necklace valued at HK$64 million. The oval centre stone of the necklace is a jadeite cabochon, weighing more than 50g, that was extracted from a top-tier ancient mine in Myanmar. Unique Brilliant Limited, another Hong Kong exhibitor (Booth No: CEC GH-C32), presents a 24.13-carat oval-cut padparadscha sapphire ring valued at more than HK$7 million.