Numbers Increase at Hong Kong Show
By Mick Elmore · Bangkok Correspondent

The September Hong Kong fair drew a record number of buyers.

HONG KONG — The Hong Kong Jewellery & Watch Fair, held September 25-29 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, attracted record numbers for the 20th anniversary show. A total of 33,167 buyers from 106 countries attended, an increase of 24.3 percent over the September 2001 show and nearly six times the number that came to the first fair, organized in 1983.

Many exhibitors said they went with cautious to low expectations, but were generally pleased with selling results. Others claimed that, although the expansive show venue was crowded, "traffic doesn't necessarily mean sales."

Still, the show ended on a high note, and the relief from Hong Kong dealers was almost palatable after a bad year in 2001. Most of the 1,735 exhibitor booths saw enough sales to keep them happy.

"Our business was extremely good. We met a lot of new buyers from Europe, the United States, Japan, and Hong Kong. They loved our blue topaz and tourmaline," said Amit Dugar, president of RMC Gems Thai Co. Ltd.

"This show is very good. Last year it was not so good, as everybody knows. That was global. But at the end of the year, Hong Kong was already picking up," Louis Lo, chairman of the Gemmological Association of Hong Kong, told Colored Stone.

He added that since buyers from America bought less last year, this year they are replenishing their stock.

According to fair organizers, American visitors totaled 1,592, a 131.6 percent increase from last year, when the show fell a couple weeks after the September 11 attacks.

Other top visiting countries included Taiwan (1,424 visitors), Japan (1,255), Korea (1,003), and the Philippines (901).

"Visitors' active participation in the fair proves again that the fair is Asia's definitive marketplace for jewelry sellers and buyers to do business," said Celine Lau, jewellery fairs manager with show organizer CMP Asia.

The surge in tourists from mainland China is another factor in the fair's growth; jewelry is often a must-purchase item when they visit Hong Kong. Visitors from mainland China increased 34.6 percent over last year to 2,254.

Like most jewelry shows this year, buyers at Hong Kong were looking for something new with a good value. High-end jewelry was not the most popular for sales, but new jewelry designs at the Fine Design Pavilion turned many heads. Pearls caught a lot of attention, fueled by two pearl auctions that took place during the fair — the Paspaley South Sea Pearl auction and the Robert Wan Tahiti Perles auction.

The 2003 Hong Kong Jewellery & Watch Fairs are scheduled for June 19-22 and September 17-21.

For expanded coverage of the Hong Kong fair plus related news, see the January/February issue of Colored Stone.

Posted: October 11, 2002