ICA Congress to Focus on Emerging Markets

Breaking into or expanding business in emerging markets will be top of the agenda at the International Colored Gemstone Association’s (ICA) 11th Congress in Bangkok in February.

“Our industry has been faced with a myriad of changes, that, if tackled sensibly, will offer endless opportunities to grow our products’ market share,” said ICA President Joseph M. Menzie. “Therefore we will be offering participants, ICA members and non-members alike, information on new markets, new technologies, new players in the global arena and new ways to promote colored gemstones.

The congress will feature a presentation by ICA Ambassador to Portugal Rui Galopim de Carvalho on the promotion of colored gemstones as a lifestyle gift, with Japan’s 2003 ruby promotion as the featured case study, and on Sri Lanka’s successful branding of its sapphires by “country of origin”.

Meanwhile, the subject of the production and consumption of colored gemstones will be discussed from three different points of view - upstream, midstream and downstream.

For the upstream view, presentations will look at Madagascar, East Africa and South America. For the midstream, there will be a presentation on “adding value” through quality cutting in Idar-Oberstein, Germany, and a look at Thailand’s emergence as a gemstone superpower.

ICA Ambassador to China Zhengfa Liu and several Far Eastern colored gemstone dealers will offer a downstream perspective featuring up-to-date information on the structure, workings and size of the jewelry market in China, rapidly becoming a major global jewelry market.

Other emerging markets to be highlighted include Dubai, which is aiming to become a regional hub for the diamond industry, and the rest of the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Eastern Europe and Russia.

The final day of the conference, from February 18-21, will focus on the ways in which the Internet and other advanced communications technologies have influenced the gemstone trade, and participants will learn about the selling opportunities new technology offers.