Mixed Sentiment On 2nd Day Of September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair

(IDEX Online News) – As the September 15-19 Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, a critical barometer of industry sentiment ended its second day today (Tuesday), comments from diamond exhibitors were largely positive even though many said that potential buyers were still largely window shopping.

The fair, at the AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE), near Hong Kong airport, is for exhibitors of diamonds, jewelry raw materials, equipment and packaging, while the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) plays hosts to exhibitors of finished jewelry from September 17 to 21.

Ahead of the Christmas sales season, the fair's results are widely watched for buyers' intentions and orders and whether sellers feel under pressure to reduce prices to move stock.

At Shrenuj, director Milind Jhaveri said buyers were largely "checking the market". He said the September show was known as one where business was carried out, and people were likely waiting for the last minute before placing orders. He said he expected to see customers coming to buy later in the show. A spokesman for Avi Paz Diamonds made similar comments.

Meanwhile, at Eurostar Diamond Traders NV, a spokesman said the first two days had been positive. "The next two days will be for decision-making," he added. "People are looking and checking, but in the end they will have to make firm decisions and we expect them to come to us."

At Dvash Diamonds, Meirav Dvash said that although there were many general enquiries about stock and prices, the firm's solid customers had already placed orders on Monday and Tuesday.

In the loose gemstones sector, Clement Sabbagh, director of Sabbagh Brothers, said his firm had seen sales of "hot items" such as tourmalines, aquamarine and fine opals in 10 carats and larger. "I am happy with the first two days of the show. Prices of tourmalines have risen sharply recently, so there is some resistance

"We have seen the bigger buyers taking part. There is less foot traffic but the people who are buying are buying large amounts of goods. I actually miss the large number of smaller buyers who buy fewer items but who used to come to buy year after year We have not seen them so much this year.

"People are not waiting around to see if prices will drop. They know exactly what they want and they are placing firm orders," he added.

Now in its 32nd edition, the Fair is hosting close to 3,700 exhibitors from 49 countries and regions. This year, more than 60 new exhibitors are participating in the Fair, making this year’s edition the biggest in the Fair’s history. Fair organiser UBM Asia Ltd expects more than 52,000 buyers in the two venues’ exhibition space totaling over 135,000 square meters.

There are 1,342 Hong Kong companies participating in the two venues, accounting for around 36 percent of the Fair exhibitors, while Thailand is the largest overseas pavilion with 388 Thai companies exhibiting in the two venues. 

Among European countries, Italy has the biggest contingent of exhibitors with 235 companies. The United States has 231 exhibitors.

There are 22 group pavilions in both venues, from Belgium, Brazil, China, Columbia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United States, and the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA).