IIJS this year is superlative; to bring remarkable improvement in sector

20 Aug '09

7 min read

Carrying forward its undeniable success over the years, the India International Jewellery Show (IIJS) completed 26 years of glorified run as it concluded the five day B2B event that was held at the NSE grounds, Goregaon, Mumbai. Rightly perceived as Asia's biggest Jewellery Show; IIJS provided various exhibitors & participants a niche platform to showcase their unique and glorious creations and a massive networking, trading and business platform.

The event was inaugurated by Shri Ashok Shankarrao Chavan, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Despite the economic slowdown the participation at IIJS this year was superlative with a turnout of 24,050 domestic visitors, 1750 international visitors and delegates. Spread across 46,000 sqm of space, IIJS'09 hosted 704 exhibitors, 1553 stalls displaying jewellery, loose stones, machinery and allied sections. It also comprised of country pavilions such as Dubai, Israel, Turkey, Thailand, Belgium, Italy & others.

Commenting on the overwhelming response, Mr. Vasant Mehta, Chairman GJEPC said “IIJS helped its participants to showcase their versatility in the trade and provided a unique opportunity to form winning partnerships around the world. We received tremendous response from international and domestic players and this show has provided the much needed boost to the Gem & Jewellery Industry that will bring about remarkable improvement in the sector.”

IIJS is used as a platform to effectively network by leading industry bodies such as World Gold Council, Platinum Guild International and diamond companies Rio Tinto and the Diamond Trading Company. Through this platform, GJEPC motivates more and more buyers from jewellery markets around the world to come to India's biggest jewellery show and see for themselves why India is the world's fastest growing jewellery centre. Various overseas delegations from Iran, Hungary, Bangladesh, Thailand, China, Romania, Poland & Russia participated and the over 1050 overseas visitors were from USA, UAE, UK, Australia, Belgium, Egypt, Fiji, Germany, Czech Republic, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan among others.

Business was in full swing at the International pavilions at IIJS. Popular sizes that buyers sought at the Antwerp pavilion were between 1 and 3 carats, and princess cuts were hugely popular followed by the traditional rounds and pears. All the eight exhibitors in the Italian pavilion were happy with the response and had in fact come prepared with designs to suit sensibilities by retaining the fashion element that Italian jewellery. The exhibitors were keen to sell jewellery in India despite the high import duties and IIJS was perceived as an investment and a great marketing opportunity. Even a couple of first time exhibitors in the pavilion expressed satisfaction and indicated that they had received a lot of enquiries.

A series of seminars were conducted by prominent personalities from the industry covering issues such as Successful jewellery retailing in rural India, natural colored diamonds and advantages, lessons from China's gold jewellery growth, diamond treatments, e-selling, brand valuation, Kaizen and how can it help retail, best business practices etc. Albert Cheng, World Gold Council, Managing Director for the Far-East, provided some interesting insights into the Chinese success story in gold jewellery retailing at the seminar. Account to Mr. Cheng in a short span of time, Chinese consumers had become one of the world's leading consumers of the yellow metal, thanks to the liberalization of the gold market in 2002 coupled with the country's booming economic growth.

Elaborating on the key jewellery trends in China, Mr. Cheng said that the biggest buyers of 18k carat gold jewellery were individualistic, young, affluent consumers in major urban centers which are being specifically targeted by the WGC's advertising campaign titled K Gold. He observed that the recent increase in demand for 24 karat gold jewellery after the financial crisis reinforced the role of gold as a “store of wealth”.

At IIJS 2009, Donna Baker, Gemological Institute of America (GIA), President and CEO launched a new diamond sealing service; which seals the diamond with its key grading information in a credit card-sized, tamper-resistant package.

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