Diamantaires Pack Up As Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair Ends At AWE
September 18, 14
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Always an important indicator of the way the diamond industry globally, and particularly in Asia, is thinking and acting, the show – which began on Monday – was for many exhibitors largely in line with what they had been expecting.
Expectations were not high, given a slowing Chinese market, a turgid European consumer environment, a re-emerging Indian market facing tough liquidity problems, and a flat to declining Japan. Geopolitical problems do not exactly lift the mood of the business, either, with problems from Europe to Russia and the Middle East.
What's the state of the market? Depends who you ask. At Kiran Gems, the show had been a success, with strong sales, said a spokesman.
Similar comments were heard from a representative of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, with the biggest diamond pavilion at the show hosting 99 Antwerp diamond companies, who had received positive feedback from exhibiting firms.
Among Israeli firms, the mood was somewhat less rosy, with some firms reporting moderate sales at best. "There were constant attempts to bring down the asking prices quite drastically," said one diamantaire. "That is not necessarily unusual, and whoever needs the money had no choice, of course. It just seemed to be more widespread this year. The mood was highly cautious."
De Beers CEO Philippe Mellier commented in the middle of the show that it "seemed quite good. I believe that demand is there, especially in the United States and China. It [the show] is not extraordinary, but Sightholders and other diamantaires have good reason to be optimistic."
Meanwhile, Dominion Diamond Corp Chairman CEO Robert Gannicott told IDEX Online said he believed it had been a "surprisingly good" show. Coming into the show, there were buyers who believed they would having to face high polished prices running into Indian manufacturers with liquidity problems who needed to sell."
And despite the loose diamond and gemstone show being held at the AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE), near Hong Kong airport for the past several years, there remains a sense of frustration and time wasted. Travel time between the shows, not just during the peak hours, in fact any time between 10am and 6pm, was around an hour and in the middle of the day sometimes even more via the fair's shuttle service.
Now in its 32nd edition, the Fair played host to almost 3,700 exhibitors from 49 countries and regions, and fair organizer UBM Asia Ltd expected a total of more than 52,000 buyers to visit the two venues’ which covered more than 135,000 square meters of exhibition space.
In addition, there were 1,342 Hong Kong companies taking part in the two venues, accounting for more than one-third of the fair exhibitors, while Thailand had the largest overseas pavilion with 388 Thai companies exhibiting in the two venues. Italy had 235 companies, while the United States had 231 exhibitors while there were 22 group pavilions in both venues.
For the organizers, the numbers are impressive. For the diamond exhibitors, however, the only numbers that matter are the ones on their balance sheets. This September fair may have lived up to expectations, but they were so modest that it may not have been much of an achievement.