Feeling The Power Of The Asian Market At Hong Kong September Fair

The feeling is palpable the moment you walk through the doors. I am referring to the September Hong Kong Gem and Jewellery Fair. It's common knowledge that the Chinese market has become critical to the global diamond industry over the past decade, but it's only when you walk through the doors of the show or walk the streets of Hong Kong that you truly sense the enormity of the market and its ability to effortlessly attract the worldwide trade to its doorstep.

This was only my second visit to the September show. Last year, I was hugely impressed. This year, the feeling was somewhat beyond that. It is not just one particular thing that makes the show overwhelming but rather the entire package. Nonetheless, there are endless details and instances that bring home to you just how well this show is put together and run.

To say that it is a well-oiled and slickly organized event would be a cliché, but I'll say it anyway because it really is. Of course, it is much less expensive for the Hong Kong show organizers, for example, to place scores, maybe even hundreds, of smiling workers with signposts throughout the show than it is for their counterparts in Europe and the United States. And they don't always speak fluent English, but the willingness to help, to go that little bit extra to help, is tangible. Everything is signposted clearly. Everywhere is clean. And, above all, you get the feeling that you are wanted.

On a different issue, not all the loose diamond and gemstone exhibitors are thrilled, to put it mildly, to be away from the city next to the airport. But the organizers go out of their way to make the trip as painless as possible. Endless shuttle buses ferry visitors between the sites throughout the day, with bottles of water thoughtfully provided, and there was even a free return train ticket to the site instead of the bus. The last time I attended BaselWorld, it took me 90 minutes to get to the show from my hotel. In Hong Kong, it was a 10-minute subway ride from my hotel and then just 28 very comfortable minutes on the train to the AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE) near Hong Kong airport. Inconvenient to have the shows split? Probably. A big deal? Not really.

It is, perhaps, the overwhelming sense of self-confidence that the show gives off that is most striking. It is a show that seems to know that it is powerful and vital to the diamond, gemstone and jewelry trades – along with their associated service industries. Cliché alert: if you are not there then you don't exist.

It is an event that you have to be at, regardless of the sales you do, and there were many firms this year who complained that business was not terrific. Nonetheless, they will be there again next year. At the September show for sure, and maybe at either, or both, the March and June fairs.

That is because this is a show known for being about the bottom line; about doing business. Selling goods. Other shows give the impression that there are fewer transactions and more networking and contact-making going on. That, doubtless, happens at the September show too, but the business aspect is much larger.

A look at the facts and figures show just why this is a show not to be ignored. Almost 3,700 exhibitors displayed just about every type, shape and size of diamonds and gemstones. As for jewelry, there was an incredible range made of many different precious metals and set with just about any type stone you can imagine. Exhibitors from dozens of countries, all desperately trying to break into or expand further into the incredible Chinese market. And with more than 52,000 visitors, this is an incredible show.

As the Chinese, and wider Asian, market continues to expand, it seems likely that the September Hong Kong Gem and Jewellery Fair will do likewise. It can be expected that diamantaires from across the globe will beat a path to the show in greater numbers in the coming years.

As one diamond company chief with more than 30 years in the business explained: "This is really the only region to be in. The United States is in reasonable shape, but if it is expansion that you are looking for then you have to be involved in the Chinese market, as well as the wider SouthEast Asian area. And it goes without saying that if you want to be in this market, then being at the Hong Kong show is critical."