RAPAPORT... The majority of diamond jewelry retailers in China were satisfied with their sales during the shortened Labor Day holiday from May 1 through May 3. The holiday had been a week long in previous years. Meanwhile, in the wholesale section, demand is exceeding supply on G-plus, VS, ½-carat, fine-make diamonds with Gemological Institute of America (GIA) certificates, especially Triple EX goods. The month of May was also very important for Shanghai because the city hosted the Jewelry Shanghai 2008 trade show and the 33rd World Diamond Congress, the first time ever that the congress was held in China.
Jewelry Shanghai 2008Jewelry Shanghai 2008 opened on May 8 and ran through May 11. As the most important trade show in East China, it featured approximately 400 exhibitors with 1,100 booths in almost 250,000 square feet of exhibition space. To promote its members, the Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE) presented its own pavilion, with 19 diamond companies exhibiting loose diamonds and diamond jewelry.
Although jade and pearl jewelry carrying local brand names play an important role in the show, it is becoming more international and gaining more participants from the worldwide diamond industry. The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) had its own pavilion at the show with HRD Antwerp and seven Antwerp diamond companies exhibiting — a first in Mainland China. China is Antwerp’s second-largest polished diamond export market after the United States. To help Belgian companies understand China better and penetrate the vast Chinese market, AWDC organized Antwerp Diamond Day at the Shanghai show on May 9. Diamond Day included an introduction to doing business in China, as well as information on how to establish a business in China, tax policies and the diamond market in general. There were also networking sessions with local companies and a tour of local retail stores.
In discussions with RDR, most diamond exhibitors said they were pretty satisfied that they had established connections with a good number of Chinese buyers, even though the show did not close as many sales and was not as busy as the Hong Kong shows.
HRD Antwerp was a key participant in the AWDC pavilion at the Shanghai show. “We see tremendous potential in the Shanghai diamond market,” said Georges Brys, general manager of HRD Antwerp. “Not only is the city the site of China’s only diamond exchange, but Shanghai’s jewelry retail sector represents about 20 percent of total jewelry sales in China.”
Gem Lab Activities
During the May 14 lunch session of the 33rd World Diamond Congress, National Gemstone Testing Center (NGTC), the only state-level gemological lab in China, exhibited its own certified diamond master stones for color grading. The set on display contained 11 diamond master stones ranging from D to N color, in sizes from 0.70 to 0.80 carats. NGTC told RDR that several sets of master stones were used in its labs in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. NGTC established the national standard for gemstone testing in China and is responsible for inspecting all diamonds imported and exported through SDE.
The same day at the congress, Brys delivered a presentation of “A Blueprint for Quality,” in which he described how the HRD Antwerp Diamond Lab became the first diamond grading facility ever to be accredited according to standards of the International Standards Organization (ISO/IEC 17025).
In other lab activity, the International Gemological Institute (IGI) and its strategic partner, Brink’s Far East Ltd, jointly announced the launch of IGI certification services exclusively for SDE members on May 5. Members who send their diamonds to IGI for analysis, grading and certification will enjoy complimentary shipping services provided by Brink’s, from its SDE counter to the IGI Hong Kong lab and then back to the SDE, point-to-point. “Together, we connect SDE members to the world, by providing our Mainland Chinese client base with the opportunity to certify their goods at IGI, while shipping from Shanghai to IGI Hong Kong is entirely free-of-charge,” said Marc Brauner, chief executive officer (CEO) of IGI Hong Kong. Later, Brauner delivered a presentation on jewelry assessment at the Shanghai show, in which he referred to the IGI Hong Kong lab’s recent identification of five CVD synthetic diamonds, each in the 0.30- to 0.39-carat range in G to I color and VVS clarity.
Marketplace • Overall demand is good for 0.30- to 0.70-carat H+/VS+.
• Demand has exceeded supply for
G+, VS, ½-carat, fine-make diamonds with GIA certificates, especially
Triple EX goods.
• Larger stones in 1 carat+/VS+/H+, GIA-certified and fine make,
sell very well.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - June 2008. To subscribe click here.