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Exhibitor Count Up at Bangkok Gem Fair
Sep 10, 2017 4:24 AM
By David Brough
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RAPAPORT... Exhibitor numbers
were up at the Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair, with organizers seeing a rise
in Thai gem and jewelry exports by value in 2017 due to higher gold prices.
Foot traffic was
brisk, with some 20,000 visitors attending the 60th edition of the show,
held at the IMPACT Challenger convention
center September 6 to 10 and
organized by the state-run Department of International Trade Promotion
(DITP). Exhibitors were up 10% compared with the previous DITP event in
February, organizers said.
Thai gem and
jewelry exports, including gold, were estimated to rise around 5% year on year
in 2017, said Chantira Jimreivat Vivatrat, the incoming head of the DITP.
The value of Thai
exports in 2017 was buoyed by firmer gold prices. A stronger Thai baht against
the US dollar also reduced the cost of imported precious materials to Thailand,
Jimreivat
Vivatrat added.
The mood at the event,
which showcases Thai-manufactured jewelry and colored gemstones, was positive.
Many visitors were attending the show before traveling to the Hong Kong
Jewellery & Gem Fair.
Thailand
introduced the Thailand Trust Mark or T Mark, backed by the DITP, which
certifies high-quality and socially responsible production in gems and jewelry and
in other sectors.
Some tastes in
diamond jewelry were shifting to less opulent pieces, said Mehran Mahallati, a co-owner
of Mahallati Jewellery, which exhibited at the Bangkok show.
“We are producing more accessible diamond jewelry because the
market trend is shifting in that direction,” he said. “Jewelry is no longer
reserved for special occasions and events. Millennials use it as an expression
of themselves in an everyday setting with an emphasis on meaning and quality.”
Retailer and
designer Alexander Davis, who won Designer of the Year at the 2017 UK Jewellery
Awards, visited the Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair to shop for gemstones and
seek manufacturing and gem-sourcing connections that he would not make in
Europe.
“It has been good
to make contacts closer to the source in the supply, cutting and carving of colored
precious and semi-precious gemstones,” said Davis, who has a boutique in central
London.
Image: Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair
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Tags:
Alexander Davis, bangkok, Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair, Chantira Jimreivat Vivatrat, David Brough, Department of International Trade Promotion, DITP, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, Impact Challenger, london, Mahallati Jewellery, Mehran Mahallati, T Mark, Thailand Trust Mark
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