|
RAPAPORT... This year’s dual show venues from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) not only provided for additional exhibition space, but also spawned a plethora of seminars, networking opportunities and media events. Toward the middle of the first event, the Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show at AsiaWorld-Expo, Jetro (Japan External Trade Organization), which sponsored more than 90 Japanese pearl companies, also staged a fashion show and pearl seminar about trends in pearls and pearling. The latter seminar was presented by Kenneth Scarratt, the managing director of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in Southeast Asia. The International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) held its annual evening event in which Rohan Perera, the director of marketing and exports, invited guests to the 2015 ICA Congress in Sri Lanka. Characterizing Sri Lanka as “the sapphire capital of the world,” he urged members and guests to attend this event, which is scheduled for May 16 to 19, 2015. Concurrrently, organizers will host a mine tour, from May 12 to 15. Finally, at the beginning of the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show, from March 5 to 9 in Wanchai, there will be the launch of the World Diamond Mark (WDM), an accreditation program for retailers and the creation of a generic marketing program to promote diamonds and diamond jewelry. This introduction will be made by Alex Popov, the chairman of the WDM Foundation, who will introduce and discuss this new venture and its implications for the diamond industry.
|