(PRESS RELEASE) HONG KONG — Two of the industry’s biggest B2B sourcing events will be back in action in Hong Kong in 2023 following a three-year forced pandemic break, Informa Markets Jewellery announced.
Jewellery & Gem ASIA Hong Kong (JGA), previously known as the June Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, will be held live and in person from 22 to 25 June 2023 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), while the trade’s flagship and most iconic show – Jewellery & Gem WORLD Hong Kong (JGW), formerly called the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair – will return to its original two-venue, product category-specific format. The jewelry materials section of JGW will be hosted at the AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE) from 18 to 22 September 2023 while categories spanning finished jewelry, packaging solutions, tools & equipment, and jewelry industry-related technologies will be presented at the HKCEC from 20 to 24 September 2023. Further adding excitement to the September Fair’s return is a series of celebrations marking its 40th anniversary next year.
“We look forward to hosting the greatest in jewelry and gemstones back in Hong Kong in 2023 as pandemic restrictions recede,” said David Bondi, senior vice president of Informa Markets in Asia. “What the last three years have proven is that the jewelry sourcing experience is just not the same without our full-fledged, international B2B fairs in Hong Kong. Our jewelry community wants the shows. So, we are pulling out all the stops to make sure we deliver the fairs in their most familiar form next year.”
Industry support
To serve the trade’s immediate needs, Informa Markets Jewellery successfully pivoted in unchartered territories – organizing special in-person editions of JGA and JGW in 2021 and 2022, and boldly exporting a reformatted version of the September Fair to Singapore less than a month ago – a first in the show’s nearly four-decade long history.
And now, the fair organizer is gearing up for what is shaping up to be the industry’s biggest in-person B2B fairs since the pandemic began.
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“We can’t wait to welcome everyone back to Hong Kong. We recognize that certain things are beyond our control but we are optimistic that the city will move towards further reopening when conditions allow,” said Celine Lau, director of Jewellery Fairs at Informa Markets Jewellery. “There’s genuine excitement expressed by so many in our community for the eventual return of the June and September Fairs. It’s not even a question of whether they will join the shows, but more of when should they book their flights to Hong Kong?”
JGA and JGW are vital to a reenergized industry on the cusp of recovery, trade association leaders said.
Cheung King Yau, Chairman of the Hong Kong Jewellery & Jade Manufacturers Association (HKJJA), said the return of large-scale B2B jewelry events in Hong Kong will be widely supported and enthusiastically received, not only in Hong Kong, but all over the world.
“As one of Hong Kong’s jewelry manufacturers associations, we speak in one voice as an industry when we say that we are looking forward to the return of international B2B exhibitions in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a business hub, and all buyers are eager to source goods and meet numerous quality suppliers at well-known exhibitions. These high-profile events are among the driving forces behind the revitalization of Hong Kong’s economy,” Cheung said.
Lawrence Ma, founding president & chairman of the Diamond Federation of Hong Kong (DFHK), said the jewelry community is “looking forward to the return of two of the industry’s top B2B jewelry fairs in Asia’s centre of jewelry and gemstone trade – Hong Kong.”
“There’s really nothing quite like JGA in June and JGW in September to help our community make meaningful connections, discover the latest products and innovations, and see trends as they happen. We can’t wait to welcome back our friends and business partners from all across the globe to Hong Kong,” Ma said.
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Aviel Elia, CEO of the Israel Diamond Institute (IDI), shared Ma’s sentiments.
“We are very excited to come back to Hong Kong and participate in Informa’s 2023 world-class events – Jewellery & Gem ASIA in June and Jewellery & Gem WORLD in September,” Elia said. “With the easing of pandemic restrictions, we can hardly wait to meet with all our friends and colleagues in Southeast Asia and do business face to face, like we always appreciated in the diamond industry, based on trust and personal relationships. The IDI plans to host Israeli diamond pavilions during these events, with the very best stones our industry has to offer.”