Press Releases

New Momentum for JNA Awards As Scores of First-Time Entrants Join

Participants from 15 countries and regions vying for recognition across 11 categories.

Published

5 years ago

May 29, 2019

INSTORE Staff

(PRESS RELEASE) HONG KONG – The JNA Awards, received close to 100 entries from more than 60 companies and individuals across 11 award categories.

Organized by Informa Markets, the JNA Awards strives to recognize and celebrate excellence and innovation in the industry. Since its inception in 2012, the Awards has been dedicated to sharing its core values with the trade, inspiring the gemstone and jewelry industry to thrive and advance as a whole by sharing best business practices and encouraging high standards.

Letitia Chow, chairperson of the JNA Awards, and director of business development – Jewelry Group at Informa Markets, remarks, “It has always been the intention of the Awards to widen its participant scope and attract new companies from different markets. This year, we are thrilled to receive such high number of entries, with more than 50% of them being first-time entrants, and their submissions account for almost half of the total entries. It is encouraging and promising to see that the benefits and purpose of the Awards are being recognized and valued by more and more members of the trade.

“We also continue to attract a diverse international group of companies from 15 countries and regions, namely China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vietnam and, for the first-time, Belgium.”

Industry Innovation of the Year continues to be the category with the most number of entries, while Young Entrepreneur of the Year (age 40 and below) category is the second.

JNA Awards 2019 is supported by Headline Partners Chow Tai Fook Jewelry Group, the Shanghai Diamond Exchange, and DANAT, together with Honored Partners KGK Group, China Gems and Jade Exchange, and Guangdong Land Holdings Limited.
The Honorees or shortlisted entrants will be announced on 20 June 2019 at the June Hong Kong Jewelry & Gem Fair.

When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”