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Category: Trade Shows
I cannot believe this will be my 3rd visit to Basel! How the time flies…(pun intended).
This March I will be making the trek to Basel, Switzerland, to meet with some of the most prestigious brands in the world. The trip will be very short, and packed full of meetings and dinner parties, but should be quite enjoyable.
I’m quite excited to have the opportunity to sit down with a few new brands that Winnipeg does not have. I do not know if we will bring these brands to the ‘peg, or if we can for that matter, but it will certainly be great to physically handle these watches. What brands you ask? Well I think for the time being I’ll keep that secret safe with me…I’ll let you know how it goes after Basel.
I will be posting information to our Facebook fan page, so if you haven’t “Liked” us yet, please feel free too. There will be lots of pictures going up, assuming the iPad/iPhone doesn’t fail me while I’m out there. Also, if you want to follow us on Twitter, I will be “Tweeting” as I go.
Yesterday we finished our last day at the show and today we are going to take a day off to go see Macau. My dad has been there before and says it is quite the spectacle.
The last day featured a chance to meet four suppliers, one of which we placed a nice order from. I will tell you more about him later.
Over all impressions:
Jade is really hot right now. The Chinese market has caused the price to rise on a global basis by 400-500% in the last five years.
Coloured diamonds are going to become much more popular. The prices are still very high, but there seems to be more of them.
Pearls, especially freshwater, are a great value.
Silver is HOT – almost everyone is showing product in silver.
If you are buying gold, you will see a lot more rose gold in the next few years. So many suppliers only show in white or rose gold. We bought some things in rose and I have to say in general that I really like the classic look it can add to something.
Diamond pricing is high right now. This is particularly noticeable with the little diamonds – under .05ct. In some cases 50% more for the same item as at last years show.
I love Jade!
The mood is generally cautious. The developments in the middle east over the past year have really affected buying patterns, and this seems to have changed the focus of some manufacturers to Asia.
Warm regards,
Sometimes the process of learning to like something occurs quickly, like the first time you try a new fruit and discover a wonderful flavour you didn’t know existed. Sometimes it is more gradual, like learning to enjoy a cup of black coffee. For me, jade, and my enjoyment of it, is more like the latter. Culturally in Canada, we don’t value it the way that people do over here and as a result we just dont see too much of it. Over here, the popularity is undeniable. It is something that many people want to where and often carries with it significance beyond just astetic appearance. As a result, nearly every jewellery store sells jade, and many manufacturers produce items made with jade. My enjoyment of it comes from repeated exposure and learning about the many varieties and the many ways it can be used.
Jade comes in many colours, although in it finest (or most expensive) it is a fine emerald green colour with translucence. This is often called Imperial Jade. To give you an example, a fine jade bangle can sell for millions of dollars US. Still there are so many varieties and colours: we have seen green, lavender, red, black, white, clear, and mutton jade. It can be carved, worn as a pendent, ring, earring, bracelet, and bangle. It is some times sold uncut, as a polished block or figurine. It is just such an interesting gem and one that according to one supplier you need to spend years to really learn about.
We will be purchasing some for the store, but were surprised by just how much the prices have increased. This mantra of prices increasing might seem to be getting old, but by and large, it is true. Over the past five years, wholesale jade prices have increased by roughly 500%. This is due according to many suppliers to limited product and a trend in Chinese culture for most people to want to where a piece of Jade.
I am starting to understand. Much like the process I underwent to learn to like coffee, jade is something that I have not only come to appreciate, but also to enjoy. Look for it to start arriving at our store some time in October.
Before I tell you to much about the show, I want to share with you a few observations regarding the city and the reason for why I am here.
Hong Kong is really good at moving people. While I will never be a city planner, I understand now the importance of being able to move people efficiently, safely, and in a cost effective manner. The MTR (subway), while built more than 20 years ago, runs like clockwork with the added bonus of beautiful colour tiling at each stop. There is an airport shuttle that takes you downtown for about $8CDN in 24 minutes. During rush our, the subway runs every minute. It is amazing just how many people are being moved in such tight spaces.
The food is as interesting as you want it to be. As some of you may know, I am not really a seafood person, but twice now in two days I have been able to try something that was different
from what I had tried before. Yesterday I tried shark fin soup, abalone fish, and cod, plus a bowl full of wierd mushrooms. Today we went to a Chinese restaurant that was a kind of place that only locals know about (someone from the show who lives in HK suggested we go there and made reservations for us as almost no one spoke English in the entire place). They had a large fish tank that they were frequently pulling fish out of to prepare right there in front of the customers. Kind of cool, unless you’re a grouper fish.
Returning to the show, today we spent our second day at the Asia World Expo – loose gemstone show. The show continues to produces things that are just incredible. To try give you an idea of just how vast this show is, hall #1 has roughly 400 booths in it, all devoted to pearls and jewellery accessories. At the Asia World Expo there are 11 halls and this is the smaller of the two convention centers by a sizable amount.
We started our day by visiting a new cultured pearl supplier that my dad had met recently in Bangkok. Generally speaking, we have had very pleasant experiences with our suppliers here, and this was no different. I was fascinated to watch one of the women in the booth string a strand of pearls right in front of us as we were ordering some necklaces. For those of you who like Tahitian pearls, you will be happy to know that we bought a few strands for inventory.
We walked the show for several hours in all, but one of our last stops was with our favorite freshwater pearl supplier. We have bought from them in the past, but as with so many things, it is the people that make the difference. This company is one of the larger freshwater pearl manufacturers in Asia – so I have been told. It is amazing the different number of colours and shapes that pearls come in. We ordered several strands, but the big thing for me is just seeing what is out there.
Tomorrow is off to the finished goods show at the harbor convention centre. I am still trying to figure out pictures, so check back soon.
Today was our first day at the Asia World Expo. Backing up just a bit, I left Winnipeg on Sunday the 17th and arrived here late last night (the 19th) after a slightly delayed flight and overheated cab ride that got stuck in some nasty traffic. For the past six years, my dad Ernie has been coming to this show and last year I came here for the first time.
A bit about the show. It is easily the largest jewellery and loose gemstone show in the world. About five years ago they split the show up into finished goods and loose gems. It seems to have taken a couple years to have caught on, but today you would be hard pressed to see an empty space in either venue. The show is in two separate venues: the “smaller” loose gemstones exhibit is by the airport and the other, the finished jewellery exhibit, is at the convention centre on the harbour.
Today and tomorrow will be spent at the loose gemstone show. Having been here last year, I was familiar with the layout, but was stunned once again buy the astonishing collection of unique diamonds and coloured gems. I am going to try to get some pictures up tomorrow (the pics are on my iPhone), but let me share a couple of highlights.
There is a section of the show that is devoted to the finest cutters of diamonds and coloured gems. Last year I stumbled upon a booth that had a 75ct yellow briolette diamond (think egg shape). As we were walking, we came upon this same diamond, but now it was set into an absolutely stunning pendant. It is truly a one of a kind, something I doubt I will ever see again (picture to follow).
One last note before I head to bed: I was amazed at the number of high quality coloured diamonds here. This has not caught on in North America yet, but I think it will. Rare colours like pink, orange, and blue remain quite expensive (12ct Internally Flawless/Fancy Pink going for $625,000 per carat!), but there certainly are a lot more than before. Personally I kind of hope this trend hits North America as I think colour in bridal is long overdue.
The last few days saw me walking the Bangkok Gems and Jewellery Fair. First some general observations:
“Sticker shock” has still not sunk in. Although I saw similar price increases at the Vegas and Toronto shows, I’m still having to come to grips with the fact that if I bought something a year ago for $1000.00, the same item today will cost me $1500.00. This, mostly due to the recent rise in gold prices and, somewhat less known, the huge jump in pricing on small diamonds (under 0.015ct). These diamonds are cut almost exclusively in India, and with the huge push in the last few years of micro-pave jewellery, demand finally saw its day and India has doubled and tripled the costing of these small diamonds. Larger diamonds have also gone up considerably, but not nearly as much as the small diamonds. This certainly presents an excellent consumer buying opportunity, as many jewellery stores, ourselves included, still carry inventory at old prices.
Secondly, silver has become the new gold. When I started in this business, gold was at $35.00/oz. Today silver is floating around $40.00/oz. And more and more manufacturers are turning to silver in order to give the industry a viable price alternative to gold and platinum.
Thirdly, I believe that coloured gemstones will begin to take a more prevalent place in our industry. Those people who predict styles, fashions, and trends (as quoted from the most recent AGS Conclave) have forecast that engagement rings with coloured gems (e.g. sapphires, rubies, and others) will become a major trendsetter in the years to come. The North American marketplace loves to watch celebrities and to emulate them whenever possible. Look carefully at some of the high profile stars and what do you see? Colour! From Lady Kate to Angelie Jolie, colour is in. And for bridal couples searching for a different look, colour can provide that, often at a more attractive price.
As I begin to wind down the BKK show, a few last comments, before leaving for Hong Kong on Sunday. I mentioned in a previous blog that I was searching for a ruby on behalf of a client. I found what we needed but yesterday our client cancelled the order. Oh well, I did learn lots about the ruby industry. Nevertheless, I still found some delightfully new items to order for the store and I anticipate November delivery. Fortunately, the shows venue is well-airconditioned; when I step outside, my glasses fog up from condensation. Smog and humidity in BKK is so heavy that it feels like you could cut it with a knife.
Last night the restaurant in our hotel put on a demonstration of Thai classical dancing. A difficult art and more difficult to understand. And I must admit that the music accompanying this dance, did nothing for me. Still, I appreciate learning about forms of art as practiced by other cultures. Tonight, I’ve been invited to a Thai restaurant with one of our suppliers. The owners are a wonderful couple and I enjoy their company. I do look forward to the evening.
My spare time has been taken up by Kathryn Stockett’s book “The Help”. Although not yet finished, I’d highly recommend it.
As Alway
Still having to adjust to the 12 hour time change, I was up at 3:00 AM watching some unheard of TV show. But I was anticipating my first day at the BKK jewellery tradeshow, wondering what would be in store for me. As the morning dawned, the sky was filled with swollen clouds looking to release a refreshing rain. The rain would help to clear the air, but it wasn’t meant to be as, by noon the sun was out and the smog and humidity were back in full effect.
After a good breakfast, I took the one hour shuttle bus drive through Bangkok’s notorious traffic, arriving at the Impact Challenger – the trade show’s lovely, modern venue – in time for the fair’s opening. The BKK jewellery show remains, in my opinion, the global centre for coloured gemstones. This, as my staff continually remind me, is my achilles heel; it is one of my favourite aspects of the jewellery industry.
Rather than try and explain the entire trade show experience, let me share a real life situation. One of our clients has lost her ruby which needs to be replaced. This, at first glance, would appear rather straight forward. We have a reasonable description: one pear-shaped, 2.5 carat, eye-clean, med-dark red, natural ruby.The hitch is that there’s a ceiling on what the insurance company will pay. Having exhausted efforts to source the ruby from our domestic suppliers, I put it onto my to-do list for BKK, thinking it would be a simple replacement. Not so! The suppliers here had thousands of rubies on display, but after narrowing things down, I ended up with only 2 or 3 options. The difficulty lies in the fact that today I could have technically filled this request with rubies ranging in price from $100 to $50,000! All would fall into the gemological description as supplied by our client, but neither end of the extremes would be correct. Although we have been given 4 gemological details about the lost ruby, each of these details have, within themselves, dozens of options. And even if we were to narrow each detail down to, say, ten each, the perms and coms are almost infinite. And of course the most important feature of all, which cannot be defined by a gemological description, is beauty itself. Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, and even if everything else lines up, if our client finds the ruby to be unattractive, then we still have not solved the problem.
I love this type of challenge, as I go about the task of looking for that proverbial needle in a haystack. The satisfaction of finding that elusive needle is something I enjoy most within the jewellery industry. In 40 plus years I’ve had the privilege of finding many of these “needles”, but the search and discovery has never grown old. And seeing the look of awe, wonder, and joy on our client’s face, makes everything worthwhile.
This past Saturday, Sept. 10/11, I embarked upon my sixth annual trip to the Orient. This year’s itinerary will see me visiting two jewellery trade shows in Bangkok and Hong Kong, followed by a five day holiday in Shanghai.
Length of trip – 3 weeks.
My schedule took me from Winnipeg to Calgary; Calgary to Los Angeles; Los Angeles to Bangkok. Total flying time approx. 22 hours of which the leg to Bangkok (BKK), at 17 hours, was the longest. The flights were relatively uneventful, although we did have a pleasant experience on the Air Canada flight out of Calgary. The flight attendant actually had a sense of humour – a rarity on Air Canada flights. For a moment I thought I was on the wrong flight, thinking I had boarded a West Jet flight in error. Note to Air Canada - us weary travellers could do with a little more humour on your flights.
We landed in BKK at 6:00 AM on Monday morning, having lost one day due to crossing the international date line. Missing out on THE Sept. 11th date was a good thing except for one thing – it also happened to be my wife’s birthday. A rather special one at that. But since I’m not allowed to reveal her youthful age, I’ll simply say that she is now a decade short of that Biblical age of 3 score and ten.
I have become somewhat more adventurous in my eating habits in BKK. When I first started coming 6 years ago, I stuck to the hotel restaurants, as I didn’t want to risk becoming sick. Now I feel quite comfortable sampling the cuisine being offered by the food street vendors who line the street every night. The smells can be overpowering, both good and bad, but the food is delicious, and unbelievably inexpensive.
Bangkok remains a city of contrasts: high heat, humidity, and smog are constant, but when the sun breaks through after a rainstorm, it’s clean and the sky is as beautiful as a sunny day in Winnipeg. The city has seen approx. 19 coups in 35 years (most of them peaceful); yet I have been in the city during several of them and you would be unaware of them taking place. I think that the western press takes more note of them than the local media. There is also the seamy side of BKK (as with most large cities) in that you can’t walk the streets without someone offering you a “special massage” or other services. Mostly, a friendly “no-thank-you” will suffice. In fact, a rebuff often turns into a discussion on Canada. Many Thai people have relatives in Canada (mostly Toronto or Vancouver) and the inevitable question follows of “do you know so and so?”
Tomorrow I will be spending my first day at the Bangkok Gems and Jewellery Fair. I look forward to this trade show and will try and follow up this commentary with some info on the show.
Today has been a nice relaxing day. I didn’t have any appointments so I just walked the show and looked at as many brands as possible. Blancpain, a very high-end watch line under the Swatch Group, had brought in 3 Lamborghini’s (aside from the one they had in their booth) that I believed are used to race in the FIA GT1 world championship. After I stopped drooling over them, I moved on to look at watches. The show is so big, and so vast, that after awhile they all start to look the same. Some notable brands: Breitling, Nomos Glashutte, Glashutte Original, Invicta, Ebel, Hamilton, Frederique Constant, Nixon, Chopard, Concord, Corum, and Zenith (to name just a few).
I have posted more pictures to our Facebook Page. Have a look, let me know which ones you like. This is my last post while I’m out here. Thanks for reading.
Today was a great day. Started off the morning by visiting the Victorinox Swiss Army booth. They have some really nice pieces coming out for the spring/summer/fall, and the styles are consistent with the brand. I have always enjoyed Swiss Army watches, maybe because it was one of the first watches I have ever owned (thanks dad!). But the brand has always just been there, making good watches for everyday wear at very reasonable prices.
After that, I headed for my next appointment at Tag Heuer. Every year Tag Heuer comes out with some kind of new innovation, and this year did not disappoint. This year they came out with a mechanical chronograph watch that is accurate to 1/1000th of a second! That may not seem impressive to you, but the technology and engineering that goes behind a watch like this is incredible. They only had a prototype their, so unfortunately I didn’t actually get to handle it. They did, however, have another new introduction, the Tag Heuer Mikograph. This is a really cool watch, limited to 150 pieces worldwide, in solid 18K rose gold on a beautiful brown leather strap. Price tag is $50,000, so I only ordered 3 (joking of course). I got to play with the watch, and it is REALLY cool; when you start the chronograph, the large ‘seconds hand’ actually spins around, taking 1 second to do a complete revolution.
I did meet with a couple of watch lines we currently do not carry, but like I said in an earlier post, I will not be revealing names until we have made some decisions. However, Independent Jewellers will be taking up a new brand this year, the Philip Stein collection of watches. These watches are completely different than anything we carry, and have this technology called “natural frequency technology.” Now you might be thinking, ‘oh, it’s another Q-Ray,’ but this is not so. It really does work, and the testimonials are quite incredible. That, and they did this little test on me that freaked me out completely, and even now I have a hard time believing it. Anyways, we will be receiving the watches sometime in May and will be putting them in to our Polo Park location. Nobody else in Manitoba will be carrying these watches, so come down in May to try them on (and ask for them to do the ‘arm’ test, you will be sold on it). Prices for Philip Stein range from $500 to about $1500, with some going higher.
Well thats all for today. I have posted more pictures to our Facebook page. Be back tomorrow.
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Trade Shows, Watches | Jonathan February 28, 2012 | 
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