The third International Jewelry & Diamond Conference (Guangzhou) 2018, organised on November 27 at Guangzhou, China by the Guangzhou Diamond Exchange (GZDE) and the Guangdong Gems & Jade Exchange (GDGJE) in association with Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) witnessed a large turnout with over 600 delegates. Focused on the theme, “The Dragon and the Diamond, The Glory and the Jewelry”, the conference saw a number of sessions that discussed different facets of the diamond and jewellery industry.

An important presentation was made by Liang Ming, Director of Foreign Trade Research Institute of Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China outlining the current global economic scenario, international trade, China’s economic performance, cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, and the foreign trade policy orientation, etc. He presented the plans to align industry and trade with the “six major tasks” and “eight action plans” outlined by the Ministry of Commerce for the next five years, and analyzed how jewellery enterprises can integrate into this, the comparative advantages they can benefit from and directions for breakthroughs, including developing innovative ideas and paths for the advancement of the industry.

Other key presentations were by Clement Sabbagh, Chairman of the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) and Martin Rapaport, founder of the Rapaport Diamond Report.

Sabbagh discussed trends in the international coloured gem market and pointed out how the Chinese jewellery industry can enhance the popularization of coloured gemstone culture and build consumer confidence through education and training, establishment of industrial alliances and so on.

Rapaport spoke on the “State of the Diamond Industry”, presenting his views on the supply side revolution, from mine to consumer branding and exclusive distribution networks; and exploring how the internet and online trading platforms are changing how everyone form business to consumers buys and sells diamonds. He also touched upon some of the challenges including from synthetics, the impact of external economic forces such as interest rates, inflation and stock market volatility, and the future of diamond prices and demand.

Other highlights of the conference included release of the inaugural issue of the Chinese version of InColor Magazine, published in English by the ICA and the launch of the Rough Diamond Alliance coordinated by the GZDE to improve the participation in the rough diamonds sector and optimize China’s diamond industry supply chain, as well as of the Designer Club, promoted by GDGJE to provide a communication platform for domestic and foreign designers for spurring innovation and further development.

Each exchange also held separate sub-fora following the conclusion of the main session. GZDE coordinated a discussion on “Built to Last: Optimizing the diamond industry from supply side”, which was addressed by guest speakers such as Marcel Pruwer, Special Adviser to Antwerpsche Diamantkring; Karen Rentmeesters, Head of PR & Communications at AWDC; Zhang Yongwen, CEO of Shanghai DIAMSLEDGER Information Technology and Saville Stern, Chief Operating Officer of RapNet. Mabel Wong McCormick, Managing Director of Diamond Producers Association (DPA) spoke on the latest insights into the consumer market and the campaign “Real is rare. Real is a diamond”.

A discussion on Lab Grown diamonds featured Hugh Tanner, Head of Rough Diamond Sales at De Beers Auction Sales, speaking on Lightbox for the first time in mainland China; Katrien De Corte, VP of Research & Business Development at HRD Antwerp, and retailers Ningbo Crysdiam, Huanghe Whirlwind, Zhongnan Diamond, CARAXY, and Taidiam Technology.

Similarly, at the jewellery forum organised by GDGJE around the theme “Win Through Channel — Synergy of Jewelry Value Chain and Supply Chain”, speakers included Professor Yang Mingxing from Gemological Institute of China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) and researcher Wang Yuanhong, Deputy Director and Researcher of Economic Forecasting Department, State Information Center, Andrew Lucas, Chief Field Gemologist of Guild Gem Laboratories, and Vijay Kedia, Executive Member of Jaipur Jewelers Association of India and Director of ICA. Subsequently, Yan Jinsong, General Manager of Chow Tai Fook’s Commodity Management Department, and Yue Zengkui, Deputy General Manager of Hundsun Commodities and Supply Chain Division, discussed innovation in the supply chain and representatives of the industry including Fujia Group, Jewelry Sharing Platform Xingfuji, Jewel100, Duizhuang Jade shared their experiences and new ideas.

Pic caption: Dignitaries at the International Jewelry & Diamond Conference in China