Conference Report:
ICA Congress 2013
July 31, 2013
In the opening session, Sun Fengmin from the Gems & Jewelry Trade Association of China noted the impressive growth of the Chinese economy: 7.7% during the first quarter of 2013, 4.3% of that in the consumer sector. Of the approximately US$70 billion in Chinese retail jewelry sales last year, only 1.3% was from colored stones, indicating tremendous room for growth. Several high-ranking Chinese government officials attended and addressed the Congress, including the deputy governor of Hunan, Li Youzhi. In his speech, Deputy Governor Li urged closer collaboration between the Hunan government and the province’s gem and jewelry industry. Ms. Ke Jie, director of the National Gemstone Testing Center, spoke on the role of gemological laboratories in China. Dr. Lu Taijin, chief researcher at the National Gems & Jewelry Technology Administrative Center, outlined colored stone treatments and their identification criteria in gemological laboratories. Mingxing Yang discussed the establishment of gemological education in China and the degrees currently offered.
On the second day of presentations, these contributors detailed the benefits of education from the source to the retail counter. Ken Scarratt, presenting for GIA’s Vincent Pardieu, highlighted advances in travel and communication technology that have changed how material is brought to market. New sources and the challenges of origin determination were also addressed. ICA vice president Jean-Claude Michelou called for a mechanism to trace and certify ethical sources with the UN’s Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute. Mr. Michelou described the challenges in accomplishing this with a highly fragmented supply chain, the benefits of implementing such a system, and the risks of not doing so. Marcelo Ribeiro, director of the Belmont mine in Colombia, examined key aspects of bringing emerald to the market, including mining, sorting rough, cutting, judging cut stones, enhancements, and grading reports. Hecliton Santini Henriques, president of the Brazilian Gems and Jewelry Trade Association, gave a talk on the Brazilian gemstone and jewelry industry and how it has achieved full vertical integration. Mr. Henriques outlined the history of the Brazilian industry, the types of colored stones mined there, and the country’s role as a global supplier. Amitha Gamage and A. H. M. Imtizem of the Sri Lanka Gem and Jewellery Association reported on the island’s gem industry from mine to market. They discussed all aspects of Sri Lankan mining, including alluvial and large-scale operations and government regulations regarding mining licenses, land rehabilitation, and fair trade practices. They also spoke on advances in the cutting industry and how more trade-friendly government regulations led to a 55% increase in gem exports from 2010 to 2012.
Sophia Chong, director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, presented market trends. She described the effect of trade shows, trade journals, online marketplaces, mobile devices, and an integrated approach to all of these. Francis Cui, co-founder and CEO of the China Colored Stone website (www.colored-stone.com.cn) and ICA ambassador to China, discussed the use of the internet in selling at the retail and wholesale levels. Mr. Cui highlighted online shopping trends in China and how the colored gemstone industry can capitalize on them. Shirley Zhang, founder of the MeiHe Jewelry Styling Research Center, spoke about her design philosophy, which focuses on humanistic ideas and internal echoes between jewelry and the mind, as well as techniques and Chinese jewelry design.
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