JNN to Return to the September Hong Kong Fair

Once again I’ll be attending the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, the largest fine jewelry tradeshow in the world. It’s an event that has grown so large it is now held at two separate venues:

* The Asia World-Expo next to Hong Kong International Airport for diamonds, colored gemstones, pearls and equipment will be held September 19-23; and

* The Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, in the Wan Chai district overlooking Victoria Harbor for finished jewelry, September 21-25.

The combined exhibition space totals more than 1.4 million square feet. For the first time since the show was expanded to two venues, I will attend the Asia World-Expo portion of the show.

In 2011, the show saw 16 percent growth in attendance to 51,500 industry professionals from 155 countries and regions who had a chance to look at the products and services of more than 3,450 vendors from 46 countries. Obviously, the draw is the high-growth Asian market led by China. Hong Kong bills itself as the gateway to the economic powerhouse.

Luxury, designer and mass-produced and antique jewelry will be on display using all known jewelry making materials, including, a pavilion dedicated to jadeite, extremely popular in China.

One of the new additions to the show is free digital marketing workshops. Presentations will include know-how and practical tips but also statistics and data taken from JewelleryNetAsia’s original research and analytics.

Another new focus is The JNA Awards, an industry-wide event that honors and recognizes excellence and achievement in the global jewelry trade with an Asian focus. The awards ceremony and gala dinner will be held on September 20 at The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong. The awards are organized by Jewellery News Asia in collaboration with the UBM Awards.

I am looking forward to seeing the luxury and designer jewelry coming out of Asia to see how much it has grown and changed from last year. 

Please join me on the Jewelry News Network Facebook Page and on Twitter  @JewelryNewsNet.

I’m Back

I haven’t posted anything new in about a week. It wasn’t planned. Somehow spending time with my family this past weekend extended into taking care of personal things that I’ve neglected and trying to get back to a scheduled since I broke my arm two months ago. Just like that the week was over. I think it’s the longest I’ve gone without posting a story (although I did post earlier today).

It’s been spring here for a while now and the weather is finally catching up to the season. With the warmth comes a very busy time for the jewelry industry and for me. On Tuesday, I’ll be live tweeting from Christie’s Magnificent Jewels Auction. The following week I’ll be in Europe at the headquarters of one of the world’s best-known luxury brands (more on that soon). I am also working on an in-depth piece about luxury brands and digital media. It’s a continuation of a story I wrote for the Financial Times.

There are other things on the horizon as well. In the meantime I’d like to point you to a story by Sílvia Taveira on her blog titled, Adventures in the world of jewelry. The Portuguese resident is not only an excellent writer but she is also a skilled fine jewelry designer. It’s easy to see that she has a passion and strong understanding when it comes to design, fashion and individual style. In this story, “The 5 things I don’t know about JAR,” Sílvia examines her fascination with one of the world’s most successful and most reclusive luxury jewelry designers.

Enjoy

Jewelry News Network is ‘Blog of the Month’

The U.K. has really taken to Jewelry News Network. My readership has been growing steadily across the pond and my new friends are active in their support of my web publication. The latest show of support is from Make Jewellery magazine, which named Jewelry News Network as its “Blog of the Month” in its April issue.

Make Jewellery magazine is led by editor Lorraine Luximon and has a circulation of approximately 40,000. It is billed as the UK's glossiest and most dedicated jewelry making magazine. Each issue contains step-by-step guides to create designer-style jewelry on a shoestring, and includes projects on everything from simple bead stringing and wirework to more advanced techniques such as polymer and precious metal clay and resin. It’s for folks who love to create handmade jewelry whether as a hobby or as a business.

The blog appears in the magazine’s “Bookmark this!” section, which spotlights places to visit on the Internet.

In addition to featuring me and my work, it showcases jewelry from Montblanc, Angelique de Paris and Leibish & Co., which have recently appeared on my blog.

Happy New Year

A toast for you. Thank you so much for your support and expect great things from the Jewelry News Network in the coming year.

Here's hoping for a happy, healthful, joyful year. 

All the Best,

Anthony