China Emerging As Important Jewelery Consumer Country in the World

China has emerged as one of the most important jewelry¹ sales markets in the world for both domestic and international jewelers. At the just concluded Hong Kong Jewelry and Gem² Fair, China's consumer demand for jewelry impressed many sellers from around the world.

Let's take a closer look with our reporter Liu Min.

 
Chinese domestic jewelry buyers have exclusive VIP rooms in which they seal deals with jewelers from all over the world. This is something that is quite unique at the Hong Kong Jewelry and Gem Fair.

According to the fair organizer, Chinese jewelers accounted for one-third of the overall participants at this year's exhibition. More than half the buyers were from the mainland.

Here are some sales managers from several international jewelry brands at the event.

"We've seen a great number of clients from the Chinese mainland this time."

"My company's records show that the Chinese market now accounts for half of the entire global demand."

The Hong Kong Jewelry and Gem Fair was spread over two venues³ and covered a record 130,000 square meters of exhibition space. With 3,400 exhibitors from 46 countries, this year's show, the 29th annual event, was 8 percent larger in than last year.

The fair presented a much-needed opportunity for jewelers from around the world to show and sell their products, considering that past three years have been a difficult time for them.

Jime Essink, CEO of the fair says the industry hasn't been immune to global economic uncertainties⁴.

"The positive thing is for the Asian manufacturers, for the Asian companies involved in jewelry, they have been compensated⁵ by the growth—most of them—by the growth in China and India."

As in other industries, it has been the strength of the Asian economies that has come to the rescue. Dealers⁶ have had to adapt to the new economic realities of global trade.

Enzo, a brand of the NAZDAQ-listed parent company Lorenzo Jewelry, specializes in colored gemstones such as tourmaline. Enzo has around 170 shops in mainland China. It started operating in China in 2004 and has its own in-house jewelry designers. The company now is investing more on the Chinese mainland.

Manager Vicky Chan from Enzo says the company has come up with special designs to appeal to consumers in growing markets like China.

"For certain, we are quite worried about the future situation, especially the economic crisis. However, for doing business, we are going to expand our markets not only for new customers, we are also expanding our product collection so that (we can) cope with the coming situation."

Tailoring products to suit clients' pocketbooks and wallets is now a strategy that many jewelers worldwide have adopted because of the unstable⁷ global economic situation.

House of Baguettes is an American brand that mainly targets markets in North America and Middle East. Its CEO, Joseph Sengul, says getting the price right while maintaining quality is now the name of the game.

"Price points have shrunk, and yes, because of the economy people are spending—they have less spending power. But we've shrunk down the goods, and we've still kept our craftsmanship⁸ way above standard. I think that's the key in jewelry, you know. You have to still keep it as something that is very precious, and it is. It's timeless. It's something that's forever."

Despite the price sensitivity of some consumer groups, buyers from the Chinese mainland, where personal wealth and disposable incomes have increased considerably⁹ in recent years, are less concerned about lower priced goods. They tend to care more about the products' potential growth in value in the future.

For CRI, I'm Liu Min.

1 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

2 gem   

n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel

参考例句：

• The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
• The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。

3 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

4 uncertainties   

无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物

参考例句：

• One of the uncertainties of military duty is that you never know when you might suddenly get posted away. 任军职不稳定的因素之一是你永远不知道什么时候会突然被派往它处。
• Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the rise. 影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加。 来自汉英非文学 - 十六大报告

5 compensated   

补偿，报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 )； 给（某人）赔偿（或赔款）

参考例句：

• The marvelous acting compensated for the play's weak script. 本剧的精彩表演弥补了剧本的不足。
• I compensated his loss with money. 我赔偿他经济损失。

6 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

7 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

8 craftsmanship   

n.手艺

参考例句：

• The whole house is a monument to her craftsmanship. 那整座房子是她技艺的一座丰碑。
• We admired the superb craftsmanship of the furniture. 我们很欣赏这个家具的一流工艺。

9 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。