September Hong Kong Jewelry Fair is a Global Event and a Gateway to China

Registration during the opening day of the 2013 September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair.

The world’s largest jewelry fair is set to begin in two weeks and its organizers are still billing it as the entryway to the fastest growing jewelry market in the world: China. 

The September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair will be held from September 15 – 19 at the AsiaWorld-Expo near Hong Kong International Airport; and September 17 – 21 at the at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in the heart of the city. 

AWE will display jewelry raw materials from over 1,700 exhibitors from around the world, while HKCEC will showcase fine finished jewelry from more than 1,900 exhibitors.

China Market Research Reports reveals that 2013 jewelry sales in Mainland China were approximately $75.8 billion, equivalent to 41.2 percent of total global consumption. UBM Asia, which organizes the fair, says that Hong Kong's location and its duty-free status makes it the “ideal gateway to China and the rest of the Asia." It's a claim UBM Asia has made since I started attending the event more than 10 years ago and it's even more true now than it was back then.

“The Fair occupies 135,000 square meters of exhibition space to accommodate more than 3,680 exhibitors from 51 countries and regions,” said Sunny Chan, Deputy Fair Manager, Jewellery Fairs, UBM Asia. “We expect to welcome more than 52,000 visitors from around the world.” 

New attractions at the 32nd fair include exhibitors from Egypt, Kazakhstan, Norway and Tahiti. For the first time, coral exhibitors from Japan will exhibit under the banner of Japan Coral. Together with coral exhibitors from Taiwan and Italy, there are more than 60 coral exhibitors at AsiaWorld-Expo. 

In addition, the fair has 22 dedicated pavilions: Antwerp, Brazil, China, Columbia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United States, and the International Colored Gemstone Association, UBM Asia said. This year's “Design Arena” has increased by 40 percent in terms of exhibition space and will relocate to the Chancellor Room and Mezzanine 4 of HKCEC. Also, the International Premier Pavilion is bigger by 8.6 percent in terms of exhibition area.

This outpouring of exhibitors and attendees solidifies its reputation as a truly global event.

The Alrosa Group, Russia’s leading diamond company and the world’s biggest diamond miner by volume, will again host a diamond auction, along with the Paspaley Pearl Auction. In addition, the fair will again feature the world’s largest diamond pavilion, Asia’s biggest gemstone marketplace and the biggest display of Hong Kong jewelry in the world.

Visitor pre-registration is available at this link  until 1st September. The fair mobile app is available for download at this link. More details of special events are available by at this link. 

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North African ‘Desert Jewels’ Exhibit at Philadelphia Museum of Art

An exhibition of historic jewelry and photographs from North Africa will be on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in an exhibition called Desert Jewels, September 4 – December 5.

For thousands of years, North Africa, a region that comprises the modern nations of Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya and Egypt, has been a crossroads for trade and the transmission of cultural influences from the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa and Europe. This exhibition explores the richly diverse artistic heritage of North Africa through the presentation of a group of extraordinary works of the jeweler’s art collected over the course of three decades by Xavier Guerrand-Hermès, of the Paris-based fashion empire. It includes 93 pieces of jewelry complemented by 28 late 19th- and early 20th-century images by photographers who were captivated by the allure of North Africa. The exhibit features ornate necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings, many of which have not been publicly displayed before this exhibition.

The exhibit will be in the new Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building, across the street from the main museum building.

“These objects illuminate the rich history of North African craftsmanship, which has been shaped by the imprint of many different cultural traditions,” said Timothy Rub, the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s George D. Widener director and CEO. “We are pleased to collaborate with the Museum for African Art to share this exceptional collection, which is remarkable not only for its quality and great beauty, but also for the rich insights it provides into the customs and cultural diversity of North Africa.”

Examples of jewelry created with combinations of silver, coral, amber, coins, and semi-precious stones demonstrate the shared aesthetic heritage of many North African societies, the Philadelphia Museum said in a statement. Meanwhile, variations in materials and motifs reflect significant regional differences. Brightly colored necklaces of amazonite beads or large amber beads, such as the Three-Strand Necklace made in Morocco, symbolize wealth, while pendants or enameled beads known as tagguemout are used to encourage the wearer’s fertility. Many of the works in the exhibition indicate regional and group identity, and many were designed to protect the wearer from harm. Hand-shaped amulets, or Khamsa, typically made of silver, are the most popular form of protective jewelry, and are sometimes engraved with prayers and inscriptions in Arabic and Hebrew. The jewelry on view also identifies its wearer. Women receive jewelry from their husbands when they marry and wear it as a symbolic expression of social codes and cultural identity. Some of the jewelry on view is unique to a specific geographic location.

Beginning in the 1860s, European photographers seeking images of foreign locales, set up studios in the major cities of North Africa, photographing women wearing their jewels, as well as documenting markets, ancient archaeological sites and landscapes. The popularity of these photographs, which featured images of Arabs, Jews, Imazighen (also known as Berbers) and people from sub-Saharan Africa, reflected Europeans’ growing fascination with the so-called Orient.

These photographs came to the attention of Western collectors in the 19th century, when archaeological monuments in the region were being explored, visited, and, in some cases, pillaged. Important photographers of the day including the Scotsman George Washington Wilson, the Neurdine brothers from France, and the Turkish photographer Pascal Sabah, visited the region. Some of their images were used for postcards, while other remained in little-known collections.

Captions: (Top) Necklace with central pendant, Tagguemout, 20th Century, Draa Valley, Morocco, Silver, coral, enamel, coins, glass, copal, shell, cotton, plastic, buttons, Photo courtesy of Karen L. Willis/Museum for African Art.

(Second image) Hand pendant with salamander motif, Khamsa 19th or 20th Century, MoroccoSilver, bronze.