September Hong Kong Show Now in November

RAPAPORT... The September Hong Kong show has been postponed to November due to the coronavirus and related travel restrictions, organizer Informa Markets said Wednesday.Jewellery & Gem World (JGW) Hong Kong, formerly the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, is now due to take place from November 9 to 13, 2020, at AsiaWorld-Expo. It will run at one venue - AsiaWorld-Expo - instead of the usual two, Informa added.Under the previous schedule, the loose-stone exhibition was set for September 13 to 17 at AsiaWorld-Expo near Hong Kong International Airport. The Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre in the Wan Chai district was due to host the finished-jewelry section from September 15 to 19.However, the spread of Covid-19 has forced Hong Kong to introduce a compulsory 14-day quarantine for all arrivals, making it impractical for overseas visitors to attend the show. That rule will be in place until at least September 18."After careful consideration and a thorough review of all factors impacting JGW in relation to the Covid-19 outbreak, we have decided to organize a more compact fair in one venue this November," said David Bondi, Informa's senior vice president for Asia, in a statement Wednesday. "This rescheduling was reached with the well-being of our exhibitors, visitors, partners and colleagues as our top priority." The change is a "one-off arrangement" that Informa made largely in response to industry members asking for a trading forum that would enable them to secure orders before the end of 2020, the company explained. The event will return to its September schedule in 2021, Bondi added. In a normal year, the show is timed so buyers can make purchases just before the fourth-quarter holiday season. "An international jewelry trade fair in November will provide Hong Kong and the international jewelry industry with a physical trading event when the market fully reopens," said Lawrence Ma, president of the Diamond Federation of Hong Kong, China.Exhibitors' contracts, payments and special benefits will carry over to the new dates, Informa noted. Exhibitors who choose to skip the November event may roll over their payments to the September 2021 edition. The show will follow strict health guidelines. Informa is also working on a digital event that will launch later this year.The group's smaller June show, Jewellery & Gem Asia Hong Kong, will next take place in June 2021, it confirmed, after the 2020 event was canceled. In a survey last month, more than 80% of exhibitors chose June 2021 as the preferred date for the next edition, Informa reported.Image: Traditional dancers open the September 2019 Hong Kong show at AsiaWorld-Expo. (Informa Markets)