September Hong Kong Show Set for 2023 Return

RAPAPORT... Informa plans to bring its Jewelry & Gem World (JGW) trade show back to Hong Kong in September 2023, benefiting from a loosening of local coronavirus measures.The fair, previously one of the industry's most important events of the year, has not taken place in its usual form since before the pandemic, as travel bans and quarantine rules have deterred exhibitors and buyers. The organizers moved the show to Singapore last month as a one-off.Formerly the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, it is a major opportunity for trading ahead of the US fourth-quarter holiday season and the Chinese New Year. Informa has scheduled next year's show for September 8 to 22 at Hong Kong's AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE), near the airport, and September 20 to 24 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) in the Wan Chai district. Traditionally, loose-stone dealers exhibit at AWE and jeweler suppliers at HKCEC."Although pandemic policies remain, we are hopeful that additional easing measures will be introduced when conditions allow," Celine Lau, Informa's director of jewelry fairs, told Rapaport News Thursday. "We also held discussions with exhibitors and buyers during and after JGW Singapore, and we have received very positive feedback on our international B2B [business-to-business] shows taking place in Hong Kong in 2023."The smaller Jewellery & Gem Asia (JGA) show - mainly aimed at local buyers and sellers - is on track for June 22 to 25 at HKCEC, Informa added.Last month, the Hong Kong government abolished hotel quarantine for visitors, replacing it with three days of self-monitoring on arrival.Image: David Bondi, senior vice president for Asia at Informa, standing between dragons at the September 2022 JGW show in Singapore. (Informa)