Jewellery and fashion hand in hand at Shanghai Jewellery Fair 2018

FASHION - COMPANY NEWS

Source : UBM China (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd

Shanghai will host to one of the most important events in the industry calendar, the China International Gold, Jewellery & Gem Fair - Shanghai 2018 from 7 to 10 December. Now on its 14th edition, the Shanghai Jewellery Fair will feature 400 exhibitors from 11 countries and regions in 17,000 sqm of exhibition space at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center. Exhibitors will unveil their latest jewellery collections, quality diamonds and gemstones, and a wide range of pearls to roughly 10,000 buyers from 36 countries and regions. The Shanghai Jewellery Fair is organized by UBM China (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd.

The fair's theme: "Classic" and "Fashion" acknowledges the continued significance of traditional jewellery (think diamond engagement rings) as cultural imperatives, but also the industry's need to expand to other categories, such as fashion lines that fill young consumers' desire for jewellery as a wearable, fashion accessories.

Crossover opportunities

New directions for this year's edition confirm the stronger intermingling of fashion and jewellery. Notable attractions feature world-leading design concepts and innovations that open up crossover cooperation opportunities between traditional or conventional jewellers and fashion-related sectors such as clothing, handbags, leather, cosmetics, home furnishings, and artwork, to name a few.

"We want to offer our exhibitors a unique opportunity to tap into today's marketplace where fashion and jewellery go hand in hand. This collaboration with key players in the arts and lifestyle sector represents a tremendous source of growth in the future," says Teddy Tan, Event Manager - China Jewellery Fairs.

Returning on its second year is a revitalized Jewellery Life Pavilion. Warmly received at its debut in 2017, Jewellery Life 2.0 highlights the collaboration between jewellers and insiders from the beauty, garment and leather industries.

"Jewellery Life Pavilion showcases jewellery products in a new way," says Mr. Tan. "Insiders from the beauty, garment and leather industries will visit the show. Through this pavilion we want to show that it is possible for different industries to collaborate with each other and mutually benefit from such collaboration."

Jewellery Life 2.0 joins other pavilions offering fashion-inspired jewellery and accessories, including the Designer Pavilion, Pearl Zone, as well as a dedicated area that showcases work from jewellery design academies.

An innovation making its debut this year is the Chinese Culture Pavilion, under which five elements take centre stage: metal, wood, water, fire and earth. Jewellery representatives of these five elements will be displayed under their corresponding zone. "The five elements represent five kinds of energy that make up the universe. For example the colour green would be under the element wood; green speaks of nature, spring and vitality. The wood zone will thus feature jewellery with emerald, diopside, green jadeite, peridot, green tourmaline, or even amber, which is also wood from its source," explains Mr. Tan.

Why Shanghai?

Mainland China's rebound in luxury product sales in 2017 after three years of moderate growth has been attributed on young consumers' spending on jewellery and branded cosmetics. To cater to this powerful demographic, the Shanghai Jewellery Fair is bringing a number of high-quality exhibitors from Hong Kong's fashion industry.

China's booming economy has increased the ranks of the Chinese middle class that wields enormous purchasing power and grows increasingly sophisticated in their purchases and investments. Shanghai leads Chinese cities in terms of purchasing power (CNY 567 billion in the first half of 2017).

Leveraging on this position and the host's reputation as the"City of Chic," the Shanghai Jewellery Fair creates a prime occasion for jewellers to establish or expand their presence in this market. "Having a local partner and local promotion is the key to success for international brands and suppliers. We are confident the Shanghai Jewellery Fair will be the place to forge these relationships and launch business initiatives geared toward the mainland market," Mr. Tan says.

Having been in the Shanghai market for the past 10 years, UBM Asia has built up a powerful database of high-quality buyers and market intelligence, says Mr. Tan. "Our exhibitions span different industries and markets. More than 28,000 buyers in Shanghai and surrounding cities have come to our fair."

Favourable terms and regulations for overseas companies

According to the latest notice of the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council, the import tariff of 18 jewellery-related items in China will be reduced from July 1, 2018, which will be favourable news for overseas companies who would like to exhibit at the Shanghai Jewellery Fair and develop the China market. According to the notice, the tariffs of gold and silver jewellery products will be adjusted from 20% to 8%, platinum and other precious metal products from 35% to 10%, natural or cultured pearl products, precious stones or semi-precious stones products from 35% to 10%, among others. The average import tariff of the appointed 18 items will be reduced to 9.89% from 30.67%, with an average decrease of 67.75%.

Learning and Networking

The fair will not only be packed with a variety of jewellery, related products and services but will also feature knowledge seminars and networking opportunities that will provide crucial insights into the latest market developments. "Emerging trends and market intelligence that will help our participants create new business opportunities await," adds Mr. Tan.