Hong Kong Jewelry Fair and Jewelry District

For the past 3 days we were down in Hong Kong China attending the International Jewelry Fair. The event was huge but we didn’t really see anything that amazing or competitively priced.  We asked ourselves why would someone buy from the suppliers in attendance? The answer is if the buyer has no experience sourcing from mainland china.  While the show is definitely a great opportunity for first time buyers, there are  problems for seasoned jewelry professionals. Suppliers in attendance have to hire multiple employees that speak english.  They also have to ship all of their goods to hong kong china and purchase a booth (registration, setup materials etc.)  All this adds up to a significant additional cost.  These cost hikes were clearly evident in the prices of the jewelry.  Also buyers run into the problem of buying jewelry that has already been bought multiple times during the same show.

We also traveled to the Jewelry District in Hong Kong.  It is located on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong (the rest is a secret ) Regardless, we saw the same thing as the show. Wholesalers pedaling Chinese goods for a significant price hike.  I think the lesson learned here was Hong Kong is already well known in the jewelry world.  The prices simply are not competitive.  An experienced jewelry buyer should focus on companies located strictly in the chinese mainland.