The good news are that over the last three months the demand for polished has gone up and of course the prices of unpolished too. Those who were preparing the obituaries over the industry will have to eat their hats, again. The not so good news are that the Hong Kong exhibition wasn't as successful as it was expected to be by those who took part.
Prominent were the Indian buyers, who showed up in large numbers. The Chinese ones, on the contrary, didn't show up massively as they usually do. It might be the exhibition's proximity to the Chinese New Year that caused the low presence of them, as the holiday ended on the day the exhibition commenced. Anyway, the sales and attendance weren't as initially expected.
During the exhibition we met representatives of some of the largest Chinese and global jewelry companies. They presented very encouraging details of growing demands on the Chinese market, including of diamond jewelry. There is no doubt that this trend will have an immediate positive effect on the entire industry, all over the world.
During the exhibition a meeting arranged by the Diamonds Producers Association (DPA) took place, where it's CEO, Jean-Marc Lieberherr, launched the new worldwide advertising campaign, targeting the Chinese market. 50 million dollars have been invested in the campaign, as it was co-produced by some of the association's members, such as Alrosa, De-Beers, Petra, RioTinto and others. During 2017 the campaign was aimed at the American market, as this year it will focus on the Chinese one.
In conclusion, the exhibition didn't live up to the presenters expectations, but the market's general trend and the good news coming from china once again prove that we're allowed and should be optimistic about the near future and keep on working and innovating. 69 Israeli companies who presented during the exhibition did it on behalf of the Israeli Diamond Institution, as about ten others presented independently.
