all that glitters
“This show has been a long time coming,” says Alun Jones, General Manager of UBM-MES and the force behind the inaugural Jewellery Asia 2017 exhibition, held recently at Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur. “We’ve been planning this for a while, but for some reason or another, it always got delayed. Now we’re here. And it’s all looking good.”
Good is an understatement. Some 44 brands from 14 countries brought their prized jewellery collections to the show. From Australia, Autore enchanted with the luscious sheen of golden South Sea Pearls. From Austria, Aenea Jewellery’s intricate motifs mixed popular gems with more exotic stones. India’s Hazoorilal Jewellers brought drama, while Solitaire Jewels from the USA contributed understated elegance.
It was a show to satisfy connoisseurs. An offshoot of Jewellery Arabia – now in its 26th year – Jewellery Asia is aimed squarely at the luxury segment of the Southeast Asian market, which Jones feels is untapped. “There is a lot of potential here. At Jewellery Arabia, we get high net worth clients from Malaysia all the time. So why not bring a show to them?”
It seems a right fit. According to Jones, the Malaysian fine jewellery market is the second fastest-growing in the world, jumping up by an incredible 99% since 2012. “The brands we brought are high jewellery, not high street, this feels extremely timely,” says Jones. As a show, it certainly dazzles. But what has the response been? “It’s our first show, so it’s a bit tough to establish metrics. But the brands seem happy so far. If, and hopefully when, this first Jewellery Asia is a success… there are a lot of other brands just waiting to participate. So hopefully there will be a second, and many more to come.”
