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by Murali Jayadeva

Facets 2003 is a virtual sell out as 75 stalls have been allocated to local and foreign Gem and Jewellery merchants which is an all-time record in the history of Facets.

Facets has been a story of continued success as the twelve preceding years had seen the country in turmoil but Facets undaunted held the exhibition without any interruption in those years. It has now entered the 13th successive year and with the ongoing peace process, Facets 2003 portends to be a greater success this year, President, Gem and Jewellery Traders Association and Chairman, Facets Committee, Macky Hasim said.

2003 declared the year of the Blue Sapphire in Japan will form the theme "Blue and More-direct from the source". As usual it will be held at the Colombo Hilton from September 8 to 10. He said 'rightly acknowledged the world over, Sri Lanka is the only source in the world for the best natural untreated Blue Sapphire. With the focus on Blue Sapphire, Facets 2003 will put on display the most colourful collection of precious stones ever for the delight and delectation of visitors from abroad who will be attending this exhibition.

Facets 2003 is now an acclaimed International Gem and Jewellery event providing a venue for local gem traders to interact with their counterparts from foreign countries. It will also be a trading floor to put on display an exclusive selection of precious stones of great value and beauty for buyers to make their choice of selections.

Apart from precious stones, Facets 2003 will also showcase a wide spectrum of contemporary jewellery creatively designed by experts in the field. The host country which has a highly developed and thriving industry of manufactured jewellery for the export market, will make use of this opportunity to display to the world, the ingenuity and master craftsmanship of Sri Lankans in this field.

The significant step forward of Facets 2003 will be the availability of a web portal for Sri Lanka's Gem and Jewellery industry which will present a consolidated image of the entire industry. The Trade Portal will be the main gateway for all the information the gem merchants may want to know about the industry and the finest quality of gemstones and jewellery Sri Lanka can offer.

Rusiripala Tennakoon, Chairman, National Gem and Jewellery Authority said in future the Geuda will not be exported as rough stones. Entrepreneurs who have the skill, knowledge and experience in converting Geuda into Blue Sapphire will be allowed to come to the country, do the heat treatment for conversion and do the cutting and polishing here before they are exported.

This would bring in more foreign exchange and create conditions to generate more employment. He said he was optimistic that the manner in which the private enterprise is handling the gem trade, Sri Lanka would soon become the hub of gem trade in this part of the world. He said that the government on its part would extend all the cooperation and regulatory steps to maximise the potential in this regard.

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