Stage set for Jewels Sri Lanka 2012

Sara Pathirana

Jewels Sri Lanka 2012, International Gem, Mineral and Jewellery Fair will be held form December 7 to 9 at the Sirimavo Banadaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall.

The Fair is organised by the National Gem and Jewellery Authority in partnership with the Gemologists Association. The fair is to facilitate 100 SMEs free of charge, with the collaboration of the Export Development Board (EDB).

“2011 was a golden year for gem and jewellery exports and the first half of this year has seen exports worth $ 297 million, achieving an increase of 35 % over 2011,” Prasad Galhena, Chairman, National Gem and Jewellery Authority said. He also predicts that the country’s gem and jewellery exports will see an expansion by 2016 hitting the $1,000 million mark in annual exports.”

The National Gem and Jewellery Authority expects that the event will draw more crowds exceeding 50,000 attendees from the general public compared to the event that was held in 2010. Visitors to the fair are expected to receive a valuable gem with the entry ticket, as a memento.

The event is organized for the second time under the guidance of the Ministry of Environment with a view to providing exposure of international trade fairs to those engaged in the local small and medium scale gem and jewellery sector.

The objective of this exhibition is to produce a platform for local, small and medium scale gem and jewellery manufacturers to network with international markets and make Sri Lanka the international gem and jewellery hub.

The fair will also help boost the local and foreign demand in these sectors.

The Gemologists Association of Sri Lanka has a major hand in helping promote this sector by enhancing the knowledge on gems, initiating experts in the fields of gem cutting and jewellery designing, highlighting talent and creating interest in the field by generating competition through a series of contests that include photographic competitions, thus promoting the gem and jewellery sector by the exhibiting gems found in Sri Lanka.

A novel highlight will be a special fashion show on the first day of the fair.