ICA Meets in Dubai

The 12th biennial International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) Congress, held May 6-9 at the Al Murooj Rotana Hotel & Suites in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), covered topics spanning the range from emerging markets to consumer confidence.

The opening of the congress highlighted Dubai 7itself. Chandraprakash Siroya, vice chairman of the Dubai Gold & Jewellery Group (DGJG), told the group that Dubai has a jewelry market worth $3 billion, with a 15 to 20 percent growth per year. The DGJG has spent $75 million since 1996 positioning Dubai as a tourist market for jewelry. While the vast bulk of current sales are in gold jewelry, the region is starting to open up to the possibilities of colored gemstones.

“The residents in the UAE have a very strong liking for colors and colored stones,” he said, “but the potential of this region for the colored gemstone industry has not been much highlighted in the past.”

The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, a government-sponsored trading center for commodities of all kinds, including gold and diamonds, has launched the Dubai Gems Club to help build sales of colored gemstones, pearls, and gemstone jewelry. They have already begun retail training programs for jewelers in Dubai, and hope to expand their operations.

“I can’t help saying that given the right focus, and with the active support of the government of Dubai, we in the next five years, will be the largest colored stone marketplace in the world,” he concluded.

Other congress sessions covered mining development initiatives in source countries like Nigeria and Pakistan; the developing gem market in China and India; and discussion from laboratories around the world on the role that laboratory certificates play in building consumer confidence.

Perhaps one of the most thought-provoking sessions covered the forces shaping today’s gem industry. Russell Shor of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) delivered an analysis of the world colored stone market – comparing its marketing activities unfavorably with gold and diamonds – and concluded that if the gem industry is to grow, the key is collaborative promotion and transparency in marketing.

Robert Weldon, also of the GIA, followed up with a compelling argument for fair trade. “Fair trade changes must occur because consumers are demanding it,” he said. He cited a study that showed that 83 percent of “millennials” – the up-and-coming generation of consumers – are more likely to buy from a company that is socially responsible.

At the end of the congress, ICA members left with a new president – Andrew Cody of Cody Opal in Australia – and a new perspective on the global marketplace and where colored stones stand in it.

Posted: May 14, 2007

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