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ITALIAN JEWELLERY SPARKLES IN HONG KONG
Rome (Ign) - A springboard for China and the whole of the Asian market. This is the Hong Kong Jewellery Show, the third edition of the fair dedicated to gold and jewellery, scheduled to take place from 6 to 10 March at the Convention and Exhibition Centre (www.hkjewellery.com). The event is organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council together with the leading local and Chinese trade associations, and is now a show in marked growth, not to mention the ideal base from which to move into the wider Chinese market, using the distribution networks of Hong Kong (specialist stores, importers and wholesalers with licences to operate in China). The last edition saw the presence of almost 2000 exhibitors and 30,000 visitors, figures that the organisers aim to see confirmed in 2007. Italy will also be present at the fair, with a collective delegation organised by the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE).
Gold and jewellery is in fact a sector that boasts an ancient tradition in Italy. Design, finishing and high quality are the characteristics peculiar to Italian jewellery, which in recent years has seen the leading names of fashion join those of traditional jewellers. The result is that today the range of products on offer is truly comprehensive: from "one-offs" to limited-edition pieces, right down to precious stones at more affordable prices. The production value of the sector as a whole in 2005 was €5.8bn (basically the same level as the previous year). And it is precisely exports that in 2006 supported the sector: in the first five months they grew by 14.1%, with the average unit value up by 11.5%. The rise was driven by significant increases (above average) in purchases from Latin America (+58%) and the three areas of Asia: the Middle East (+15%), Central Asia (+27%) and the Far East (+16%). In the retail trade, important export markets for Italian jewellery are emerging countries, with China (+31.6%) and Russia (+29.7%) showing particularly impressive figures.
Italian gold and jewellery production can count on a number of "historic" districts, such as the one in Tuscany, where the province of Arezzo alone accounts for 1100 businesses and 10,000 jobs, which process around 230 tonnes of gold per year, for a total of 1600 brand names. The supply chain is made up above all of small and medium-sized businesses, as is the district in Campania, where in the area between Naples and Caserta 250 companies work in the manufacture of world-famous cameos and coral products. A quarter of the producers are based in the north of Italy: Valenza in Piedmont processes 80% of the precious stones imported into Italy. Today, moreover, the majority of the medium-sized companies that used to work to contract are progressively working for themselves, creating their own brands with 'lightweight' creations in line with the latest fashions. The result is that they are attracting customers of all types thanks to their wide product ranges.
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