Eastern China Jewelry Event Targets New Luxury Consumers

Hangzhou—the capital city and political, economic and cultural center of Zhejiang province—will host, Treasures Hangzhou, a new jewelry event in Eastern China October 24 to 26 at the Hyatt Regency Hangzhou.

The event will give the province’s jewelry consumers, private collectors and high-end jewelry retailers the opportunity to purchase jewelry, diamonds, gemstones, pearls and jadeite from international jewelry designers and manufacturers. Among these exhibitors are Hini Star Ltd, Golden Dynasty (HK) Ltd, Shenzhen Color And Diamond Jewellery Co Ltd, SYM Jewellery Co Ltd and Houlang Jewellery (Shanghai) Co Ltd.

The show is jointly organized by UBM China, the International Colored Gemstone Association and the Jewelry Jade Industry Association of Zhejiang.

Hangzhou, located about 100 miles southwest of Shanghai, is one of China’s second-tier cities whose consumer market is growing. Like in the rest of China, there are a growing number of high-end consumers in Hangzhou eager to enjoy a better lifestyle. According to the 2010-2011 World Luxury Association survey, Hangzhou ranks first among China’s second-and third-tier cities as having the highest consumption of high-end goods apart from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. A report released by Goldman Sachs showed that over the next five years, second-and third-tier cities including Hangzhou, Wenzhou and Ningbo, will account for much China’s high-end consumer market.

Nationwide, total consumption of gems and jewelry reached 70 billion Chinese yuan renminbi ($11 billion) in 2010. Of this figure, diamonds account for more than $1.1 billion, making China potentially the world’s largest diamond consumer market and the world’s second largest diamond processing country, according to the World Luxury Association. Jade also accounts for a large part of the total figure.

Treasures Hangzhou will be held concurrently with the “Liang Zhu Bei” Zhejiang Jade Carving Exhibition, also at the Hyatt Regency Hangzhou. This prominent carving art event in attracts art lovers and collectors throughout China, including high-net-worth individuals. During the Fair, a series of professional seminars will be held to give visitors the chance to enrich their knowledge of collecting and investing in high-end jewelry.

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Royal Asscher Targets Young Consumers with Lab-Made Diamond Brand

Rebel Chique diamond engagement ring, 18k white gold with o.cc-carat pink man-made diamond brilliant cut, VVS1 clarity, set in white pave. The prices is listed on the website at $8,445.

The Royal Asscher diamond company has introduced a man-made diamond brand it calls, “Rebel Chique.” The name represents a break from the traditional view of a diamond as once-in-lifetime heirloom to a fashion accessory that offers a more personalized diamond experience, the company said. 

To bring this point home, the opening page of the brand’s e-commerce enabled website and accompanying advertising campaign features a picture of the ring on a women’s middle finger in what the company describes as a “wink of rebellion.”

The diamond industry is largely a stodgy, old place where innovation comes slowly. Royal Asscher, even though it's history spans nearly 160 years, is attempting to break this mold with this new brand.

“Diamonds have traditionally been an expression of purity and beauty,” Mike Asscher, Royal Asscher, vice president, sixth generation to work at the family-owned company. “We want them to be also about confidence and independence.”

Laboratory grown diamonds use heat and pressure to recreate how a diamond is created beneath the earth’s surface, turning a natural process that stakes more than 1 billion years to something that could be done in a laboratory in less than a week. Man-made diamonds have traditionally been used for manufacturing process such as cutting and polishing tools. In recent years the technique to create these diamonds has grown to the point where it can produce gem-quality products. These stones currently makeup a tiny portion of the gem-quality diamonds in the marketplace and have until recently been limited in terms of size and color. But as the process continues to progress more of these diamonds are appearing in stores in more varieties.

The Rebel Chique brand is available in at least six colors (including colorless) and a variety of cuts and sizes for rings pendants and earrings. Browsing the website, prices range from about $2,000 to $13,000, depending on size and quality of the diamond. There is also a pure bespoke category.

Mike Asscher, who is in his 30s, is making it clear that the brand is targeting a younger audience.

“We have grown up in an on-demand, made-to-order culture. We are a generation that wants to create our own icons,” he said. “Rebel Chique opens a new world for a next generation of diamond lovers, tapping into an entirely new mentality and experience.”

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