Japan : IJT Reaffirms Position as Business Platform For Japan & Asia

Great results achieved at the 14th International Jewellery Tokyo 2003 (IJT 2003), have reaffirmed the position of Japan''s largest jewellery trade show as a vital platform for doing business in Japan and Asia.

IJT 2003 drew 1,066 exhibitors from 32 countries and 29,743 visitors to Tokyo Big Sight, from January 29 (Wednesday) to February 1 (Saturday), to engage in on-site business and discussions for further business expansion and enhancement.
Highly satisfied exhibitors and visitors have applauded the show as an outstanding success.

IJT figures have been growing steadily and in this, its 14th year, IJT achieved its largest scale ever. The net exhibition scale has expanded by some 20% to accommodate the growing demand for booth space by exhibitors. Visitor numbers have also expanded by some 10% over last year to reach the largest figure ever. In particular, international attendance has doubled.

With such strong growth, business between exhibitors and visitors has been very robust, dissipating any lingering market concerns. A first-time exhibitor, Mr. Sharon Gul of King Fischer, summed up the successful results saying, "This is the first IJT for King Fischer, and we had a very good show. Our main objective this time was to launch and widely promote our watch brand. The show was very successful for that purpose. We met many key persons from department stores and other key buyers."

This year, in particularly, exhibits were expanded by an increase in the number of diamond companies and included the introduction of a Belgian Diamond Pavilion. An increased number of companies also launched exciting new cuts.

Exhibitors such as Hohoemi Brains, Diana Sun, and S. Ohta, were among those that announced new cuts to offer additional added-value to diamonds. This attracted a lot of attention as the lucrative Japanese market is very competitive and high quality, special features and enhanced value are strongly sought after.

Other gemstones were also highly sought after by visitors with exhibitors reporting extensive interest in tourmaline - additionally popular for its reported health effect, cat''s eye, alexandrite, the intriguing unheated ruby, Italian cameos, jade, coral and many other stones both precious and semi-precious.

Buyers also sought variety in the precious metals being used. Favourites including gold, ranging across yellow, white and pink; silver, both matte and polished; and of course platinum, remained popular.

IJT is famous for its exceptional collection of international jewellery as well as for offering the inspiring Japanese designs now capturing so much industry attention. An exciting new concept area "Design World", now in its second year, is expanding the jewellery exhibits even further. "Design World" is capturing the imagination of a new market that is emerging as jewellery breaks out of the traditional jewellers cabinets and firmly into the fashion world. Continuing to attract visitors from boutiques, the apparel and other fashion related industries, "Design World" proved a huge success.

The ability to recognise and adapt to the new trends and demands in the market ensures that IJT is a flexible and responsive trade venue that brings the industry new buyers in changing market conditions and user patterns.

The strong performance across the entire exhibition has solidified IJT''s position as a centrepiece of the jewellery industry in Asia. Now strongly established in terms of both quantity and quality, IJT is becoming a centre of jewellery business not only for Japan but throughout Asia. IJT will be even bigger when it reopens in 2004, from January 21 to January 24, at Tokyo Big Sight. Trade professionals interested in expanding their business through exhibiting are requested to contact IJT Show Management.