Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — The Eighth edition of most luxurious jewelry exhibition in Saudi Arabia ‘Jewelry Salon 2017', with participation of 50 exhibitors from 10 countries, was inaugurated by Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Faisal Bin Abdul Majeed on Monday at Jeddah Hilton Hotel. The four-day exhibition showcases the latest developments in the industry. With expectations of 20% sales increase over the next three months having five seasons in a row — Ramadan, Eid, summer vacation, Haj and Tourism — participating experts' expectations of market is to surpass $55 billion this year. Prince Abdul Aziz toured the exhibition and listened to an explanation about the most prominent exhibits, countries and participating companies. Haya Sunaidi, chairman of Sunaidi Expo, the organizer, said: «The exhibition is a platform for exhibitors seeking to expand business within the Kingdom, the Gulf region and the Middle East. The Kingdom comes fourth country in the world in gold and jewelry consumption due to the wide diversity of different nationalities.» Sunaidi pointed out that the economic variables enhance opportunities of foreign investment and that industry experts focused this year on the quality, value and aestheticism more than the size. Sunaidi expressed hope that more Saudi workforce would intensively join in various stages of design and manufacturing in the next phase. Mohammed Al-Debeyan, deputy general manager of Lapis Group, and general supervisor of the Salon Jewelry contest, said the exhibition represents a major platform to identify the latest developments in the industry and that the changes and reforms in the Saudi market in general have had their repercussions on gold and jewelry market through restructuring the market. Al-Debeyan stressed the importance of supporting jewelry industries by increasing the government facilities for factories and workshops and providing national manpower after training. Investor in jewelry Abdullah Al-Aly pointed out that the current moderation of prices and their stability between $1,200- $1,300 per ounce especially with inflation rate, increased consumption and cost of trained manpower in addition to rents, enhance the demand of consumers, especially with the coming of 5 seasons overlap in a few months. Al-Aly further said the jewelry salon has contributed to increasing the volume of foreign investment by expanding the base of partnerships and opening up foreign branches, which has had a great impact on raising competitiveness and product quality. Jewels designer Al-Anoud expressed her happiness for her first participation in Jewelry Salon. She said the high purchasing power and diversity of tastes as evidenced by the presence of various nationalities in the Kingdom, increase market attractiveness and enlarge demand. Al-Anoud called on businessmen to attract Saudi talents who still represent 20% of the workforce.
