September Hong Kong Jewellery & Watch Fair

View from the Convention Centre
The Hong Kong Gem Fair in September is the largest fair of its kind in the whole world. My friends and I just spent four days in Hong Kong attending the fair and having an all-around great time.

The fair is held in two locations: the main fair is at the Hong Kong Convention Centre and a second fair is out at the airport at the new Asia World Expo. Apart from the amazing gemstones and pearls, the organization of the fair was impressive. There were free shuttles to and from hotels, train stations and the remote airport location; full time toilet attendants cleaning and stocking paper towels and toilet paper; information booths for the fair, information booths for the city of Hong Kong; security up the ying-yang; kiosks with food and full service restaurants; ATM machines and even a foreign currency exchange booth.

Carmen M and I with Ken, our favorite pearl vendor
The fair is really geared towards wholesale/retail and not really for ‘designers’. Luckily, we were three, so we split bunches of pearls and strands of gemstones, but we didn’t buy enough to have any bargaining power. Surprisingly, there was little silver/components for sale. Here and there, an Indian vendor offered some brushed vermeil and silver alongside the gemstones. We had hoped to find some Bali vendors, but only one booth was selling Bali pendants and they were located in a special hall by country. We did get their business cards and an offer to look them up next time we are in Bali as they also produce silver beads.

We were in gemstone/pearl overload, spending at least six hours each day at the convention. On Saturday after breakfast, we headed over to Sham Shui Po, an area of Kowloon where you can find gemstone vendors. We did quite well there; the prices were good and the quality adequate for our needs.

We made a pact to try and attend the Hong Kong Gem Fair each year, no matter what part of the world we are living in!

Can you believe all these pearls?!