Trade Shows

The 1998 Pacific Jewelry Show, being held at the Disneyland Hotel Aug. 22-24, will offer a special seminar by Disney personnel. “Driving Toward Excellence” is a two-hour seminar hosted by Disney that will highlight the philosophies of leadership at Disney.

The presentation will focus on the expectations, training and development, and performance management of leaders. “Although the program will be about Disney’s way of leadership, it can easily be applied to even the smallest independent jewelry stores,” said PJS co-chairs Richard Horne and Pat Patten.

The Buyers Market of American Craft, produced by The Rosen Group of Baltimore, will take its summer show to Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania Convention Center July 24-26. The show, entitled “New Work . . . New Artists,” is organized by medium. Categories include fine jewelry, fashion jewelry, wearable fiber, decorative fiber, wood, metal, mixed media, interiors, outdoors, kaleidoscopes, glass and ceramics. For buyer registration, hotel and travel information, call (800) 432-7238, fax (410) 889-5947, e-mail susannahg@rosengrp.com.

The American Gem Trade Association’s 1998 GemFair reported a 7% increase in attendance during its February run in Tucson. AGTA provided a Gemstone Enhancement information booth where buyers could read about enhancements and test gemstones free of charge with the GemAlert instrument. The AGTA product booth also provided samples of two new brochures, “Gemstone Enhancements – What You Should Know” and the “Consumer Guide to Emerald.” To request a product catalog, fax AGTA at (214) 742-7334.

The Thai government recently provided the 21st Bangkok Gems and Jewelry Fair ’98 with a little help. Prior to the show, held March 14-17, the government passed a value-added tax exemption on imported diamonds and gemstones used by the industry to make exports. This kept prices competitive, making Thailand more attractive to foreign buyers, and provided a boost in attendance at the show.

Asia’s Fashion Jewellery & Accessories Fair 98 will take place concurrently with the Hong Kong Jewellery & Watch Fair, June 25-28. Visitors will register separately but will have free access to both fairs. The fall Hong Kong Jewellery & Watch Fair, to be held Sept. 23-27 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, will expand into additional halls to allow exhibitors to increase their space and accommodate companies new to the fair. Contact Miller Freeman Asia Ltd., 102-5 Stanhope House, 738 King’s Road, Hong Kong; 852-2827-6211, fax 852-2564-7064, internet: http://www.jewellery-net-asia.com.

Attendance at this year’s Hong Kong International Jewellery Show was up 32% over last year as nearly 16,000 international traders converged on the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre March 18-21. Attendance by U.S. buyers rose nearly 25%. China reported a 200% increase in buyer attendance.

Tendence-International Frankfurt Fair will be held in Frankfurt am Main Aug. 29-Sept. 2, with extended hours (until 7 p.m.) the first two days. Ambiente-International Frankfurt Fair, held Feb. 14-18, registered a 5% increase in the number of visitors, with 129,000 attending over the five days of the fair. Exhibitors numbered 5,040, representing 91 countries.

INHORGENTA 98 hosted 21,000 visitors Feb. 20-23, with 1,250 companies from 37 countries displaying their products and services. The show saw increased participation from Central, South and Southeast Europe.

The 5th Malaysia International Jewelex ’98 show will be held Nov. 20-23 at the Putra World Trade Centre. Exhibitors from more than 20 countries, including the U.S., Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Israel, England and Belgium, are expected. Organizers say 12,000-plus manufacturers, dealers, traders, wholesalers, importers/exporters and buyers will attend.

Autumn Fair Birmingham, formerly known as the International Autumn Fair, is scheduled to run Sept. 6-9 at the National Exhibition Center (NEC) in Birmingham, England. Running concurrently with Housewares International and the International Hardware Fair, the combined events attract nearly 25,000 visitors from 60 countries. Nearly 3,000 exhibitors will showcase their products in four new halls at the NEC. For information, call (201) 659-0134, fax (201) 222-2141, e-mail: whitehound@aol.com, internet: http://www.gift-gardenmart.com. The 1998 International Spring Fair, held Feb. 1-5 at the NEC, attracted more than 80,000 visitors, including more than 1,000 North American retailers.