IIJS Premiere 2022 records 50,000 visitors; expected to generate business worth Rs. 50,000 cr

The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC)’s flagship show, IIJS Premiere, was held from 4th to 8th August in Mumbai. The event saw a record number of visitors which will generate business worth Rs. 50000 crore to exhibitors in the coming 4-6 months. With 1,790 exhibitors showcasing their exquisite gems & jewellery and spread over 8,01,879+ sq ft. of exhibition area, IIJS Premiere 2022 presented a galaxy of varieties in gold & gold CZ studded jewellery; diamond, gemstone & other studded jewellery; loose stones, CVD, silver jewellery, artefacts and gifting items, laboratories & education, and machinery & allied industry products and services.

Organisers Speak

 Talking about the success of the show, Colin Shah, Chairman, GJEPC, said, “It is estimated that Rs.50,000 crore worth of business will be generated in the next 4-6 months. It has brought cheer to not just IIJS’ participants, but also indicated that the festive and wedding season will drive jewellery sales at the retail end. Despite the recent duty hike on gold, market sentiments remained strong towards the yellow metal. With the phenomenal buying that has taken place at IIJS Premiere, there’s no doubt that this is going to be a bumper Diwali.”

 Shailesh Sangani, Convener, National Exhibitions, GJEPC said, “The show had around 50,000 visitors including 1,500 international visitors from more than 60 countries including USA, Canada, UK, Hong Kong, Middle East, Europe, Bangladesh, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, and Egypt. I would like to thank the MSME Ministry for listing IIJS Premiere under MSME scheme and offering a grant of Rs. 2.75 crore to MSME participants. The disbursements under the scheme have already begun to the 194 companies that applied for the grant.” 

 Exhibitors Speak

Sunny Chordia, Director, Swarnsarita Jewels India Ltd, said, “We were pleased with the response at the show. Our handcrafted antique jewellery weighing between 50 gm and 100 gm has been the most sought-after product. The show has kept us busy all day long. We made Kolkata jewellery especially for our clients from USA, Singapore, and Dubai,”

 Varun PN, Owner, Vara Krupa Jewellers, said, “The show has been remarkable. We have seen a 50% rise in new buyers this time, who are booking heavy and light antique gold jewellery. Metal weight is not a consideration for our customers from Dubai, USA, Maharashtra and Chennai.”

 Bhairavi Shah of Aadish Gold remarked, “IIJS is the place where we get to meet new buyers. It’s been an amazing show and we got clients from Maharashtra, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. We also got a fabulous response for our new collection ‘Aamulyaa-The Priceless’. Heavy bridal jewellery with focus on design is trending. We have smaller retailers looking for temple jewellery between 10 gm and 15 gm, while others are booking sets between 200 gm and 600 gm.”

 Ashish Sand of Savio Jewellery observed that the IIJS Premiere has got bigger, better and grander. “The show has been phenomenal for us. High-quality buyers from pan-India and overseas have met us. The best part this year is that from big chain stores to small independent stores, everyone was looking for exclusive collections, which every manufacturer had showcased. In the past, visitors used to spend the first two days at the show in the gold section, but since Day 1this time, we saw similar large crowds in the diamond section too.”

 Siddarthaa Sawansukha, MD, Sawansukha Jewellers said that their new line of white and rose gold open necklaces with leafy diamond and coloured stone finials were a rage. “This time, we have also introduced diamond-centric lines highlighted with Australian opals and fine enamelling. Of course, our heavier sets in diamonds were in demand due to the upcoming festive and bridal seasons, but our lightweight diamond lines are doing equally well,” he added.

Visitors Speak

Vastupal Ranka, Director, Ranka Jewellers said, “The energy at the IIJS was really high. Majority of the stalls were crowded with visitors, which is a positive sign for the industry. When it comes to jewellery, I think there was so much of variety in the designs across all the categories. An interesting thing I observed about new designer jewellerythis time. In the previous occasions, there were only a handful manufacturers selling designer jewellery, however this time there were multiple options to choose from. Many new players had got better designs in comparison with the existing players. Innovations were done in the gold sets, antique gold jewellery pieces, etc.  Besides temple jewellery, there was designer gold jewellery, and millennial jewellery which was a mix of Italian, Singaporean and Turkish designs.”

Talking about the similar appearances of stalls, Vastupal said, “When you have a customised stall done, it helps to highlight the products, which was not the case this time. There is a different approach towards every product. You cannot just put gold and jadau jewellery in the same light and same manner, because jadau is premium. Jadau jewellery requires special lighting and window displayers to highlight the product,” Vastupal added.

Akshay Verma, Director, Verma Jewellers said, “Like always, the show was very good and performed well above my expectation. I can feel the positive vibes at the show as the previous couple of editions happened under the COVID threat. The manufacturers had worked hard to come up with beautiful designs and collections during the show. I generally don’t purchase much, however, I overbought at IIJSfor the first time.”

Adding to it, Sumeet Anand, Owner, Punjabi Saraf Jewellers said, “I think the overall footfall at the show was way more than previous shows. The manufacturers were fully prepared as they came up with abundant stocks.  There was no dearth of innovations. Generally, in diamond jewellery, I have seen that the sight holders were regarded as the leaders. However, this time I saw a lot of lesser popular manufacturers who have exceeded expectations with design innovation. The way they have designed the products, especially the bridal jewellery with proper weight, was commendable.”

Anand also pointed out the innovation in lightweight jewellery and bridal categories by sight-holders and mom-and-pop brands. There were also lots of other innovations, such as in the place of enamelling, MOPs. Modular jewellery with detachable designs was displayed, while polki jewellery and real colour stones were mostly used and designed in such a way that it looked like a modern jewellery.

Ishu Datwani, Founder, Anmol, Mumbai shared, “I have been attending IIJS since the early 80s when it was held at the World Trade Centre in Cuffe Parade. Over the years, I have seen IIJS transforming into a truly international show. This year was probably the biggest IIJS that I have seen and very honestly, I was expecting some glitches. But to my pleasant surprise, I found the arrangements to be exceptionally good including security check, the exit, and even the convenient buggy arrangements for commuting visitors across halls. All in all, it was a nice and fruitful experience.”

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