India, January 2023: The recently concluded, IIJS Signature 2023, this year’s first & largest jewellery trade show, has booked orders worth Rs. 30,000 crore, as per the initial estimates by The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). The 15th edition of IIJS Signature, the biggest-ever and first-ever ‘Green Expo’ saw several brilliantly designed gem & jewellery creations from diverse parts of the country over the course of five days.
The highlight of IIJS Signature 2023 was a masterpiece creation of a magnificent Lord Ganesha gold pendant weighing 1.3 kg and specially carved and embellished with 36,000 diamonds. GJEPC Chairman Vipul Shah and Tushar Agarwal, MD, Shiv Narayan Jewellers launched this spectacular piece that is all set to smash its way into the Guinness Record Book.
While some participants hailed IIJS Signature as the Best Platform for spearheading B2B growth in the gem & jewellery industry, others said that they were putting their best foot forward post the pandemic to enhance their growth trajectory. Still others pointed out that IIJS Signature bridges the gap between the manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer and other trade constituents. Many from remote parts of the country said that IIJS Signature gave them a voice and an opportunity to match as well as compete with others to catch the eye and attention of domestic and international buyers. Participants catered to different benchmarks such as trendsetters, quality, innovation, hand-made craftsmanship and mass manufacturing in jewellery.
Vipul Shah, Chairman, GJEPC, said, “The year’s first, Green Expo and biggest-ever IIJS Signature got an encouraging response from domestic gem & jewellery business entrepreneurs as well as international buyers despite several global headwinds. International buyers showed keenness to source gem & jewellery from India after the recent successful FTAs with the UAE and Australia.” He added, “Genuine serious buyers added to the momentum of business generation even as enthusiastic Indian jewellers presented their best-ever creations of the last two years. Indian trade was buoyed by strong double-digit growth posted in Plain Gold jewellery exports in December 2022 y-o-y and for April-December 2022 period. Overall, the sentiment is quite bullish.”
For December 2022, the total gross export of Plain Gold Jewellery grew 21.31% to ₹2,369.74 crores (10.97% in dollar terms to US$ 287.46 million) as compared to ₹1,953.46 crores (US$ 259.05 million) for the same period last year. In the financial year-to-date (April to December 2022), provisional gross export of Plain Gold Jewellery grew 20.98% to ₹ 24,242.91 crores (12.81% in dollar terms to US$ 3,041.93 million) as compared to ₹20,038.33 crores (US$ 2,696.50 million) for the same period last year.
Kirit Bhansali, Vice Chairman, GJEPC, said, “The Government of India’s recent initiatives to boost exports of gem and jewellery exports and make the country a global hub are helping to attract more and more international buyers. India is in the limelight, thanks to initiatives such as the UAE CEPA and the Australia ECTA coupled with the China Plus One strategy. Boosting infrastructure such as Jewellery Parks, Mega CFCs and Training institutes, which promise job creation and skill development are making India more attractive to international buyers.”
Nirav Bhansali, Converner-National Exhibitions, GJEPC, said, “IIJS Signature 2023 witnessed the One Earth green initiative, which marks the first-ever large-scale pro-environment initiative by any trade organisation or EPC in India. IIJS Signature witnessed trail-blazing initiatives such as Innov8 Talks, Innov8 Launch Pad, Design Gallery for Women Entrepreneurs & Budding Designers among others. The new section for Lab-Grown Diamonds reflects the sign of the times to come. GJEPC’s One Earth initiative was a huge success with commitments for planting 50k trees. The initiative saw contribution from exhibitors, visitors, media, associations and agencies involved in organising the IIJS.
The entire show floor of IIJS Signature 2023 and IGJME 2023 was spread across six halls of the Bombay Exhibition Centre (NESCO), Goregaon, Mumbai, encompassing 65,000 sq. ft. IIJS Signature accommodated more than 1,300 exhibitors displaying in 2,400+ booths. IIJS Signature had 20,000 visitors from 10,000 domestic companies attending the show. GJEPC introduced a new section for lab-grown diamonds. IGJME had 90+ companies displaying across 115+ booths.
Inspite of the continuing Russia-Ukraine strife and pandemic scare, IIJS Signature saw record number of 800+ foreign visitors from 60 countries. Delegations came from 10 countries including: the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Iran, Bangladesh, Nepal, UAE, Bahrain and Russia. For the first time a delegation had come from Saudi Arabia with 18 prime buyers.
The inauguration of IIJS Signature 2023 was graced by Smt. Anupriya Patel, Hon’ble Minister of State for Commerce and Industry (Chief Guest); Guests of Honour, Smt. Poonam Mahajan, Member of Parliament and Shri MP Ahammed, Chairman, Malabar Gold & Diamonds; and Shri R. Arulanandan, Director, Department of Commerce; Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India along with Shri Vipul Shah, Chairman, GJEPC; Shri Kirit Bhansali, Vice Chairman, GJEPC; Shri Nirav Bhansali, Convener, National Exhibitions; Shri Sabyasachi Ray, ED, GJEPC.
During the inauguration, Chief Guest Smt. Anupriya Patel, Hon’ble Minister of State for Commerce and Industry had praised the efforts made by GJEPC to make the 5-day IIJS Signature show bigger, better and greener.
Smt. Poonam Mahajan, Hon. Member of Parliament, said the next 25 years after Amrit Mahotsav celebration will see India emerge as a Kohinoor – as the global leader and hub in gem & jewellery exports.
Shri MP Ahammed, Chairman, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, said, “GJEPC has helped regional jewellers with a global platform to fulfil Prime Minister’s vision of taking Indian jewellers from every corner of the country to the global market. We believe in Make in India and Market to the world concept.”
GJEPC took the effort to make the show bigger, better and greener, with the aim to make the IIJS shows completely carbon-neutral by 2025-2026. Steps were taken in this direction. Firstly, all booths at IIJS Signature were pre-fabricated to avoid any wastage. Secondly, for the first time ever, IIJS Signature used Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd., which supplies power harnessed by solar and wind energy. Thirdly, and the most important initiative was One Earth! GJEPC is committed to contribute to Mother Earth while creating a conducive ecosystem for our gem & jewellery members. GJEPC introduced “One Earth” initiative to treasure Planet Earth in association with Sankalp Taru Foundation.
Chairman Vipul Shah felicitated the Pillars of IIJS Show to acknowledge their contribution towards the success of the Show: Sabyasachi Ray, ED, GJEPC, Shamal Pote, Director, National Exhibitions, Dolly Choudhary, Director – Marketing & Promotions, GJEPC, Bhavin Khorasia Exhibitor Services & Logistics, Naheed Sunke, Asst. Director, National Exhibitions; Bijal Shah Director-Accounts and Vikrant Pradhan, Events & Customer Relations Management.
GJEPC’s IIJS Tritiya in Bangalore will be one of the best shows for the southern region. The show dates are 17th to 20th March 2023. With 1,500+ booths and 800+ exhibitors, GJEPC expects IIJS Tritiya to be almost as big as last year’s IIJS Signature 2022.
Exhibitors’ Voice:
Giving his feedback Vishal Khunt, Production Lead, Diyora Jewellery said, “LGD section is a brand new, exciting category and the visibility should have the same energy. The organisers could consider putting up large LED screens and exciting audio-visuals that match the energy around the LGD segment.”
Siddhartha Sawansukha, MD, Sawansukha Jewellers said, “Signature has always been the same – less visitors but serious buyers. Diamond jewellery is being appreciated a lot, especially for us. One change I noticed that even those buyers, who deal in generic jewellery, have started demanding jewellery with some design elements. We saw that more weightage was given to design and buyers were more appreciative of designs that were different. We have always stood apart for our designs, and the fastest moving categories were bracelets and necklaces.”
Masiar Shaikh, Business Head, Gold Artism said, “IIJS Signature show 2023 has been excellent and has been yielding for us. We realised that quality over quantity is more important in terms of buyers. All types of lines received good response from lightweight to heavy weight jewellery, fancy jewellery to the evergreen traditional lines. Buyers had come with an open mind and we received orders from across all the regions of India, and 50% of them were first-time buyers for us. This show was all about serious buyers only there’s no second opinion about it. All are looking for better quality and design products.”
Abhishek Raniwala, MD, Raniwala 1881 said, “We specialise in polki diamond and jadau jewellery and have been associated with GJEPC’s IIJS shows for many years. This edition was very well organised
and nicely spaced out for easy movement. We launched our collection Aangan and it was very well
received by the trade at large. All our interactions were positive, and the buyer came only with the intent of working together and booking orders. I think what is remarkable is that rather than meeting a lot of people and not getting into deals, meeting less clients and making the right type of connect is more important.”
Visitors’ Voice:
Saud Salim Al Mazrouel, Director, SAIF Zone said, “It’s a very excellent show and over 2500 exhibitors are here. We have participated previously in this event, and we see this year is much better and much stronger in attendance and gathering. And I think there are a lot of opportunities to benefit from the show.”
Jayant Ranica, Pure Gold, UK, said, “This year, I think you have more than exceeded our expectations. The hospitality has always has been amazing. But you and you know, in the years that I’ve been coming, I thought, Okay, this can’t be better than this. And you guys, stood up again this year. So I really appreciate that. And we’re very grateful. Especially, I can speak on behalf of the UK delegation. You know, it’s been absolutely seamless, amazing. You’ve gone completely digital, with your passes. Everything has been really on point, I would say.
