Editor’s Note
This article highlights a growing industry consensus on the vision for a specialized functional zone, emphasizing international standards and cultural innovation.
Feng Yuan, a representative of the Huangpu District People’s Congress and General Manager of Shanghai Paoxiaqu Network Technology Co., Ltd., conducted in-depth research on gold and jewelry consumption in the Yuyuan area and its underlying industrial foundation during her duty research. She listened extensively to the voices of gold and jewelry industry enterprises, testing institutions, industry associations, and consumers. She believes that locating the “Shanghai International Jewelry and Fashion Functional Zone” in the Yuyuan area possesses the advantages of favorable timing, geographical convenience, and popular support.
Just before last year’s China International Import Expo, the Huangpu District People’s Congress’s “Financial Discussion Hall” specifically discussed the planning and preparation work for the Shanghai International Jewelry and Fashion Functional Zone. It was this discussion that made Feng Yuan realize that behind the grand blueprint for the functional zone, opportunities and challenges coexist.
Yuyuan has inherent advantages in undertaking the construction of the Shanghai International Jewelry and Fashion Functional Zone. However, some industry enterprises frankly stated that the current gold and jewelry industry still faces objective realities such as frequent homogenization, insufficient standardization system construction, and a need to strengthen intellectual property protection. Taking jewelry testing as an example, the relevant regulations still follow standards established in 2017, showing gaps in technological iteration and alignment with the international market.
In the specific promotion of the functional zone’s construction, both enterprises and industry associations have stated that while the functional zone has an “international” vision, its foundation should be deeply rooted in the fertile soil of Eastern culture, highlighting the historical and cultural heritage of the Yuyuan area. Some enterprises suggested that the functional zone could integrate the “Fu” (fortune) culture and “Xi” (double happiness) culture of Fuyou Road into its planning by combining it with Huangpu’s “One Street, One Road” project. This would resonate with current hot concepts in the gold and jewelry industry such as “Guochao” (national trend) and “Eastern Lifestyle Aesthetics,” enhancing the cultural depth and distinctiveness of the functional zone.
Regularly hosting international renowned brand debuts, high-end limited and custom product releases, international fashion forums, and fashion week-related exhibitions will also help shape the functional zone’s global brand image. Overseas, high-end jewelry brands like Cartier release new products through Paris Haute Couture Week, combining high jewelry with fashion ready-to-wear, achieving a “1+1>2” effect and helping to expand the consumer market and its scale.
In terms of the industrial chain, enterprises expect the functional zone to take the lead in constructing a full industrial chain model for the gold and jewelry field, including raw material procurement, R&D, design, manufacturing, production, sales, testing, pawnbroking, auction, and buyback. In the field of jewelry testing, enterprises hope the functional zone will establish a standardization system synchronized with international market demands and leading industry standards.
In Feng Yuan’s view, the industry’s expectations for the International Jewelry and Fashion Functional Zone are related both to gold’s financial attributes and to the current wave of innovation in craftsmanship, materials, and culture represented by ancient gold techniques, 3D hard gold, and Guochao/Guofeng (national trend/style). The gold and jewelry industry will form more consumption hotspots and new growth points in the future.