Editor’s Note
This article highlights Wuzhou’s pivotal role in the global gemstone industry, detailing how this Chinese city has become the world’s leading hub for synthetic gemstone production.
Wuzhou, a renowned historical and cultural city in southern China, is celebrated as the ‘World Capital of Artificial Gemstones’. Today, 7 out of every 10 artificial gemstones in the world are produced in Wuzhou, which has become one of China’s premier synthetic crystal and gemstone industrial bases.
The development of Wuzhou’s artificial gemstone industry began in 1982. At that time, Hong Kong gemstone manufacturer Fu Ming came to Wuzhou to visit relatives and keenly identified the development potential here, subsequently establishing the first artificial gemstone processing factory. Since then, the industry has flourished, attracting numerous domestic and international gemstone merchants, with processing enterprises springing up like mushrooms after rain.
After over 40 years of accumulation, Wuzhou has built a complete industrial chain encompassing synthetic crystal materials, cutting and polishing, jewelry design, and e-commerce sales. Within the 120,000-square-meter industrial park in Changzhou District, Wuzhou City, 1,680 related enterprises are clustered, processing over 30,000 international orders daily.
In recent years, benefiting from domestic industrial upgrading and the rapid development of the e-commerce sector, Wuzhou’s artificial gemstone industry has welcomed new development opportunities. Many local gemstone enterprises have seized the trend, expanding their markets through technological innovation and successfully ‘going global’, gaining prominence on the international stage.
On February 24, a reporter visited local artificial gemstone enterprises. At Wuzhou Anshi Te Gem Co., Ltd., workers were racing to fulfill orders destined for European and American markets.
A company representative stated. Currently, the company has developed into a comprehensive enterprise integrating gemstone processing, jewelry manufacturing, and gemstone R&D and production, with R&D bases and sales centers established in Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
Similarly, overseas orders for Wuzhou Meixi Gemstone Co., Ltd. have been continuous. The production workshop is bustling, with workers skillfully operating machines, meticulously polishing each gemstone. As the global gemstone market gradually recovers, the company has won a good reputation in international markets with its solid product quality and unique design style, leading to a sustained increase in order volume.
The company representative introduced. In 2016, the company settled on the AliExpress international station, embarking on a new journey of online sales. By continuously familiarizing themselves with platform rules and improving operational capabilities, the performance of Meixi Gemstone’s international store has steadily improved. In 2020, the company acquired over 200 high-quality new customers through its international store for the entire year, and its performance has maintained over 40% growth for four consecutive years since. Its products are now sold to countries such as the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Germany, becoming a shining business card for Wuzhou’s artificial gemstone industry ‘going global’.
The success of companies like Wuzhou Meixi Gemstone Co., Ltd. and Wuzhou Anshi Te Gem Co., Ltd. is not accidental. They are vivid examples of the development of Wuzhou’s artificial gemstone industry, supported by strong government backing and the collaborative development of the entire industrial ecosystem.
In recent years, the Wuzhou municipal government has highly prioritized the artificial gemstone industry, introducing a series of supportive policies, providing comprehensive support to enterprises in areas such as industrial park construction, technological innovation, and market expansion. Simultaneously, it actively promotes the integrated development of the artificial gemstone industry with e-commerce, culture, and tourism, creating a unique industrial development model.
In terms of industrial ecology, Wuzhou has formed a complete artificial gemstone industry chain, from raw material R&D and gemstone processing to jewelry manufacturing and product sales. Each link is closely connected and develops collaboratively, forming a powerful industrial cluster effect, providing solid support for enterprise development.
In talent cultivation, Wuzhou has also forged a distinctive path. Local vocational colleges actively align with industry needs, offering specialized majors related to artificial gemstone processing and design. The curriculum is closely tailored to market practice; students not only need to master basic skills like gemstone cutting and polishing but also learn cutting-edge design concepts, fostering innovative thinking. Schools establish deep cooperative relationships with local enterprises, building a bridge for talent cultivation and practical application. Students can participate in enterprise internship projects during their studies, accumulating rich practical experience. This ‘integration of work and study’ cultivation model ensures graduates can seamlessly meet enterprise job demands, continuously supplying high-quality professionals for industrial development.
Today, Wuzhou’s annual production and sales volume of artificial gemstones exceeds 100 billion pieces, accounting for 80% of China’s total and 70% of the global total, with a comprehensive output value exceeding 12.5 billion yuan. This small city of Wuzhou is leveraging the unique charm of its artificial gemstone industry to shine brilliantly on the global stage. Each artificial gemstone travels from here to the world, becoming a bridge connecting Wuzhou with the globe.