Editor’s Note
This article highlights the Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand’s strategic efforts to deepen collaboration with Chinese partners. The focus is on advancing international trade, setting gemstone standards, and promoting certified jewelry through online platforms.
BANGKOK, January 8, 2021 — The Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand (GIT) is enhancing cooperation with Chinese partners to promote the development of international jewelry trade, establish gemstone identification standards, and actively promote jewelry products certified with the “Buy With Confidence” (BWC) label on online platforms.
At the online seminar “Thailand-China, The Sparkle Opportunities for Gems and Jewelry Industry,” GIT Director Sumed Prasongpongchai introduced that GIT has collaborated with China’s National Gemstone Testing Center (NGTC) to jointly promote the standardization process of international jewelry trade and establish color standards for rubies and sapphires. GIT has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NGTC, the Gemmological Institute of India (GII), and the China Gems & Jade Exchange (CGE) to establish gemstone identification technical standards in the Asia-Pacific region, thereby enhancing consumer confidence in purchasing jewelry products from countries in the region.
He added that to boost consumer confidence in purchasing Thai jewelry through online platforms, GIT has collaborated with well-known Chinese e-commerce platforms and a home shopping service provider in Hong Kong to promote the “Buy With Confidence” program, which involves GIT issuing jewelry identification certificates to ensure product quality.
Mr. Simon Chan, Executive Vice President of the China Gems & Jade Exchange (CGE), stated that China is the world’s largest jewelry consumer, with total consumption reaching USD 100 billion in 2019. China and Thailand will strengthen their jewelry trade partnership by connecting the Chanthaburi province of Thailand — which Thai authorities are striving to develop into an international jewelry trade and manufacturing hub — with the Chinese consumer market.
Phuket Khunaprapakorn, advisor to the President of the Chanthaburi Gem and Jewelry Traders Association, said that the Thai government currently allows foreign buyers to enter the country, and some have already started traveling to Chanthaburi to purchase jewelry.
Mr. Suttipong Damrongsakul, President of the ASEAN Gem and Jewelry Trade Association, advised that facing survival pressures during the COVID-19 pandemic, jewelry manufacturers should adapt to the new normal, focus on jewelry design and brand building, consider downsizing operations through outsourcing, and develop online marketing channels to cope with changing consumer behaviors. He also suggested that jewelry companies should look to the advantages of ASEAN and Asia-Pacific countries as important jewelry production bases.
