The current status and prospects of Hong Kong’s jewellery industry: how will it develop in the next few years?
This article is an exclusive interview with Mr. Wong Siu Kei, Chairman of the Hong Kong Jewellery Industry Association Limited. It mainly discusses the future development of Hong Kong's jewellery industry. Mr. Wong Siu Kei shares his views and suggestions on the Hong Kong jewellery industry, as well as how to use Hong Kong's advantages to cooperate with the national trend of gold design to promote the research and development of gold jewellery.
01
Chinese culture inspires gold jewelry design
The transformation from "Made in China" to "Created in China" has become a broad consensus among all industries, and the importance of cultural innovation in guiding industrial upgrading and development has become increasingly prominent. In recent years, the national trend culture has emerged, and gold jewelry has also become an important part of the national trend culture.
Gold jewelry is no longer just a traditional decoration and wedding token, but has been given new cultural connotations and has become an important medium for young people to express their personality and cultural identity.
Excellent designers skillfully use China's unique traditional jewelry techniques, such as gold thread, lacquer carving, and ancient gold, to create jewelry with cultural heritage, which has become the mainstream of national jewelry.
Mr. Wong Siu Kei, Chairman of the Hong Kong Jewellery Traders Association Limited
In addition, the development of hard gold jewelry means that the design of pure gold jewelry is no longer limited by its insufficient hardness. Therefore, the design of pure gold jewelry has undergone great changes in recent years, becoming more refined and with richer details, which are worthy of being appreciated in the palm of your hand.
Mr. Huang Shaoji believes that through the trend of national gold design and combining Hong Kong's advantages, we can create unique and high-quality jewelry works to attract domestic and foreign consumers; we can also use Hong Kong's excellent craftsmanship and innovative design to create fine art gold jewelry works to showcase the best of Hong Kong's jewelry industry;
we can also use traditional elements and materials, and comprehensively consider the needs of the international market and the preferences of foreign buyers, to inspire the design with Chinese culture and attract international consumers at the same time.
He said: "When the design contains Chinese cultural heritage and cleverly applies international elements, the unique style will shine on the international jewelry stage."
In Mr. Huang's view, we can promote Chinese gold jewelry through social media and other market channels. We can also create a new marketing situation by cooperating with international trendsetters and fashion designers to showcase the beauty and value of gold.
Mr. Huang Shaoji and I agree that Chinese gold jewelry will be able to compete with Italian K gold jewelry and Middle Eastern gold jewelry and take the lead in the world!
1. Organize a gold jewelry design competition
In recent years, the Hong Kong Jewellery Association has actively promoted gold jewellery design competitions and implemented them effectively.
Mr. Wong Siu Kei believes that the Gold Design Competition has made a great contribution to the development of Hong Kong's jewellery industry, and has played a positive role in encouraging innovation among designers in the industry, promoting the use of high-quality materials, and showcasing Hong Kong's jewellery design talents.
The Hong Kong Jewellery Industry Association has organized a world-class gold jewellery design competition, and its outstanding achievements have been evident in the past few competitions. I was honored to serve as a judge in one of the competitions, and witnessed eye-opening and wonderful designs, including a rare packaging competition item.
During the epidemic, although conditions were limited, the Hong Kong Jewellery Industry Association still organized a very thoughtful competition, implementing the learning attitude of "stop work but not stop learning", which made the author admire it very much.
Winning works of the Gold Jewelry Design Competition organized by the Hong Kong Jewellery Industry Association
2. Combining technology and popular design elements
Mr. Huang Shaoji believes that the design of gold jewelry can be eclectic. Excellent design talents can create unique gold jewelry products by using technology and popular design elements, such as 3D printing technology, trendy materials such as titanium and ceramics, and even colorful resin accessories;
they can promote gold jewelry through social media and other market channels to make it a favorite of fashionistas; in addition, they can also cooperate with fashion designers to show the fashion and taste of gold jewelry.
3. Valuation of gold jewelry
When talking about the issue of gold jewelry being priced by gram, Mr. Huang Shaoji believes that when art design is used on gold jewelry to create gold works with uniqueness and fine attributes, the works are permeated with artistic and cultural values and are no longer limited to the way gold jewelry is valued based solely on weight and material.
In addition, Mr. Huang Shaoji discussed with the author the necessity of jewelry appraisers in the market. We often see wine tasters and tea tasters, but rarely jewelry appraisers, which may be a shortcoming of the industry. Therefore, the jewelry appraiser system is really worth establishing.
Jewelry appraisers must have practical experience in all aspects, and their professional level and aesthetic views should be recognized by the industry. Most importantly, the identity of jewelry appraisers must be independent, so that the works they appraise can be more convincing and not be associated with any commercial interests.
02
Development prospects of Hong Kong's jewelry industry
Mr. Wong is very optimistic about the future development of Hong Kong's jewelry industry. In his opinion, Hong Kong's jewelry industry has many unique advantages in design and craftsmanship, and has a good foundation for innovation. He said: "As long as we have the right strategy and certain support, we can push the industry to a higher level and promote it to the world."
Winning works of the Gold Jewelry Design Competition organized by the Hong Kong Jewellery Industry Association
At the same time, he also sees challenges facing the Hong Kong jewellery industry, including fierce competition, rising labour and material costs, and changing consumer tastes. He said: “We also need to address the talent shortage and ensure we have enough supply of outstanding designers and craftsmen to meet the needs of the industry.”
As for the supply of talents, Mr. Huang Shaoji believes that the young generation of jewelry design talents can be attracted and cultivated by providing training and education programs. He suggested that jewelry companies cooperate with design schools, which can not only provide internship opportunities for young designers, but also provide them with a platform to showcase their works and talents.
Regarding the current Internet society, Mr. Huang Shaoji said that we can expand new markets and sales channels, improve the industry's operational efficiency and reduce costs by using e-commerce platforms and social media.
Speaking of support from the government and chamber of commerce, Mr. Huang Shaoji believes that the government can provide resources and funds to support the industry's training programs, market promotion and research and development, and help the industry obtain trade and investment opportunities.
At the same time, he said that the chamber of commerce has many plans to promote the sustainable development of the industry, including encouraging the industry to use environmentally friendly materials, providing training and education programs, and promoting responsible supply chain management practices.
For future development, Mr. Wong suggested that the Hong Kong jewelry industry continue to innovate and create, continue to invest in training and education programs, and promote the Hong Kong jewelry industry globally. He said that we should also create new business models and opportunities to promote the development of the industry.
This article is reproduced from the 4th issue of China Gems magazine in 2024