The Gem and Jewellery India International Fair (GJIIF), India’s largest B2B exhibition for South Indian Jewellery, concluded on a positive note in Chennai with aisles full of buyers consistently on all 3 days of the show placing their orders to meet the demand during the upcoming festival and wedding season. It was held at the famous Chennai Trade Centre from Friday, 29 September to Sunday, 1 October 2023. This world-class show was organised by The Jewellers & Diamonds Traders Association – Madras in association with Tamil Nadu Jewellers Federation and managed by India’s leading exhibition management company United Exhibitions. GJIIF is one of the most sought-after gems and jewellery show with display of jewellery specific to south Indian markets and this edition one of the largest till date with participants from across India showcasing their finest jewellery collections to the best of the jewellery buyers interested in sourcing South Indian Jewellery.
GJIIF is growing faster while holding its niche for South Indian Jewellery Markets with an year on year growth equating itself to few prominent jewellery shows of India by holding bigger and better shows every year. It is a great platform for the Indian jewellery market – right from the manufacturers, wholesalers who are dealing in jewellery suited for South markets and has gained prominence from the retailers to source the widest range of South Indian Jewellery Designs under one roof.
The festive edition of the show had great footfall and played host to over 13000+ trade visitors. The show was spread across an area of 200,000+ square feet and 760 booths of B2B display. The perfect timing of the show, which coincides with the festive and wedding season, witnessed a Positive response from both the visitors and exhibitors. There has been an extremely overwhelming response from the buyers who were impressed by the wide variety of latest gold, diamond and silver jewellery collections at the show. The breathtaking and sparkling jewellery collection managed to enthrall the visitors who had come from different parts of the country to be a part of this beautiful show.
The latest and trendy jewellery designs caught the attention of the buyers who came with the mindset to purchase for the forthcoming season. They expressed their great happiness in finding a good range of jewellery to stock up just before the impending festive season.
“I am exceedingly happy to see the response to the show. It’s mind-boggling even though there is another show happening simultaneously. The visitors have been very appreciative of our designs which have been stocked as per the current trend in the market. Most of the visitors that visited our stall were from across the south Indian market. We are looking forward to a fruitful festive and wedding season.” Said Mr. Nikhil Pamecha, Director, Super Gold
Those who came to seek knowledge were also extremely happy with the quality knowledge-based sessions held during the three days of GJIIF. On day one, the main attraction was been the India Lab-grown Diamond Conclave. held for the first time on 29 September, with its theme and sessions based on “Building the Value Chain for a Brighter Future”. Some of the most eminent industry speakers delved into various informative topics like consumer awareness, retail strategy, pricing strategy, ethics, sustainability, and the challenges and opportunities for the lab-grown diamonds segment. Mr. Jayantilal Challani, President, MJDTA and Convener of GJIIF, welcomed the panel of speakers which comprised of Mr. Arnav Mehta, MD, Star Blue Jewels, Mr. Anup Zaveri, Director, Real Illusion LLP, Mr. Apoorva Deshingkar, Sr. Director, Education & Market Development, GIA India, and Mr. Hemant Shah, Independent Consultant and Partner, Alcraftist who gave an overview of the lab-grown diamonds industry and India’s position in it.
The other set of delegate speakers consisted of Mrs. Pooja Sheth Madhavan, Founder & MD, Limelight Lab Grown Diamonds, Mr. Miraj Patel, CSO, Greenlab Diamonds LLP, Mr. Nirav Jogani, Director & Vice Chairman, RSM Astute & Lemon Consultech Groups, and Mr. Subbu, Editor, The New Jeweller International Media Group & Diamond Mirror. They brainstormed on LGD jewellery retail evolution and ESG.
It is amazing to know that lab-grown diamonds have been positively imbibed in the industry and hold a great future. India has a good share in the world market and has all the expertise to become a pioneer in this segment. In these times when it is becoming difficult to extract natural diamonds from the mines, the lab-grown diamonds are filling up the need with their beauty.
Day 1 was concluded with the onset of SVAR presents Shining Stars Awards & Networking Nite held at Hotel Hyatt Regency. The dignitaries and who’s who of the gems and jewellery industry came under one roof for this glittering event. It was a pleasure to see everyone cheering the Young Achievers and Icons of the Industry being felicitated for their contribution to the development of the trade.
The evening was quite sizzling with everyone enjoying the cultural activities that were performed by renowned artists. Mr. Mithun Sacheti, Founder, Caratlane was recognised with Pride of India Award and Mr. AV Jos, Chairman, Jos Alukkas Group was felicitated with Lifetime Achievement Award amidst the presence of Alukkas entire family and the top brass of Indian Jewellery Industry. Mr. Nirav Bhansali, Mr. Jayantilal Challani, Mr. Santha Kumar, Mr. Mahender Tayal, Mr. Ba Ramesh, Mr. K Surendran, Mr. Yogesh Kothari, Mr. VK Manoj, Mr. Mohandas Kulasekaran, Mr. Surendra Mehta, Mr. Vijay Kumar were amongst the guests at the starry networking evening. The Shining Stars Awards & Networking Nite was a great opportunity to connect with industry personalities and appreciate the good work done by each one of them. It was good to see the industry working together to uplift everyone.
Days 2 and 3 witnessed an equally exciting number of visitors who expressed their satisfaction to be at the show which had so much to offer them. “As the convener of this show, I would like to thank all the people involved. The exhibitors for their support, the visitors for their enthusiasm, and all the industry dignitaries who visited the show.
I am happy that the entire jewellery industry attended our show and all three days went well. All the exhibitors are really happy as they could meet some of the best prospective buyers. The visitors came in large numbers and we witnessed good business happening. It’s a good omen for the forthcoming festive and wedding season and I look forward to a great season ahead of us” said Mr. Jayantilal Challani, President MJDTA & Convener, GJIIF
On Day 2 there was a panel discussion named Retail Jewellery Master Class which was moderated by Gold Guru Mr. Santha Kumar, Proprietor, S R Jewellery, Chennai. The prominent speakers for this discussion were Mr. AS Sriram, Director, ANS Jewelry, Mr. Imtiaz Ahamed, Director, LKS Jewellers, Mr. Gandhi Khabiya, Sumangali Jewellery, Pallipattu, Mr. Karthik K, Founder & Partner, Surabi Jewels Partner, Mr. S Selvam, Founder, Sri Krishna Nagai Maligai, Mr. Aathama Valli Nathan, Partner, Sri Valli Vilas Jewellery and Mr. Sripal Challani, Partner, Challani Jewellery Mart, Chennai.
The second session was continued with Executive Committee meeting and Annual General Body Meeting of Tamilnadu Jewellers Federation attended by all the leaders of the state associations which was a talk of the town.
Day 3 concluded with a panel discussion on the benefits of the PM – Vishwakarma Yojana Scheme for jewellery artisans attended by the officials from MSME department All of the keynote speakers brought out the essence of the industry and spoke very well for its betterment and followed by Porkollar Maamani Awards & Scholarships (for artisans) presented by the MJDTA and followed by valedictory function.
The three-day show brought together the entire industry and concluded with an appreciative valedictory function recognizing the contributions of the various committee members & felicitating the heroes who were unsung and worked from behind the screens to bring this event to such a humongous success. It is through their hard work and effort that a show of this big a magnitude taking place edition after edition. As always, the wide plethora of traditional gourmet food was a highlight and buzz of the market across the nation at this festive edition as well and the show managed to win the hearts of everyone with its excellent spread of variety at the food counter.
“Both the visitors and the exhibitors have been excited about this show. I have been going around and everyone is so happy and satisfied. A lot of effort has been put in to bring this show to the next level. We have tried to provide all possible comfort to the visitors as well as the exhibitors. I am sure it is going to be a prosperous season from here on. It feels amazing. I am so thankful to everyone.” Said Mr. VK Manoj, Project Director, United Exhibitions – The Show managers for GJIIF.
The other aspects like the accommodation and the parking facilities have also been appreciated by all the visitors & participants of the show. It was a truly magnificent show and everyone is looking forward to the next edition of GJIIF in 2024 to be held from 23-25 February 2024 at Chennai Trade Centre.