SMEs to cash in 2016 FACETS gem show

The 26th edition of FACETS Sri Lanka, the prestigious annual international gem and jewellery show, is putting the spotlight on small and medium gem and jewellery enterprises this year with the novel introduction of a gem and jewellery mart when the exhibition opens from September 1 to 4, at the BMICH. 

The gem and jewellery mart will be a unique feature of this year’s FACETS gem show and will allow small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to showcase their best and rarest stones to an international market. The gem and jewellery mart will be akin to a unique business-to-business (B2B) event as it would give the entrepreneurs an opportunity to interact with delegations and international buyers who will throng to the show. Eighty international buyers have shown their keen interest and are tipped to be present at the event. Forty exhibitors will be accommodated at the new wing of this exhibition and will be able to showcase their products at a venue that has been designed with the aesthetics, new trends and objective of drawing in more crowds. 

Registrations are ongoing for the gem and jewellery mart with a showcase tagged at the price of Rs.50,000 each for the four-day international event. The objective of this latest venture is to give an opportunity to the regional gem merchants and jewellery associations who are unable to display their products in the Main Hall. The FACETS Gem and Jewellery Show is set to serve as an impetus investment drive to target export revenue of US $ 1 billion. The event is to be held under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena, who will grace the event. 

The FACETS organising committee announced that over 200 local and foreign exhibitors are slated to showcase their gem and jewellery products at the event. Over 10,000 visitors are expected to the four-day international event, which will also see a large number of high-profile and influential buyers from around the world converge.  Another unique feature of this year’s event would be the ‘Premier Jewellery Pavilion’, which targets high-profile buyers and buying delegations many of whom are expected to come from Europe this year. 

The show is organised by the Sri Lanka Gem and Jewellery Association (SLGJA), the apex private sector organisation representing the interests of all industry, jointly with the government’s National Gem and Jewellery Authority (NGJA) and Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB).  Held annually in Colombo since 1991 with state and private sector patronage, the 26th edition of the show promises better overseas participation and wider cosmopolitan exposure, to both product and company. 
For more details contact: FACETS Secretariat on 0112597226, 011 2597470 or email: facets@facetssrilanka.com.