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Industry News: SIHH, Basel To Realign Dates; Chow Tai Fook Joins TRACR Blockchain; More December 19, 2018 (0 comments)
SIHH, Baselworld To Realign Dates Starting In 2020
Basel and Geneva, Switzerland—The decades-long date feud between Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva (SIHH) and the Baselworld Fair is ending next year. The 2020 edition of SIHH will be held from April 26 to 29 in Geneva, followed immediately by Baselworld, April 30 to May 5 in Basel. The two cities are approximately 158 miles apart, about a three-hour train ride.
This returns the two biggest global watch trade fairs back to back on the calendar, at least through 2024. It also returns the exhibitions to the spring timing they had prior to a switch more than a decade ago to mid-March for Baselworld and mid-January for SIHH.
The move had been repeatedly requested by various retailers in the industry, who had to make two trips to Switzerland to attend both fairs and see all their watch vendors. Both fairs also have faced declining exhibitor participation—notably, Swatch Group and Raymond Weil exiting Baselworld and Audemars Piguet and Richard Mille leaving SIHH—something they hope will change.
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The date consolidation was repeatedly requested by various retailers in the industry. Back-to-back dates will mean a very long trip for watch retailers and journalists, but it saves the cost of two separate trips.
Chow Tai Fook Joins Tracr Blockchain Pilot
Hong Kong—Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, parent company of Hearts On Fire, has joined the pilot program for Tracr, the end-to-end diamond industry blockchain traceability platform being developed by De Beers Group, in collaboration with key industry stakeholders. Chow Tai Fook joins a range of other companies across the diamond value chain in piloting the asset-tracking platform powered by blockchain and artificial intelligence. Tracr’s objective is to enhance consumer assurance over a diamond’s traceability, provenance, and authenticity. Chow Tai Fook’s participation further extends the platform’s reach into the Asian diamond sector, particularly Greater China.
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De Beers group CEO Bruce Cleaver said,: “Chow Tai Fook is one of the world’s leading diamond jewelry retailers, with great experience and expertise in the Asian retail sector. This makes them an ideal participant as we continue to develop the Tracr pilot, and we are delighted to welcome them on board.”
Kent Wong, managing director of the Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, said: "Authenticity, provenance and traceability are increasingly important in the jewelry sector, as consumers want to know the jewelry they purchase supports their values and expectations. We believe our participation in Tracr will help ensure we are at the forefront of this important issue."
Jim Duffy, general manager of Tracr, added that Chow Tai Fook’s participation will help to ensure the platform meets the needs of all types of businesses in a range of different geographies.
De Beers Group Launches Diamond Education Course Partnership With NGTC In China
Beijing, China—De Beers Group has launched an education partnership with the National Gemstone Testing Centre (NGTC), China’s leading authority in the testing and inspection of gems and jewelry, extending the accessibility of De Beers Group’s diamond education courses to students in China.
The partnership officially launched December 13 at the Beijing Jewellery Show, and will provide a variety of diamond education courses, including:
- Insight into the diamond pipeline from start to finish, supporting the ability of participants to develop knowledge for commercial purposes, such as with sales presentations in a retail environment.
- Lab-based courses to examine how to grade polished diamonds to a professional standard.
- Synthetic diamond detection techniques so that students can effectively identify synthetic stones.
Jonathan Kendall, president of De Beers Group Industry Services, said, “We look forward to helping people in China develop their skills and supporting the development of the Chinese jewellery industry to achieve its full potential in the years ahead.”
De Beers Group began providing industry-leading diamond education services in 2017 and is focused on enhancing confidence in the selling and purchasing of diamonds for all industry stakeholders.