( 
)
Bright Lights! Big City! A city of excess and success! This is Hong Kong! Our last stop is Hong Kong. We've been here for eight days (2 days left) and of course, we had to attend the International Jewelry Show at the Hong Kong Exhibition Center to see the latest trends!
The show is so large that it's held in two venues with over 4500 vendors (jewelers and suppliers) from around the world. It's billed as the "Biggest Jewelry Show on Earth" and I can verify that it so big that it takes six full days to visit both venues and even with six full days, you'll only see about 15% of the entire show.
First some interesting things about Hong Kong...
We have only met a handful of Americans in Hong Kong (and at the show) as there's no such thing as "deal" on jewelry at this show. In fact, Americans who sell jewelry and gems in the United States are here selling their products to the Chinese market (nice to see product from the U.S. being purchased in China - for a change).
There is no order in Hong Kong - only chaos. It's crammed with people shoving and pushing their way to get anywhere (somewhere) as fast as they possibly can. If you like shopping then this is place for you! The Golden Mile (outside our hotel) is nothing but store after store after store after store. If any of them close down (around midnight) others open up to get their fair share of the late night trade.
Want a massage? Every corner boasts a massage parlor of one type or another. Want great food? The city serves it up 24/7. The neon signs are so bright that you have to close the curtains in your hotel room if you don't want to be distracted by "twilight" at "midnight".
The problems with Hong Kong...
If you have asthma or a respiratory problem - this is NOT the city for you! The taxi's run on LPG but the smog and pollution from the factories and the boats in the harbor - just take your breath away! We have seen many walk around with surgical masks, as the air is just so filled with fossil fuel smells that even your tastebuds will scream for relief!
Want a Rolex watch? They are offered on every street corner (real or fake). Want Louis Vuitton? Just walk around the corner from the tailor and you can pick up a new bag. Are they real or fake? Who knows?
Food is cheap and plentiful however, look at the menu's closely. Some items are super cheap while the bill is compensated by extra add-on's for eating in and/or where you sit in the restaurant.
This is the first country we've been to where there are no pigeons! Not a pigeon to be found! We've been looking for them and the only place we found one was on the menu in a restaurant. The waiter told us that the pigeons they sell for dinner are from the mainland but, we had to ask him why we could find no live pigeons walking the streets in Hong Kong and he laughed and said "if they land, maybe some people catch them and cook them". Okay, no foul fowl for us. We have only seen one cat and three dogs since we've been here and we think (don't know but, suspect) that no one has the time to take care of them and/or they just don't let them out due to the quality of air or, maybe that's why there's not a pigeon left to be found.
Back to the jewelry show...
Okay, there are no bargains and in fact, product is expensive in Hong Kong, as we've been told that since the British gave back Hong Kong to China, those from the mainland are now visiting Hong Kong in droves and they just spend, spend, spend! Yes, they do spend and never seem to stop. This is a cash rich city and jewelry stores are selling jewelry at prices I just can't fathom. Again, it's good to see American based jewelers doing business and making money! It appears as though the appetite of those form the mainland for super fine jewelry and gems is being satisfied and as such, the market price for jewelry and gems is escalating - supply and demand reigns supreme!
The styles of jewelry are so varied that there's no way to tell what "trends" are in. However, the one thing that does stand out are the booths which have been set up to sell product to retailers. The one that "took the gold" this year was a booth based on the Pirates of Carribean. The booth was brought in and built as the rear end of a pirate ship (wood and all). The windows of the pirate ship displayed jewelry in treasure chests (cute) and gems were draped over, in and out of skull and cross-bones. The only problem with this mega-dollar booth was that the booth made the jewelry look cheap and you just felt like you wanted to don a pirate outfit and shiver your timbers to a nice pirate tune.
Again, what we have learned is that gems and jewelry prices have escalated. The world market for gems and finished jewelry is rising to levels which we have not seen in the past few years. Vendors at the Hong Kong Show are selling gems and jewelry to retailers and getting the stated tag price! No discounts! In fact, they get insulted if you even attempt to haggle the price.
The fashion show booths were actually built as a row of pre-fabricated storefronts! Is it no wonder that these vendors have to charge so much for their product? The rents, the staff, the security, the venue are just overwhelming and quite frankly - a complete waste of money. The pass through costs (as usual) are to the retailer and then onto the consumer.
The decadence and opulence of this jewelry show is unsurpassed but, is it worth the investment in time and money to come to Hong Kong? The answer (sadly) would be no.
The show is more an attraction (and a distraction) from a beautiful country.
Other guides relating to jewelry and gemstone buying which you may find helpful are as follows:
Thank you for voting. If your vote meets our 
