International Jewellery Dubai scheduled for December 2004

'The decision to schedule the dates of IJD in December was made after careful evaluation and in close consultation with our core exhibitors as well as after extensive research with our show visitors and we selected these dates as the most favourable to hold this event,' said DWTC Director General, Mubarak bin Fahad.

He noted that the DWTC management team had reviewed international exhibitions and events calendars to ensure that there was no clash with other major events in the category. 'December is an ideal month to re-stock jewellery stores immediately after the Eid rush and pre-empts the year-end sales surge,' Mr. bin Fahad remarked.

IJD 2003 attracted over 10,000 trade visitors and high-end consumers and resulted in lucrative business for participants and excellent deals for the consumers. The success of IJD underscores Dubai's standing as the 'city of gold' that constantly attracts the highest quality of visitors. Over 225 exhibitors from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Korea, Lebanon, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey and the United Kingdom are taking part.

IJD has indisputably established itself as the key exhibition in the Middle East region. 'The ever-increasing profile of the show both among exhibitors and buyers underscores Dubai's prominence as a leading player in the regional gems and jewellery market,' Mr. bin Fahad observed.

According to industry estimates, the Middle East and India combined account for more than 40% of the world gold consumption and Dubai because of its strategic location and strong trade ties is involved in the largest throughput of gold and jewellery in the Middle East, Levant and the Subcontinent.

IJD reflects the latest trends in the industry and exhibits at the show in the past have included cut and uncut gemstones, gold, platinum and silver jewellery, gem-set, precious and semi-precious jewellery, precious stones, semi-precious stones, bullion, antique jewellery, branded costume jewellery, branded watches and clocks, silverware, part-finished jewellery, packaging and display materials and manufacturing tools and machinery.