|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 02 March 2003 |
 |
|
 |
Business |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Lankan companies glitter at Tuscon show by Elmo Leonard Thirty Sri Lankan companies which took part in the annual Tuscon Gem and Minerals Show 2003, in Tuscon, Arizona, USA last month, returned with spot sales exceeding US$ 3 million. The orders they received for calibrated and loose gemstones amounted to US$ 2 million, Ajward Deen, a participant at the show, said. The spot sales made by local companies were for blue, pink and yellow sapphires, star sapphires, alexandrites and rubies. Dean, a member of the Sri Lanka Gem and Jewellery Traders' Association (SLGJTA), said: "Considering the looming war in Iraq, the orders Sri Lanka received this year are excellent, and only 10 per cent below the orders secured at the 2002 Tuscon show." The Tuscon show is said to be the world's largest assembly of gems, jewellery and minerals. It is visited by leading producers, buyers and sellers of gems and jewellery in the world, including buyers from USA, Europe and Japan. Sri Lanka's gem and jewellery exports in 2002 amounted to Rs 25.2 billion. The highlight of this year's show was the Sri Lanka pavilion, comprising the seven SLGJTA members stalls, Deen said. These stalls displayed a variety of precious stones, making it clear to visitors that the island is the world's prime source of coloured gemstones. Sri Lanka produces 55 of the world's choicest gemstones, of 140 known types. The 23 other Sri Lankan companies which exhibited gems and jewellery at the show had equally attractive products, Deen said. The SLGJTA membership had promoted Sri Lanka's annual FACETS gem and jewellery show in Tuscon. The Sri Lankans had stressed that peace, following 20 years of civil strife in the island, had held for over an year. Many international buyers, including those from the United States, had expressed their willingness to visit the gem and jewellery show in September. The negative feature of the Tuscon show was the wide availability of Beryllium-treated stones, which were displayed by unscrupulous Thai gem traders. The Beryllium treatment is a new method of heat treating Chrysoberyl stones (Chrysoberyl stones are abundant in Sri Lanka), which is considered illegal by the orthodox gem trade throughout the world, Deen said. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
