City jewelry festival to boost consumption

The six-month Shanghai Diamond and Gems Culture Festival kicked off on Thursday, tying in with the Double Five Shopping Festival to support the city's development as an international consumption center.

The festival will mainly include two parts: a diamond and gems jewelry design competition for college students, and a series of lectures on jewelry.

Organizers say the events are to bring new blood into the industry and lead the trend of diamond and gems consumption, while also introducing the basic structure, cultural connotations, and identification methods of diamond jewelry to the public as well as clearing up some common myths.

In the first four months of this year, total sales of gold, silver and jewels topped 102.5 billion yuan (US$15.91 billion), a surge of 81.5 percent year on year, according to National Statistics Bureau data.

Trade volume on the Shanghai Diamond Exchange in January-April added up to US$2.258 billion. Imports of finished diamonds hit a record for a single month at US$320 million.

Shanghai, China’s largest gold and jewels market, saw gold and jewelry sales amounting to 621 million yuan during the five-day National Day holiday, up 45 percent from a year earlier, according to the Shanghai Gold and Jewellery Trade Association.

The city's Double Five Shopping Festival has boosted consumption in all industries, and gold and jewelry counters at major shopping malls in the city have seen a shopping spree since the campaign was launched.