Having started with just 40 booths at the Hilton Colombo in 1991, to nearly filling up the BMICH Exhibition and Convention Centre in recent times, ‘Facets Sri Lanka’, the international gem and jewellery exhibition has certainly come a long way.

“This year, on the foreign promotion side we have tried something new by getting delegates from Russia who will be here for three days,” said Chanaka Ellawala, chairman, Facets organising committee.
“We have also invited delegates from China, who came for a preliminary visit to have a look at our gem collection last year,” he said, adding they hope to see a bigger delegation at the exhibition from the Gem Traders Association in China.

Blue stone

Princess stone

Yellow stone

Orange stone

Pink stone

Green stone

Facets Sri Lanka 2009, will be held at the BMICH from September 3 to 6, and is organised by the Sri Lanka Gem and Jewellery Association and sponsored by the National Gem and Jewellery Authority, while the co-sponsors and organisers are the Sri Lanka Export Development Board.

The other sponsors for the event are Sri Lankan Airlines, Bank of Ceylon, Hilton Colombo, Securo Dynamics, Malca-Amit Freight Forwarders and the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau. In addition service providers such as laboratories, educational institutions, freight forwarders, security and surveillance providers will be represented at the exhibition.

The Gem Traders Association has been invited to participate in Facets 2009 while the exhibition will also feature a number of dealers and miners from Ratnapura.

“Another important aspect this year will be the setting up of pavilions for regional interest groups,” Mr Ellawala said adding, “We have so far built three pavilions for dealers from Colombo, Beruwala and Ratnapura.”

Mr. Ellawala also said small companies particularly find the exhibition valuable as they can get a feel of competing with international markets. “They want to participate and venture out”.

Previous exhibitions have seen exhibitors from Burma while this year there will be around 30 foreign exhibitors from India, Thailand and Hong Kong. The current financial crisis has seen a reduction in the numbers from the United States and Europe. “We are looking at getting a delegation from Iraq too,” Mr. Ellawala said, enthusiastically.

“The main objective of Facets is to promote local dealers, gems and jewellery rather than promoting the international gem collection,” he said, adding, “The objective is to attract buyers and create a name in the international market.”

This will be the 19th consecutive year of the Facets exhibition, since they started in 1991. Facets is listed online with a published directory of gem companies while they have a database of main dealers and clients, to whom they send promotional material, which include embassies around the world.

“Four years ago it was decided that the exhibition should be held at the BMICH due to the lack of space at the Hilton and we believe in a year or two years the exhibition will be at maximum capacity,” Mr. Ellawala said.

There are currently over 150 booths (companies) representing Sri Lanka at Facets. “Sri Lanka is still famous for her sapphire and we have a good reputation for them, while they are the best selling gemstone,” said Mr. Ellawala.

While in terms of manufacture, around 10 to 15 year ago, the standards were thought to be low but Sri Lanka has managed to show customers that change is possible. Gems are imported from countries such as Germany to Sri Lanka – Upon being cut and polished these gems are exported around the world.

“Therefore making it clear that perception has changed and in fact Sri Lanka has grown in stature as a manufacturing centre,” he said.