The estimated value of the global jewelry market is around $348.5 billion per year which makes it equal to the 30th largest country economically speaking, about the size of the UAE’s economy. The market is mostly dominated by fashion jewelry in terms of value even as the biggest spenders are Chinese while the luxury spenders are the Americans. Of these, $41.6 billion of luxury jewelry features precious metals and gemstone, according to a research done by Euromonitor International.
For quite a long time, this industry has locally been operational in the black market by small time dealers or exported by multinational mining firms. This is however set to change, thanks to a joint attempt by the private and public sectors in Kenya. The creation of a national jewelry and precious stones open market locally is currently at an advanced stage, even as a national forum is set to happen between July 11 and July 14 in the country’s capital, Nairobi.
Victoria Wahu, project manager of Kenya Gem and Jewelry Fair (KGJF) says that the event that brings together local and foreign precious stone buyers seeks to create a platform for miners to dispose their precious stones at higher and known prices. She also said that the upcoming fair is set to bring on board international gemstone buyers to Kenya thus opening up the country to the international market of gemstones and jewelries.
The fair convened by the Association of Women in Extractives in Kenya (AWEIK) in conjunction with the Ministry of Mining intends to create a local gem-hub to engage foreign buyers and sellers drawn from across the East African region, mainly artisanal miners. There are quite a number of precious colored stones mined in Kenya. These include but are not limited to: ruby, tsavorite, yellow tourmaline, red garnet, aquamarine, amethyst, lolite and blue sapphire which are mostly exported for processing and value-addition.
The Fair is bound to boost the economy of the country even as many local accounting firms and many other sectors hope to attract the market players’ eyes and funds in terms of products and service provision. We are here to service the needs of individual and corporate tax, finance and audit matters.
