Growing rich in China flock into jewelry market

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Affluent Chinese are flocking to a jeweler fair in Beijing this weekend, in search of bargains and antiques of the future. It seems precious stones and metals are being sought out now as well as cars and property by the growing rich.

Growing rich in China flock into jewelry market.[Photo/Xinhua]

Gems of every color are on show at the 14th Beijing International Jewellery Fair.

High jewellery was traditionally out of reach for most Chinese people, but as incomes increase, so does the desire for precious stones.

Wang Peng, a designer with Sino Gem says he thinks the items on display will be the antiques of the future.

"Now Chinese people are becoming more and more affluent in many ways. We used to only care about cars and houses and seldom pay attention to high-end jewellery because they are considered 'out of reach'. But today, more people are paying attention to jewellery and are able recognize their potential cultural value. I think this will made jewellery stand out from other products and become art pieces worth collecting among Chinese people."

What they are doing here at this booth is known as "stone-betting", where these black or grey crude stones with jadeite of unknown quality inside are sold at relatively low prices to customers, who only come to know if their money is worth it when the stones are later cut open and the jadeite inside exposed.

Wu Anfu, salesman at Burmese Jadeite Crude Materials Company explains:

"Before we cut it open, no one knows the quality of the jadeite inside. But these are all crude jadeite stones, just with different qualities, some have good clarity and some don't."

Stone-betting has attracted a large number of enthusiasts in China in recent years because of enviable stories where buyers get rich over night after buying crude stones proved to contain top-level jadeite inside, despite authorities' warning that this kind of investment is risky. Wu Anfu says:

"For example, if you get a "glass" kind of jadeite, which is a top-level kind of jadeite, out of this piece (referring to the piece he is holding, and if the clarity is good and there is no crack inside, its value can reach millions or even tens of millions yuan. The idea behind is that you spend thousands of yuan to buy it, and you get something worth tens of thousands of yuan if you've got good luck."

The four-day fair held at the China National Convention Centre runs July 19 - 23.

With 2,000 booths exhibiting jewellery from more than 18 countries and regions this is the largest fair of its kind in Beijing.

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