Cairo jewelry lovers can take it all in CAIRO: Being surrounded by so many diamonds is always a pleasure, and if you're looking to buy, your life just got easier. The Sixth International Jewelry, Precious Stones and Luxurious Watches Exhibition for the Middle East and Africa has opened at the City Stars InterContinental. This year it is a little bigger and more spacious then usual, but with limited shops making it easy for shoppers to admire all that bling. Although the exhibition claims to be for the Middle East and Africa, most of the booths are from Egypt or the Emirates, and some Far Eastern countries. It is no secret that Egypt's economy is in the pits, so is it really the time to bring out the diamonds? According to Desmond Wong, director of Dynasty, a jewelry manufacturer from Hong Kong, "The demand for diamonds in Egypt used to be very high, especially when we started exporting here eight years ago. Still it is a good market for us but nothing compared to many years ago. Iram, the biggest Egyptian jewelry manufacturing company, confirms this, "the difference is obvious; the turn down is clear in the past five years. It is consistently declining and it looks like it's still going down, says Mohamed Ali, sales supervisor of Iram. Fortunately for Iram, most of their exports go to Belgium and South Africa, which are strong markets. For some, Egypt is actually a booming market. According to Nader Kabbabe, manager of Samra jewelry a wholesale loose diamond and diamond jewelry company from Dubai, Egypt is their number one customer in the entire Middle East. Kabbabe says that Italian gold and diamonds are in especially high demand. Isn't it ironic that a country with such low incomes puts out a vast request for such an expensive stone? Walid Gomaa, area sales manager of Damas, explains that diamonds are a good way to invest money. With gold, investors will never get their investment back, but diamonds are a security that will always retain their value and more. Damas has been an Emirate jewelry brand since 1907 and has been in Egypt since 1999. They have six branches in Egypt, which they plan to expand to 20. They sell all types of jewelry from gold, semi-precious and precious, all with a very distinctive Arab style. Gomaa disagrees that the market is declining. He says, "As long as we keep updating and know what our clients want, then we are not affected. If something isn't popular we cancel it. We don't put big extremely expensive pieces in our Egyptian outlets because it is pointless; no one will buy them. Lately they have launched a young brand called Farfasha, using Nancy Agram as its face. It employs simple designs and lightweight gold so the prices are affordable for many locals. Some exhibitors at the trade fair are newcomers. Mahallati is originally from Bangkok and has shops in the Emirates and Kuwait. Manager Abbas Mahallati says that they have sold well here. He says what has been most popular is their innovative designs - very different from what is already available here. Of course diamonds are the main attraction, but he finds that people are also interested in emeralds as well. "Jem The Sixth International Jewelry, Precious Stones and Luxurious watches exhibitions for the Middle East and AfricaIntercontinental, City StarsUntil Dec. 111:00 am-3:00 pm and 5:00-11:00 pm
