Against the background of Shanghai building itself into an international trade and finance centre, the Belt and Road Initiative, and leveraging on the government’s support for the jewellery industry, Shanghai Gems and Jade Exchange (CSGJE) was registered in December 2014 in Shanghai Free-Trade Zone. Passing through the start-up phase in 2015 by developing the basic equity structure and information technology framework, it began its trial operation in the fourth quarter in the same year. In 2016 CSGJE opened formally.
Fanny Wong, managing director of CSGJE told Hong Kong Jewellery that CSGJE does not carry its own business but positions itself as an authoritative service platform with the aim to “provide quality services for international and domestic jewellery companies and businesses”.
In 2017 transformation and upgrading were carried out in CSGJE and five major trading platforms were built, including a cross-border trading platform, a domestic business matching platform, an O2O platform, an integrity tracking platform and a financial services platform, to support both B2B and B2C trading.
For instance, gems and jade auction is a B2B business model. Buyers and sellers could publicise their demand on the online platform of CSGJE to close deals faster and more effectively.
To better serve jewellery businesses, their O2O platform combines product demonstration and promotion online and offline product experience and sales to integrate traditional business model. It could help retail jewellers implement ‘Internet Plus’ promotion and draw customers to their brick-and-mortar stores.
In addition, their Wechat auction offers a B2C business platform where online auctions are conducted through CSGJE’s public Wechat account. Targeted at individual consumers, it provides a desirable market environment for buying and selling.
Currently CSGJE has over 200 company members, including 30 listed companies and 10 multinational companies. Besides, it has over 200,000 registered individual members. All users of the platform must first register before trading and a service fee will be charged depending on the type of transaction.
The eight major merchandises traded in CSGJE are jewellery set with ruby, sapphire, emerald, fei cui, hetian jade, tourmaline, amber and pearl.
To increase the transparency and integrity of trading, CSJGE works with national laboratories such as the National Gemstone Testing Center to provide dual proof with testing certificate and ‘Gem ID’. By screening the QR code on the ID consumers could trace the origin of the gemstones and gain access to information about the supply chain to help businesses build a trustworthy brand.
Fanny Wong pointed out that the global jewellery market has seen a fast developing trend of coloured gemstone yet the lack of regulation remains a hindrance. As most gemstones traded in mainland China are imported, they welcome and support directly importing gemstones from their country of origin to simplify the process.
All imported gemstones must be accompanied by testing certificates. During customs clearance, testing will be conducted by national jewellery testing centres. Duty payment can be quickly completed after transaction. Before they are sold the goods could be stored in bonded warehouses to reduce tax burden on jewellers. In the eyes of international jewellery companies, China is one of the most important markets so the need to link up with established institutions also increases and CSGJE could provide them with one-stop services.
Fanny Wong believed that with the support of the government, CSGJE could tackle the industry bottleneck step by step by solving the problems caused by import duty in order to bridge China and the world in jewellery trade. At the same time, CSGJE would continue to promote the regulation and standardisation of the jewellery market and build a gemstone and jade market with integrity and transparency. (Photo courtesy:
CSGJE)
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