Look for important gems and one-of-a-kind jewels at the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair

Buyers headed to the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair can expect a plethora of one-of-a-kind jewels and an impressive display of loose stones at the show, coming Sept. 16–22 to the AsiaWorld-Expo and the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Stone vendors know there are opportunities in rocks that boast big sizes, unusual varieties, and fine clarity—or all of the above.

Take designer Erica Courtney, a familiar face on the finished-goods circuit, who recently began selling loose stones through her Courtney Collection, which includes choice specimens of paraiba tourmaline, rubellite, aquamarine, and Csarite, a natural color-change diaspore found only in Turkey.

“This year we are spending more money than ever on loose because consumers understand the value of gemstones and that they need to buy them while they can,” Courtney says. “I always tell people that if you see something beautiful, you better buy it because prices are never going down, only up.”

Ron Arbusman, the New York City office manager for A.A. Rachminov, which just opened a stateside outpost in the Manhattan Diamond District’s International Gem Tower, will also be putting his money on rare gems. His firm deals in stones of important sizes with GIA certificates, such as a 25 ct. E VS1 Asscher-cut diamond that he’s bringing to Hong Kong.

For Ashok Sancheti, owner of Pioneer Gems in New York City, the name of the game is one-of-a-kind. He shifted gears five years ago from loose goods to high-end finished pieces to meet demand, particularly in Asia. At press time, he was still working on items to showcase at his booth in the Fine Design pavilion of the Hong Kong fair. But there’s no doubt that Colombian emeralds will be among them. “They have been our business for the past 30 years,” he says. “We are working on one item that involves a pair of big emeralds, which is very exciting.”