Sri Lanka’s premier gem and jewellery show, Facets Sri Lanka, increased 43 percent in size through an increase in number of booths as the fair underwent a tremendous growth through a shift in location, increase in exhibitor numbers and upgrades in marketing and promotion. Facets Sri Lanka, the 15th Sri Lanka International Gem & Jewellery Show, was held from August 31 to September 3 at the BMICH Exhibition and Convention Centre in Colombo.
The show changed location from the Colombo Hilton to the much larger BMICH as demand for space from new exhibitors increased. In 2005, Facets was held in two separate halls: one hall for gemstones and one for jewellery, lapidary services, machinery and tools. According to the organisers, the Sri Lanka Gem & Jewellery Association (SLGJA), plans are to expand the fair to 200 booths in 2006. The show was also renamed Facets Sri Lanka to identify the fifteen-year-old show more strongly with Sri Lanka. This was one of the recommendations made by TCP consultant Caroline Stanley during her consultancy to help develop the Facets trade fair.
In 2005, in response to the tsunami which destroyed mainly coastal regions in Sri Lanka and affected many small and medium enterprises in the gems and jewellery industry, SLGJA and TCP assisted eight tsunami-affected exporters to exhibit free of charge at Facets 2005. TCP also awarded a grant of US$45,000 to the Facets organisers to help develop capacity at the fair through provision of show cases. Chief Guest was the Minister of Advanced Technology and National Enterprise Development, Rohitha Bogollagama and Guest of Honour was Allen Kleiman, President of A. Kleiman & Co Overseas exhibitors included 40 companies from Myanmar, in 20 booths, exhibiting ruby and sapphire as well as gemset jewellery; the retailer, Damas from the United Arab Emirates; and 10 companies from India. Gemstones, buyers were mainly wholesale buyers from the United States, United Kingdom, Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and India. Number of buyers from India at Facets continued to increase.
For jewellery, there was a strong presence from local and expatriate consumers. The Facets organisers also held two fashion shows each day, which was sponsored by six large exporting and retailing companies in Sri Lanka; A.M.A. Careem Jewellers; Colombo Jewellery Stores; Mallika Hemachandra Jewellers; Renelle (Private) Limited; Vogue Jewellers; and Wellawatte Nithyakalyani Jewellery. Facets 2005 was organized by SLGJA and is supported by the National Gem & Jewellery Authority and the Sri Lanka Export Development Board.
