Chairman’s Message - Mr. Lawrence Ma
Founding President and Chairman, Diamond
Federation of Hong Kong
Integrity & Quality Above All
Hong Kong is famously known as
the ‘jewellery shopping paradise’ for its superior quality, trendy design and
the value for money. It has won the favor of Mainland visitors and listed top
on their shopping list. They have full confidence in genuineness of the diamond
jewellery purchased in Hong Kong. This high level of integrity and in
protecting consumer interests have been the mission of the DFHK, which no doubt
left an indelible footprint along the development scene over the years.
Striving to
Assert ‘Natural’ Supremacy
A ‘diamond’ on its own implies its natural
origin and identity. Diamonds are natural diamonds which were formed billions
of years ago thus their possession of precious and rareness values. Natural
diamond symbolizes authenticity while incorporates emotional and eternity
sentiments. Consumer protection is of paramount importance, to this end, our
veteran diamantaires in the past two decades have laid the foundations of
integrity and transparency for our diamond industry, making Hong Kong an ideal
destination for diamond shoppers.
To enhance
the confidence of consumers in natural diamonds, professional appraisal is
essential Hence in 2009, DFHK joint ventured with the National
Gemstone Testing Center (NGTC) in Beijing to form the NGTC(HK). It provides
timely and world-class grading and laboratory services to the industry in Hong
Kong, and facilitated a common standard between Hong Kong and the Mainland.
Targeting to sustain Hong Kong's position
as a major quality diamond trading hub and with the readiness of the retailers
to further strengthen the integrity management and quality assurance schemes,
DFHK launched the 'Natural Diamond Quality Assurance' (NDQA) Mark Scheme in
2015. The NDQA Mark Scheme incorporates 'natural diamond promotion' and
'quality assurance', this is an extension of the DFHK’s Integrity Pledge Scheme
launched since 1970s, and is DFHK’s continuous effort in nurturing the love for
natural diamonds among the consumers. Participants must observe the terms of
the scheme with full adherence to HKSAR's Trade Descriptions Ordinance, and
commit to "Only sell natural diamonds and no lab-grown ones in their shops”. To
ensure consistency in execution, random checks are carried out on participating
shops.
I am glad to see that the whole diamond industry
stood united to build Hong Kong as a diamond brand with the implementation of
the Integrity Pledge Scheme and the NDQA Mark Scheme. These two schemes have
strengthened the world's confidence in the diamonds from Hong Kong,
Challenges and New Opportunities
In the past two decades, there were enormous
challenges like, Y2K bug in 2000, the SARS in 2003, the Financial Crisis in 2008
and H1N1 Pandemic in 2009 and a tumble in the number of Mainland visitors since June 2019.
None of these deterred the diamantaires in the city from making headway, because
we were fortunate to ride on the high tides of the enormous growth of the
Mainland. Captivating every opportunity
in different stages of its evolution, making Hong Kong a major diamond hub in
Asia and China as one of the world's most vibrant jewellery market and
jewellery manufacturing base..
Since last year, the diamond industry has
been facing unprecedented circumstances due to the lingering global political
instability, Sino-US trade wars and the Covid-19 pandemic. Diamonds are luxury goods, and usually sales
and consumer desire are weakened in times of economic downturn, we should put
in the best to promote natural diamonds while making sure that the consumers
understood the authentic value and significance of diamonds. some feel that
these will only be a short-term shock, whereas many believe that it is a
paradigm shift. I believe that Hong Kong
people here have been united in upholding industry integrity and embracing the "Lion
Rock” spirit- the 'can do' attitude.
New and innovative strategies are
paramount for us to survive the crisis. Our pragmatic,
resilient and innovative attitudes have a
quality that allowed us to ride out crisis one after another yet
emerged to become stronger. Every time
we meet a challenge, we turn it into an opportunity, capitalizing on Hong
Kong's unique advantages. Hong Kong diamantaires are most grateful with the
Mainland as the hinterland to provide adequate and comparatively affordable
resources and a huge domestic market. The Greater Bay Area development which
comes with lots of opportunities and will be the new winners for the industry.
The DFHK past chairmen and myself have
full confidence in the future of Hong Kong’s diamond industry which is famed for
its inclusivity amid diversity. We should stay unruffled and vigilant. We have
set as a priority this year to build a Hong Kong as a trustworthy brand and to strengthen
consumer confidence through marketing the authentic beauty of diamond jewellery.
When consumer confidence picks up again, the diamond industry shall regain its
strength and move on. Hong Kong will become "The Natural Destination for
Natural Diamond”
|