New fascination for amber. Poland dominates the international amber sector for material that's becoming much in demand among fashion jewellery producers. But with jewellery facing sales downturns in mature markets in the US and the EU, the increasingly affluent Chinese mainland offers some of the best returns - and Hong Kong jewellery companies are well placed to guide Polish amber producers to the most lucrative sales opportunities.
Hong Kong companies like Chinese Arts and Crafts and Chow Tai Fook have the international experience that encompasses the Mainland, the Asian region and global markets, according to trade specialists.
On the Mainland, up-and-coming jewellery sectors include Shanghai underground metro malls, the huge new department stores in Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province and the Wuzhou Gemstone City in Guangxi, where customers are keen to buy the latest designs in jewellery.
Besides developing Mainland opportunities, Hong Kong companies are also experienced as producers, able to re-tool amber products to suit modern trends. That's the reason why buyers say they attend the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show each spring, providing contact with local expertise.
Amber last hit the international headlines with the release of the film Jurassic Park in 1993, which featured a mosquito entombed in raw amber. The fictional dinosaurs were engineered from the insect's DNA, and the film's depiction of amber charmed jewellery lovers with the sheer antiquity and mystery of this fossilised pine tree resin.
However, today's demand for amber was described by the editor of G2 Art + Design magazine in Germany as representing a light palette of colours, the so-called "amber treasures" that feature sunny yellows and pink gold that imbue modern pieces with a feeling of "warm luxury". Gone are the trapped insects: Hong Kong jewellery designers and consultants say Mainland customers will have to be re-educated to the new look and feel of amber.
A combination of amber and fine silver alloys has become a Polish specialty not only in jewellery, but also in tableware, cutlery and decorative objects. In Gdańsk there are about 2,500 amber jewellery factories, with about 8,000 jewellers and craftsmen.
In terms of the number of shops selling amber products offering a very diverse jewellery portfolio, the Polish amber trade is the most comprehensive in Europe.
Poland has galleries with a range of expensive amber pieces offered by specialist retail chains, such as BORUNI and VNS Venus Group, as well as more modest shops and stands, and even street vendors.
Most of the attractive fossil resins are from Baltic amber, which is largely mined in Russia at the Kaliningrad Oblast and in Ukraine.
But precipitous falls in the output of amber combined with increasing demand have caused costs of raw amber to rise. The market appears likely to become more specialised, as amber pieces are re-tooled from existing supplies to meet the world's new fascination for the fossil resin.
