Overview

The Hong Kong Jewellery & Jade Manufacturers Association (HKJJA) was established in 1965, initially registered under the name Hong Kong Jade & Stone Manufacturers Association. It was born as a result of the unprecedented embargo by the US Government on jadeite products manufactured in Hong Kong. The new Association presented a united front for lobbying of the US Government to lift the embargo, and was successful two years later in getting jadeite products with a valid Certificate of Hong Kong origin imported into the US.

The newly formed Association in the Central district of Hong Kong provided full range of support facilities for its members from a premise owned by the Association. Among them was the organization of Hong Kong manufacturers to participate in overseas jewellery shows, which was an early and important step in getting worldwide exposure and international recognition for the local jewellery traders.

To extend the scope of services to its members, a testing laboratory was established in 1993 in the same premises under the name of Hong Kong Jade & Stone Laboratory, with an aim to provide impartial and objective testing of jade and gemstone by qualified gemologists with full certification. To cope with the increasing demand from jade traders on the Kowloon side, a second laboratory of HKJJA started to go into business in 2001 on Canton Road, which is seen by most in the trade to be a famous jade bazaar or trading hub of jadeware.

Development

To better reflect the business nature of its members, the name of the Association was changed to Hong Kong Jewellery & Jade Manufacturers Association in 1997. Upon acquisition of the “Hong Kong Jewellery” magazine and its production house in 1998, the Association was relocated to a larger premises in Hunghom, Kowloon, where a majority of local jewellers operate their business.

And since then, larger scopes of services are extended to its members. Among them are such as:

To sponsor local Jewellery exhibitions & overseas trade shows and to organize local Jewellery manufacturers to participate in major overseas jewellery trade shows.
To provide updated information on the latest movements of the jade and Jewellery industry through publication, the “Hong Kong Jewellery” magazine, or internet.
To help promote members’ products to buyers worldwide through distribution of promotional material handled by its own production house that provides full range of services from graphic consultancy, professional photography to expert printing.
To promote members products through another channel on the internet: Web-sites:http://www.Jewellery-hk.org
To organize seminars, talks and conferences in relate to the Jewellery and jade industries.
To assist in developing the "Hong Kong Jewellery Technology Centre".
To establish contacts and links with relevant government authorities and international organizations.
To provide jadeite and gemstone identification services for the industry and the public through our subsidiary, the Hong Kong Jade & Stone Laboratory Ltd.
To provide JewelCAD courses and rapid prototype service for the industry.
To provide members with ATA Carnet services.

The Association currently has a membership in the region of 317 and is viewing for further expansion in the near future.

Last but not least, the Association owes its persistent success to the excellent guidance of its past and present chairpersons to whom members pay their tribute, namely: Mr. Robert LEE (the founding Chairman), Mr. CHEUNG Yui, Mr. FONG Hung-you, Mr. Charles CHAN (who was renamed President in 2003) and Mr. Billy Lau (the present Chairman).