What if you threw a party and everybody decided to come?

            That was the problem at Thailand’s biggest-ever trade fair, BoI Fair ’95, which was held at Thailand’s east coast city of Laem Chabang from Feb 17-28. When the Board of Investment’s much-heralded fair finally shut down after its twelve-day run it was estimated that the mammoth exhibition had drawn close to a million and a half visitors.

            In many ways, BoI ’95 was a victim of its own success. Due to the larger-than-expected crowds, the giant fair became a logistical nightmare. Chronic traffic jams had some local newspapers labeling the road from Bangkok to Laem Chabang as “the highway to hell.” Four-hour plus trips to the small Eastern Seaboard city were common. Other problems ranged from shortages of food and drink to a general lack of facilities like toilets and waste disposal. Bangkok’s blistering early summer heat also had crowds lingering in air-conditioned pavilions, heedless of the products that were featured within.

            It was unlikely, however, that anybody accidentally dropped by the pavilion sponsored by Thailand’s gem and jewelry industry. Consisting of three connected tents, the gem and jewelry exhibit was probably the fair’s top draw; with lengthy queues and two to three hour waits the norm. One of the main reasons for the intense interest was the first-ever public display of the world’s largest polished diamond, which was brought to Thailand by De Beers’ Central Selling Organization (CSO) at the request of the Thai Diamond Manufacturers Association (TDMA).

            In fact, in a survey conducted by a local television station at the end of the event, the 545.67 carat diamond was rated as the major attraction of BoI Fair ’95. Ranking tenth was the  world’s largest blue topaz—the 30,000 carat Royal Topaz displayed by the Thai Gems and Jewelry Traders Association (TGJTA).

 

The big attraction

            The yellow –brown diamond, referred to by De Beers as the “Unnamed Brown”, was discovered at South Africa’s Premier Mine in 1986. During a three-year cutting process conducted by Antwerp’s Gabi Tolkowsky, the 755.50 carat rough was fashioned into its present form. Despite its impressive size, the diamond’s dark color and its large number of cracks and inclusions dramatically diminished its beauty and value.

            Even Anthony Oppenheimer, the De Beers president who was visiting Thailand for the first time in four years (see sidebar, Oppenheimer speaks), described the diamond in less-than-glowing terms.

            “I suppose its merit lies in the fact that it is the largest polished stone,” said Oppenheimer. “It’s got a number of spots and cracks in it, and one wouldn’t want to drop it, in which case it would no longer be the largest diamond in the world.”

            De Beers’ marketing liaison Howard Vaughan refused to reveal the Unnamed Brown’s expected selling price, but said, “I would start the bidding at around $10 million.”

            Other sources close to the diamond business, however, indicated that the stone could sell for as little as $3 to $5 million on the open market. Vaughan confirmed that the Unnamed Brown is available for sale to the highest bidder.

            Still, despite its less-than-stellar quality, people are always fascinated by absolutes and it was estimated that more than 15,000 people per day flocked to see the baseball-sized Unnamed Brown.

            “It’s crowded all day, every day,” said Vaughan, who was entrusted with supervising the exhibit. “I think it’s the main attraction of the fair.”

            These sentiments were echoed by Angus Worrall of Orchid Diamond. “That was what made the fair,” he said. “The gem and jewelry pavilion was a great success and without the contribution of the CSO, there wouldn’t have been any of it.”

 

 

 

Important symbol

            To members of the local diamond industry, the display was perhaps even more notable for its symbolic importance. According to Vaughan, the last time De Beers participated in a show of this type was more than four years ago in Antwerp.

            “It’s very, very significant,” said Bob Van Es, of diamond broker I. Hennig (Thailand). “This level of interest from De Beers shows the importance that they place on the Thai market.”

            Security arrangements were major concern before BoI Fair ’95. In fact, at several times, sources said, De Beers’ participation in the show was in danger of falling through because the open tent site meant that the safety of the Unnamed Brown could not be ensured. In the end, however, De Beers swallowed hard and decided to take the risk

            In addition to the Unnamed Brown, an estimated $6 million worth of rough and polished diamonds in various sizes, shapes, qualities and colors were on display.

            The diamonds rested in a display case built specifically for the show. The case was capable of withstanding a Magnum bullet at close range and was equipped with a special ink bomb that would detonate in the case of any unauthorized entry.

            “I’II tell you,” said Vaughan. “If a robber came in here and started shooting up the room, the safest place would be inside that case.”

            Of course, the exhibition did not come off without some nervous moments. For example, the display case was held up in Thai customs and didn’t even arrive at the fair site until the day before the event was scheduled to begin. Said one source close to the organizers, “It was a real brown-trouser job.”

 

Rising status

            Nevertheless, the fact that De Beers would go to such effort and expense to bring the world’s largest diamond to Thailand is a strong confirmation of the country’s rising status in the diamond world.

            Several times during this trip, Oppenheimer clearly stated that De Beer now recognizes Thailand as the world’s fifth-largest diamond cutting center—after Antwerp,

New York, Israel and India, and before Russia. In addition, CSO statistics put Thailand as the world’s sixth-largest consumer market for diamond jewelry (by diamond value).

            The BoI exhibition presented a valuable opportunity for De Beers to promote its product at a time when the cartel is increasingly turning its attention—and advertising dollars—to the booming markets of east Asia (see story, De Beers feels the heat).

            Said Worrall, “With De Beers’ appearance [at the BoI fair, they have done more for promoting diamonds than they have with any of their television advertisements.”

            This statement was borne out by brisk sales of diamonds at the TDMA pavilion. The stone were being sold at discounted prices, with proceeds going to charities chosen by His Majesty the King.

            “This is the first time we’ve done anything like this,” said Worrall. “The general interest was really quite astonishing.”

            In addition to these attractions, the pavilion also featured a new Thai-language video on the local diamond industry and an exhibit of diamond polishing, bruiting and sawing from local companies Orchid Diamond, American Diamond and Pyramid Diamond Sawing.

 

Gemstones success

            Thai craftsmanship was also on display in the TGJTA section, where more than 40 workers from ten companies also demonstrated their cutting, bruiting and polishing skills.

            The stones being polished were donated by other TGJTA members, and the finished products were sold to the public for Bt250 each, with the proceeds going to charities chosen by His Majesty the King. According to Daniel Supapolsatorn of  Quality Color, the TGJTA sold a total of 50,000 stones to the public for Bt250 each—making for a grand total of Bt12.5 million ($500,000). The take might have been even more had the association checked outside the tent, where aspiring entrepreneurs were selling their stones to eager customers for prices up to Bt1,000 ($40).

            “I think we were very successful in promoting what we are all about,” said Daniel. “Every booth that I’ve seen had products moving all the time. In the jewelry, the outcome was extraordinary.”

            So extraordinary, in fact, that several companies sold out their jewelry stocks in the first few days of the show and could only sell loose stones for the duration.

            Quality Color sold between 2,000 to 10,000 carats per day—mostly in Swiss blue topaz and sky blue topaz.

            “We had the best sales ever,” said Daniel. “We didn’t even expect to sell anything.”

             This success story was echoed by A. Nipaporn of Amorn Gems.

            “In the overall picture, there was quite good selling for every booth,” she said.

            For her, the primary reason so many people were buying jewelry and loose stones was the openness of the site and the accessibility of the jewelry companies.

            “Most of our customers were from the middle class—by that, I mean upcountry people,” she said. “This is a group that normally wouldn’t dare go into a high class jewelry shop or participate in an event like JewelFest. This show opened the door to the middle class.”

            While exhibitors were awash in streams of potential customers, some complained that the people attending the fair did not exactly come from their target markets.

            “It seems like there’s nothing but maids and house wives here,” said a representative from a company which produces equipment for diamond manufacturing. “These people aren’t likely to buy our products.”

            This comment pointed up what was probably the major fault of the fair: that it seemed to stray dramatically from its original purpose of presenting Thailand’s various industries to business people and executives from around the world.

            While the executives stayed at home to avoid the traffic jams and long queues, BoI Fair’95 turned into just another day at the mall for the masses.