How long have you been in business?
AsiaGems has been in business for more than three years. In that time we have worked to bring true fairness to the gem market here in the UK.
Do you have a company by-line?
We bring true fairness to the market.
What brought you into the business?
I first came into the business when I was a little boy, when I went to the Sri Lankan gem trade fair in Colombo.
Have you noticed many changes over the years?
Over the past few years we have noticed an increase of buyers that are very money conscious, so we have moved to accommodate their every needs. As we are all aware there has been a down turn here in the European markets.
What stands out as the best part of running your business?
I get a great buzz out of clients who love the gemstones that we have at AsiaGems and the prices we offer!
What’s the worst?
I really can’t think of any thing, I do really love the trade, and so we work hard every day to make it better.
Is there anything you’d do differently if you could do it again?
I would definitely have been at the Gem, Rock and Bead shows a lot earlier, as the market exposure was tremendous. We have found these shows to be completely valuable to our core company
structure.
What do you hope to achieve in the next 10 years?
We hope to achieve in the next ten years, to have jewellery boutiques around the UK and Paris. As the European markets return and they will! we look forward to riding that wave.
AsiaGems is also moving fast into the mining operations as well, we have several mining pits around Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Cambodia we get to pick the very best that Mother Nature has to offer.
Do you have a memorable funny (business) story?
The gemstone business is a funny business.
What are your favourite crystals?
My favourite crystal would be Aqua Marine the light blue is so beautiful we love it.
What do you look for in a customer?
Our customers come from all walks of life, we do our very best to help everybody that comes along.
How do you source your stock?
We have the best off both world because we can source from our own mines or from mines we get invited to, as well as the our normal avenues.
What preparation do you do for a show?
We look at the previous year to see what we sold and what we feel the customers may want to see.
As an experienced exhibitor what advice would you want to share with others?
The best advice would be: to be organised, try to think of everything, try to put your self in your customers shoes, think what they think!
Look smart! Be smart! Good signage, good lighting.