Tuesday, February 02, 2016. Medellín will be the setting for the wonderful jewelry exhibition, which will take place this coming weekend in a shopping center in the area; taking advantage of the carnival days off.
This is an economic sector that annually generates an average of 3.8 billion Colombian pesos, according to Fenalco., which is one of the institutions in charge of organizing the event. Only in August of last year, this Colombian economic field generated about 1,644 million pesos.
It is interesting to mention that the Colombian economy is particularly favored by the sale of prestigious jewelry. For example, in Antioquia, sales related to jewelry and costume jewelry represent 14.8% of national sales; this is followed by Bogotá with 13.3%; then there is Cali with 11.5%, and finally Barranquilla with 10%.
On the other hand, although a consumer study showed that 87% of the jewelry demand belongs to upper and middle social classes; For Camilo Liévano, president of the Colombian Jewelry Circle, sumptuary objects should not be classified as jewelry. Liévano comments that these objects have always been essential in the ceremonial part of Colombian culture, which is why Colombians have used gold for many years to make objects of religious veneration, so he does not consider that they should occupy a category within the goldsmith
Despite this, this item already represents a priority part of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of that Latin American country. This is because the marketing of jewelry is not only a business option; but informal economy.
For its part, Sergio Ignacio Soto, director of Fenalco; highlighted that in terms of the business sector, the jewelry business generates approximately a total of 100 thousand formal jobs; due to the necessary extraction, manufacturing and commercialization processes.
Foreign sales have also been favored thanks to this activity, since only in the first eight months of 2013, sales stood at 1,644 million dollars (more than three billion pesos).
So that, For Soto, the jewelry trade can continue to grow and earn great profits for the country. But, for this it is pertinent that artisans and goldsmiths have the availability of raw material for their work.. The most used materials are gold, silver and emeralds; as well as the appropriate technology to produce quality products.
Similarlyit is necessary to create policies that guarantee a variety of designs, production and integration into the production chain and control of contraband. However, despite the fact that jewelry is becoming a paid commercial activity; goldsmiths are concerned that so far this year the Banco de la República has not sold gold, so jewelers have been forced to acquire it at a 10% higher price.