JNA Awards presented!

An award meets

With the Thai jewellers

Prestigious JNA Awards collaborates with

TGJTA to encourage participation

The JNA Awards brought its Presentation to Bangkok, Thailand, on 31 January, in its efforts to encourage wider participation among members of the Thai gems and jewellery industry. Held in cooperation with the Thai Gem and Jewelry Traders Association (TGJTA), the successful presentation was attended by close to 30 jewellers from various parts of Thailand –all of whom gained valuable insights on the JNA Awards and its core values.

Guided by a strong tradition of craftsmanship, Thailand has long been an important manufacturing hub for the international jewellery and gemstone industry, and has contributed greatly to the advancement of the trade. It is for these reasons that the JNA Awards organised the presentation to reach out to more jewellery companies and individuals in the country to join the prestigious award programme.

In fact, a number of outstanding jewellers from Thailand have already been recognised as Recipients and Honourees by the JNA Awards over the years. Among them is Prida Tiasuwan, the Chairman of Pranda Jewlery Public Co Ltd – Pranda Group, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018-the highest accolade from the JNA Awards.

Boonkij Jitngamplang, Ph.D., President of TGJTA and Letitia Chow, Chairperson of the JNA Awards and Director of Business Development – Jewellery Group at UBM Asia started the presentation by giving everyone a warm welcome. Letitia and her team also gave an overview of the Awards to the attendees. The talk covered a variety of important topics, which include how to join the Awards, the benefits of participation, and information on the judging panel members and judging process, among others.

Commenting on this occasion, Boonkij Jitngamplang said, “The TGJTA is very pleased to be part of the JNA Awards. Receiving the JNA Awards is a great honour for the entrepreneurs of the international gems and jewellery industry. It is an affirmation and recognition, as well as a driving force on their commitment to developing and implementing excellent business practices. TGJTA is confident that the Thai entrepreneurs will utilise this platform to further develop their potential to empower the Thai gems and jewellery Industry.”

Kent Wong, Managing Director of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group and Kenneth Scarratt, CEO of Danat, representatives from the Headline Partners of the JNA Awards headed talks on the values that have been gained by their respective organisations since joining the JNA Awards. The two also shared how the JNA Awards serves as a platform for leading entities in the global jewellery and gemstone trade.

James Courage, Former Chief Executive Officer of Platinum Guild International, and Albert Cheng, Far East Advisor of the World Gold Council, both principal judges of the JNA Awards judging panel, also talked about their judging experiences in the last seven years. The two shared pointers and tips on what entrants must pay attention to in order to prepare an impressive entry.

Representatives from two previous Thai Recipients of the JNA Awards, Li Chongjie, CEO of China Stone Co Ltd and Prida Tiasuwan, Chairman of Pranda Jewelry Public Co Ltd – Pranda Group were also present to share their experiences and insights on entering the Awards. The two also discussed the benefits they enjoyed after being recognised by the Awards.

Prida Tiasuwan expressed that “Craftsmen, gem and jewellery products from Thailand are well-known and have been highly recognised in the global market. By joining the JNA Awards, we were given an opportunity to showcase our achievements and ultimately benefitted by securing more business. JNA Awards has not only uplifted the spirit of the Thai gems and jewellery industry but also the global jewellery industry.”

Similarly, Li shared that joining the JNA Awards elevates industries in Thailand and helps strengthen its reputation as a global jewellery and gemstone hub. "Same as the JNA Awards, our company embraces core values of innovation, excellence and best practices. We are proud to be awarded as Recipients for four consecutive years in five different categories, it is recognition to our company as well as Thailand as a leading country in the trade," he said.

Letitia Chow further added, “We are honoured to partner with TGJTA and connect more closely with Thailand, a market that plays an important role in the global gems and jewellery trade. Not only is the Thai craftsmanship regarded as among the top in the world, their jewellers are also innovative and play a part in breaking new grounds in terms of moving the industry forward. We have recognised some of these achievements at the JNA Awards in the past, and we look forward to seeing more in the future.”

Organised by UBM Asia, the JNA Awards is on its eighth edition in 2019. The JNA Awards is one of the most coveted awards programmes in the international jewellery and gemstone industry. It promotes innovation, excellence and best business practices by recognising and celebrating the achievements of companies from a wide scope of expertise and sizes within the trade.

JNA Awards 2019 is supported by Headline Partners Chow Tai Fook, the Shanghai Diamond Exchange, and Danat, together with Honoured Partners KGK Group, Shanghai Gems and Jade Exchange, and Guangdong Land Holdings Limited.