JWA honours industry leaders

Navrattan Kothari got felicitated with Lifetime Achievement Award

Dubai, The Jewellery World Awards (JWA) has unveiled its highly anticipated list of Recipients during a recently concluded gala dinner and awards ceremony at the Jewellery, Gem & Technology Dubai (JGT Dubai). Organised by Informa Markets Jewellery, JWA is the only business awards programme for the international jewellery industry that covers the whole supply chain from mines to market.

Letitia Chow, chairperson and founder of JWA at Informa Markets Jewellery remarked, “The jewellery industry has once again demonstrated its resilience and ability to adapt with what we witnessed at this year’s JWA. With the achievements and success stories shared by the recipients across the categories, we are inspired by their vision, innovative approach and thirst for excellence to move forward even in times of adversity. We are so honoured to recognise these achievements on this occasion.”

The evening’s highest accolade was given to Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient Navrattan Kothari, who has shown compassionate and driven leadership in the past six decades. Aside from transforming his family business into a global conglomerate, he has also been dedicated to supporting the local communities where the KGK Group operates in.

This year’s JWA Recipients for the nine categories are:

Lifetime Achievement Award •   Navrattan Kothari

Brand of the Year – Retail. Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, Hong Kong

Industry Innovation of the Year - Diamonds On-Call Limited, Hong Kong

• Emerald Jewel Industry India Limited, India

•   Picup Media, Hong Kong

•   Shenzhen Link Gold Technology Co Ltd, China

Manufacturer of the Year – Diamond, KGK Group, Hong Kong

Manufacturer of the Year – Jewellery, Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company, Vietnam

Outstanding Enterprise of the Year – APAC, •   CHJ Jewellery, China, •   YLG Bullion Singapore Pte Ltd, Singapore

Outstanding Small Enterprise of the Year (50 full-time employees and below)- Brilliant Cuts Pvt Ltd, Sri Lanka

Outstanding ESG Performance of the Year - Shenzhen Xingguangda Jewelry Industrial Co Ltd, China

Young Entrepreneur of the Year (age 40 and below) Do Minh Duc, DOJI Gold & Gems Group JSC, Vietnam

•   Joyee Zhao, BOJEM, China

James Courage, one of the principal judges of the awards said, “Judging from the participants’ responses and initiatives, one can say that the industry continues to push the boundaries in order to safeguard the welfare of its employees and satisfy its customers — even in the harshest conditions. Their ability to innovate, adapt and meet the market’s needs is testament to our Honourees’ resilience, passion, drive and humanity.”

Kent Wong, Managing Director of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group (CTF), said, “We are honoured and proud to be a Headline Partner of the JWA for 10 straight years. We look forward to collaborating with our peers and driving the industry towards more milestones and achievements in the future.”

Lin Qiang, President & Managing Director of the Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE), who also served as one of the judges noted, “The global jewellery industry is clearly recovering from the effects of the pandemic. The Chinese diamond business, for one, had a robust rebound. Such growth largely results from the unremitting efforts made by our colleagues in the industry. The JWA continues to serve its purpose as a stage for celebrating these achievements and more.”