Diaspora jewelers dream of free economic zone in Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - From September 21 to 23, Armenians were given an opportunity to see a great variety of jewelry astonishing with their beauty and design. Yerevan Show exhibited best pieces of 65 famous jewelry brands owned by our compatriots from Diaspora, among them Asthet, Haytayan, Bergio, Tacori, Waskol, Yessayan Jewelry and others.

“I assure you, there is no celebrity, who does not have his/her Armenian jeweler. Armenian jeweler’s piece serves as talisman for the owner and is believed to bring good luck,” AJA President Gagik Gevorgyan says.

AJA, which covers over 7% of world’s jewelry industry, plans to organize similar exhibitions in U.S., Russia, China and Italy.

The Association also anchors big hopes with Armenia.

“Firstly, it is creation of free economic zone within next two years through the joint efforts of AJA and the RA government to help jewelers all over the world establish their business in Armenia, thus creating job and export opportunities,” Gevorgyan says.

According to him, AJA plans large-scale training programs “to prepare designers to be the pride of our nation.”

The results of the first 6 months of 2011 compared to the same period in 2010 show 6,5% growth in the field of jewelry industry with total AMD 4,7 billion product realization. Eexport growth of total AMD 4,4 billion was also registered.

With 31 jewelry company operating in Armenia, the field tend to revive with assistance of the government, which decided to exempt the companies from the VAT and income tax prepayment.