Over 12,000 visitors from across India and certain key international markets are expected to visit the Signature show which opens at the NSE, Goregaon on Friday, February 20 and runs through till February 23. More than 10,000 of them have already pre-registered for the event.

Now in its 8th year, Signature has evolved as a complement to the larger IIJS held in August and has now established itself as an exceptional platform for decision makers from the retail side of the business to meet with leading manufacturers. The tighter admission norms and the overall ambience enables companies to have one-on-one interactions with greater ease.

Signature will have more than 540 exhibitors spread over 1,000 stalls covering nearly 30,000 sq m of exhibition space. The exhibition is divided into sections including Signature Club, Studded Jewellery, Plain Gold Jewellery, Loose Stones, International etc.

A series of successful road shows in key identified markets such as Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Egypt have attracted buyers from these regions which are seeing a surge in consumer demand. Also large delegations from countries such as UK, UAE, China, Italy, Hungary, CIS countries, Nepal, Bangladesh and Iran will be attending.

“Signature has grown in popularity over the last few years, and we have seen an increasing trend in visitor registration. This year there are visitors from more than 350 cities and towns pan India,” says Nirav Bhansali, Convener, Exhibitions Sub-Committee (National), GJEPC. “In response to popular demand from retailers, we have also relaxed some of the restrictions and this year, each company can register up to six staff members as against the earlier four.”

Besides the vast array of products to choose from there are some special sections like the Artisan Awards Gallery, where the most outstanding pieces created for the Artisan Jewellery Design Awards will be displayed. The competition was around the theme ‘Celebrating 100 years of Indian Cinema’ and the awards are being distributed at an exclusive evening event on Day One of the show.

Another special feature is the popular IDEX Diamond Search Kiosk with facilities to check the stock, listing and prices of stones available with all exhibitors in the loose diamond section. Last year over 80% of the visitors had rated this as a useful feature of the show.

“The industry can look forward to a fabulous show which keeps getting better every year,” says Bhansali.

“In the coming years, we are planning to add a new dimension to Signature and present some of the renowned international companies which will help Indian jewellers upgrade their operations in terms of technological advancement and innovation,” he adds.