Members of Singapore’s jewellery trade associations are bracing themselves for a 10- to 20-per-cent fall in regional sales in the next six months, due to the global economic slowdown.

Already, high-end baubles, such as diamonds, are seeing a 5- to 10-per-cent drop in retail price, said Mr Suresh Hathiramani, vice-president of the Diamond Exchange of Singapore.

“Diamond mines will be cutting back supply next year, but that cannot discount the fact that prices may drop a little as part of market forces at play,” he told my paper at the Antwerp Diamond Day event held at the Shangri-La Hotel yesterday.

Industry players are counting on a couple of lifelines to boost demand, including United States President-elect Barack Obama’s vow to jolt the economy back to health.

“If his promise of creating 2.5 million jobs materialises, then, hopefully, the economy can turn, and we will endure only a short crisis,” said Mr CharlesHo, president of the Singapore Jewellers Association.

Mr Hathiramani, who is also the director of Facets, a diamond wholesale firm in Singapore, predicts a U-shaped recovery for the market.

“The moment the feel-good factor comes back, I think we can see a quick recovery over a couple of months,” he said.

Consumer expenditure in Asia’s twin growth engines – China and India – is also expected to generate demand in the region, a sentiment shared by Antwerp World Diamond Centre, the Belgium-based coordinating body and official representative of the Belgian diamond trade.

Said chief executive Freddy Hanard: “The growth areas are undoubtedly the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, and, of course, China, where you have a 1.3-billion population and a middle class that grows by 10 million every year.”

The fact that the centre organised all its recent Antwerp Diamond Day events in Asia – Shanghai, Mumbai, Jakarta and, now, Singapore – highlights the growing importance of this region. The event is a promotional platform for industry players to network.

This article was first published in my paper on Nov 28, 2008.