Hey JTV blog readers! Adam the tool guy blogging from China. I have traveled thousands of miles in search of new and exciting gemological and jewelry-making tools. My colleague Shun, who runs our China operation, and I will travel through China in search of the best tools at the best prices to bring to our JTV customers. My trip started in Hong Kong, and has taken me to several different and exciting cities in China which include Shenzhen, Hai Fong, and Dongguan.
While in Hong Kong I attended the Hong Kong show which is the largest Jewelry and Gemstone show in the world. It was so big it had to held in two different locations! There were vendors from all over the world. It was an eye opening experience! Below are a few pictures of one of the facilities from the shore in Kowloon which is across Victoria Harbor.
One of the show facilities in Hong Kong
We met up with one of our Senior Gemstone buyers, George Williams , and crossed Victoria Harbor by ferry. That was a crowded experience!
Ferry that took us across the Hong Kong Harbor to the show
Shun (left), from JTV's China offices and JTV Gem Buyer George Williams (right)
Shun took me to the Peak which offer amazing views of the city. Needless to say the view will take your breath away!
Looking up at Victoria's Peak
The stunning view from Victoria's Peak in Hong Kong
I have visited so many manufactures I am beginning to get them mixed up. In Shenzhen, we visited one of the top optical manufactures in the world where they were preparing a new order of our GemVue Lighted Loupe.
Manufacturing JTV's GemVue Lighted Loupes
State-of-the-art optical elements of the GemVue loupe
The GemVue Lighted Loupe item has been one of the most popular loupes ever at JTV. This product has an amazing 10X triplet lens with powerful lighting which is absolutely perfect for viewing gemstones. It even has a UV light built in to test your gemstones for fluorescence! They will be arriving at JTV sometime around the first of November.
We are also working on new and improved GemVue refractometer prototypes, developed exclusively for our JTV audience. Expect bigger viewing apparatuses to seamlessly identify gemstones by obtaining the refractive index of any gemstone. It will have external sodium lighting, and top-of-the-line optics. As always, we are using our JTV purchasing power to secure the best prices that cannot be beaten!
In Hai Fong we visited a well respected gemstone manufacturer where we inspected one of Callie's upcoming globe orders. These globes are by far some of the nicest globes I have ever seen. It takes several employees a total of 50 hours to cut, assemble and polish the gemstone to make just one of these 330mm globes! So if you have 1,000 globes, the combined time to manufacture is 50,000 man hours--WOW!
Shun inspects the fine craftsmanship of JTV's new gemstone globes
Stay tuned because Callie purchased their entire inventory and these will not last long once they arrive at JTV! If you don't have one of these globes buy as many as you can for yourself or as Christmas gifts. JTV is about all things gemstones so we offer a wide variety of gemstone related gifts and collectibles. Click here to shop JTV's Gifts and Collectibles.
Keep visiting the JTV blog for more updates from China! Adam the Tool Guy signing off for the night.
- Adam Bedwell, Buyer, JTV Tools
