July 10 is Day One of SIJE 2025.
I’ve attended SIJE a few times; 2023 and 2024 being my first set of consecutive years attendance. In 2025, the SIJE is from July 10 to 13.
There was a long queue outside the formal entrance. Visitors queue under the banner of “Buyer”. Everyone gets a soft card with a QR code of their registration. Their photo is taken. Then the buyer gets in line at another queue to enter the exhibition hall. The staff uses their ipad with the bridging SW that checks the registration with this visitor, whose picture is taken again, to ensure it tallies with the registered buyer’s photo. the software is lousy. My picture was rejected. I was told to approach the counter staff to get another photo taken.
Like an obedient mule, I followed instructions. At the queue, a woman ahead of me complained this was her 4th picture taking because her registered photo did not tally with her personal entrance’s picture. What poor software recognition ability.
Some 15 minutes later, I was waiting just inside the entrance hall, when I heard the security saying the photo taking SW was down. Definitely not good fengshui for the organizers and exhibitors. This is only the first day and their SW is down.
Here is a wide range of jewellery to cater to all budgets. There are shiny baubles that won’t burn a hole in your pocket. I saw people from all walks of life, at all ages. Globalization under one roof.
My favorite jeweller still recognized us, after one year hiatus, since we last met at SIJE 2024. We were lazy and had no initiative to visit their store downtown. We still liked the same classic piece we saw in 2024, but didn’t buy because the size did not fit and ordered one to be custom made to size.
