MANILA, Philippines – One might ask: At a time when the world’s superpower has raised its debt ceiling and Europe is faced with a debt crisis, is the Philippine jewelry industry still relevant?

Entrepreneurs and leaders of the Philippine export jewelry industry are saying, yes, and now more than ever. The country, which has always prided itself as being one of the most highly mineralized in the world, is producing what amounts to only .02 percent of the fine jewelry supply in a global market valued at $274 billion in 2010. “People don’t realize the potential,” says Mia Faustmann, chief executive officer of 7 Castles, Inc. that exports sterling silver jewelry to Europe and provides fine jewelry products to domestic customers through subcontractor companies. Read the rest of this entry »

Jewelry and housewares exporters have downsized their workforce by as much as 60 percent and reduced prices by whopping 50 percent to cope with the impact of the global economic woes, a survey revealed. Read the rest of this entry »