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Gold mining dates back to at least the 3rd Century A.D., when Chinese traders referred to Luzon as the Isle of Gold. However, major commercial mining activity did not begin until the “gold rush” of the 1930’s and and 1940’s when, by 1941, 41 mines were producing approximately 30 mt of gold per annum. In 1965 the first porphyry copper deposit was opened by Atlas Mining Company in Cebu, which marked the beginning of modern day mining in the Philippines.Two sub-sectors comprise the Philippine Jewelry Industry. These are the fine jewelry sub-sector and the costume jewelry sub-sector. The Philippine fine jewelry industry is engaged in the production of two major product categories, namely:
* precious metal jewelry; and
* pearls, precious and semi-precious stones.
Precious metal jewelry refers to ornaments made of gold and silver that may or may not be mounted with gemstones. Precious metal jewelry can be in the form of rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, brooches, pendants, tie-pins cuff links; and decorative items such as spoons, forks; and office items such as pen and paper holders.
Precious metal jewelry made of gold is the major product of the Philippines. Silver jewelry comprise a smaller portion of the business but is steadily increasing.
Pearls, precious stones and semi-precious stones are unworked or worked pearls, cut and polished diamonds and colored gemstones such as emerald, rubies and sapphires in loose form. They vary according to size, color, cut, clarity and luster as in the case of pearls. Precious stones are defined as diamonds, emerald, rubies and sapphires with some addition of pearls. All other gems are considered as semi-precious.
Notwithstanding the availability of raw materials and the capability of local manufacturers to meet local demand, imported jewelry items still abound in the local market. Usually, these jewelry items are made of gold coming from Italy, Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong.
No official statistics as to the size of the domestic market for jewelry exist. There is also no reliable data on how much of the locally-available jewelry are made domestically or originated from foreign sources. In 1994, De Beers places the Philippine diamond jewelry market at US $62 million. If it is safely assumed that 50% of all jewelry are made with diamonds while the other half are gold and silver set with other stones, then the market size is estimated to be around US$120 million. This can be higher considering that diamond jewelry accounts for only 20-30% of the total jewelry market In this case, the market size for jewelry in the Philippines could be as high as US$ 200 million.
There are six areas in the country where majority of jewelry manufacturing firms are located and these are Benguet, Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao, the Caraga Region, and Bulacan. The jewelry industry in the Philippines is a fragmented one composed of cottage-type small firms with little investments in new technology like modern tools and equipment.
