Makems Jewellery, an Abuja-based fast-growing jewelry-making company in Nigeria, has set the city agog, as it recently held its annual jewelry exhibition with a wide range of trendy, fine and unique handmade, locally-produced and imported jewelry products on display for hundreds of visitors to the venue of the event.
The jewelry exhibition was an expertly-curated showcase of exceptional ornaments, ranging from contemporary designs to vintage treasures such as Makems handmade jewelry, earrings, long necklaces, jewelry set, bangles and bracelets, rings and male bracelets, among others with special focus on promoting local contents, which aligns with Federal Government’s policy direction on promotion of local contents in all sectors of the economy.
The 2024 Jewelry Exhibition, which took place on December 7 in Abuja attracted fashion lovers and potential clients, who used the opportunity to purchase trendy jewelry of their choice which meet their status as the Yuletide season begins while networking with other visitors.
Addressing stakeholders and visitors at the event, the company’s Director of Business Development, Miss Temitope Adejare, said her company had been making unique jewelry products locally and also sell imported jewelry products as well.
“Considering what has been happening in the economy in the area of dollar exchange to Naira, you will realise that things that are imported have become so expensive because they are in dollar. So, what we have done at Makems Jewelry is to ensure that we source for local jewelry materials and we have a lot of them that are locally-made in Nigeria on display at this exhibition.
“Makems Jewelry has a passion for making jewelry and we now make do with what we can really do in Nigeria and we have been able to come out with beautiful jewelry pieces that people really love at this exhibition.
“What we do is unique to an individual. We do not repeat the design. So, if you buy any Makems Jewelry piece, it is the only one that exists in terms of design. Overtime, people have come to know this and they love it also and they like coming for the exhibition.”
According to her, the company works year round to gather the best of locally-manufactured jewelry products as well as some imported designs and bring people together at the exhibition to come and see the various designs that it has brought on display for the season for them to purchase their favourite designs.
“As you can see, we sell imported jewelry pieces as well but as you may have observed, most people would be at the Stand for Nigerian-handmade jewelry products because they are more unique, more durable and are very nice. This means, our locally-produced collection of jewelry appeals more to our clients.
“Why most people run from Nigerian-made products is literally because of the quality. Most of the time, people that do local contents tend to compromise quality standards but what we have done at Makems is to ensure that what we have is of high quality even better than many of the imported jewelry, as the designs are nice and unique and meet the expectation of Nigeria across social divides”, she added.
Speaking on affordability, the Business Development Director said because the products are domiciled in Naira, “you find out that it is easier for people to buy”, adding that the company is targeting “exporting our locally-manufactured jewelry products in the long run, thereby helping Nigeria’s Naira-to-dollar exchange to appreciate through local production of the fashion products and exports.”
According to her, “with what we have done at Makems, we have a lot of staff that we have employed and this also means we are creating employment opportunity for Nigerians across the value chain. We are also available online across social media platforms for online purchase of our products.”
Adejare added that Makems’ plan is to become a household name as an indigenous jewelry-sourcing and production firm, thereby enhancing the government’s policy direction to deepen local content, improve value addition through offerings of durable, comfortable and affordable jewelry products in Nigeria in the next few years.
