I am excited to announce that the first book in the Gemstone Detective series, featuring Sri Lanka, was launched on 4th October at the Sri Lanka High Commission in London. Chris Day of Filament Publishing and Kim Rix warmly welcomed over 70 guests to the special event with champagne.
His Excellency, Acting High Commissioner Sugeeshwara Gunaratna, opened the event with a fascinating speech on the gem trade in Sri Lanka.
May Swan-Easton, Kim’s own personal travel counsellor of the last 7 years, shared her thoughts about how Buying Gemstones and Jewellery in Sri Lanka will help her own discerning clients planning their holidays in Sri Lanka.
Guests included Kim’s family and close friends, keen bloggers and travel-industry experts, as well as many of her trusted gem-trade contacts mentioned in the book itself. Kim’s publishing and PR team were also there to support the launch of the Sri Lanka book, along with a few journalists…those who didn’t abandon us for Frieze and Kate Moss!
Chris Day announced in his speech that today was Super Thursday – a very auspicious occasion – the most important day of the year in the book trade calendar. This came as a huge surprise to me, being new to the world of publishing. 500 books, including my Sri Lanka book, were published on this day …all hoping to capture the Christmas rush. It would seem that I was in good company with the likes of Monty Python’s Eric Idle, Michael Kane, David Attenborough, Tina Turner and Jacqueline Wilson!
The surprises didn’t stop there either… when a member of the audience asked where the book was on sale, Chris reeled off a number of countries around the world including Moscow, Poland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, UK, South Korea, Australia, Brazil, USA (15 locations), Canada, India and China to mention a few! So Gemstone Detective’s ‘Buying Gemstones and Jewellery’ series really is global!
I will be going back to Sri Lanka on 21st November 2018, where I hope to be able to meet with the officials from National Gem & Jewellery authority and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau of Sri Lanka. Fingers crossed – it really would be wonderful to make this book accessible to tourists taking their annual holiday in a country that is famous for more than just its gems. I do love Sri Lanka!
Kim Rix
Be sure. Be smart. Buy with confidence.
Photography credit: Xanthe Nimmo