The first-ever Macau Jewellery and Watch Fair opened today, further proof that this former Portuguese colony is giving Las Vegas a run for its money.

Eager to capitalize on the Chinese love of gambling, American-operated casinos such as the Venetian, Wynn and MGM Grand, have opened outposts here in recent months, helping to speed the transformation of this city into the Las Vegas of the Far East, right down to the indoor canals and singing gondoliers at the $2.4 billion Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel.

With an eye to the burgeoning luxury market in mainland China, local government officials are hoping to lure the jewelry industry here, too.

“Macau is becoming the newest hot spot for business and entertainment in Asia,” said Celine Lau, director of jewelry fairs at CMP Asia, the fair organizer. “Because of these trends, the Macau Jewellery and Watch Fair is being held to provide an unprecedented marketplace for both Asian and international exhibitors, and represents a milestone in Asia’s emergence as a crucial trading platform for the world’s jewelry business.”

Indeed, more than 500 exhibitors from 24 countries and regions have come together for the four-day event, located at The Cotai Strip Convention and Exhibition Center at The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel.

At 198 companies, the lion’s share of exhibitors hails from neighboring Hong Kong. Israeli diamond and jewelry companies constitute the largest foreign contingent.

They are anxious, it seems, to establish relationships with China’s nascent jewelry buyers.

Most exhibitors interviewed by National Jeweler said they had few expectations for making sales at the show, though all seemed certain that, in time, Macau would rival Hong Kong as a jewelry hub.

“We figured we would come to secure our place [at the show] for the future,” said Ephraim Zion, managing director of Dehres Ltd., a Hong Kong-based supplier of fine, large diamonds. “It’s definitely an important, growing market.”

While numerous displays at the show featured stones in exceptional sizes and qualities, such as a 136-carat Colombian emerald at the Hatta New World booth in the Fine Design Pavilion, by all accounts, buyers from the mainland aren’t yet ready to purchase significant stones.

“It’s going to be a good market,” said Christian Tse, a Los Angeles-based designer of upscale diamond and platinum jewelry. “We just have to stick it through.”