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Buyers line up to gain access to the JA New York Special Delivery show on Sunday, the opening day of the cash-and-carry jewelry show. The show runs through Oct. 27 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.

New York--In yet another sign that the economy is slowly, but surely, recovering, buyers flooded the floor of the JA New York Special Delivery show, which opened on Sunday at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.

Pre-registration for the show, which runs through Tuesday, Oct. 27, was up from last year and about on par with 2007 figures, JA New York Group Show Director Drew Lawsky said.

In addition, prior to the show's 10:00 a.m. opening, would-be attendees who had not pre-registered lined up at the registration desk, with total show attendance up 18 percent at the end of the day.

Lawsky said he was "very satisfied" with the turnout, noting that the jewelry industry is starting to mirror the signs of recovery exhibited by the general economy.

"We're beginning to feel some of the turnaround," he said.

The pick-up in business didn't go unnoticed among buyers and exhibitors alike on opening day.

Shopping in the Hong Kong Pavilion a little more than an hour after the show opened, retailer Joseph Wallace, of Wallace Brothers Jewelry in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., was among those who noted the show-floor buzz.

"I'm surprised how busy it is," he said. "I see counters I want to get into and find I have to come back. They're kind of full."

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