By Cynthia Unninayar
The private by-invitation-only Italian showcase for high jewellery, “About J,” was held this past September one day before the opening of Vicenzaoro Choice.
The 25 prestigious brands featured at the exclusive About J event confirmed the role of Italian jewellery as a leader in design, creativity, and quality manufacturing. Well known on the global jewellery stage, these brands enjoyed the attention of 135 highly qualified retailer guests coming from around the world, who viewed them in the very fitting venue of the Bisazza showroom, a remarkable gallery of contemporary art and mosaics. The About J formula is in line with the objectives expressed by the Fiera di Vicenza in keeping with its FDV 2011/2015 development project, which plans on integrating invitation-only, high-end events in order to gain market positioning and segmentation. Fair officials also indicated that in the near future, About J might evolve into a travelling event, showcasing Italian design in the most important international markets.
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| Gemstone, gold, and diamond flower brooch by new brand Alessio Boschi, launched at Vicenzaoro Choice. |
Vicenzaoro Choice opened on September 10, with some 1400 exhibitors from Italy and 40 countries worldwide, and closed five days later after visits by more than 22,100 trade buyers, of which nearly 14,000 came for the first time. Despite the threats of a double dip recession, sovereign debt, and the overall gloomy economic situation—not to mention the high cost of raw materials—many brands reported fairly brisk business. Others were more circumspect in their comments, but the general mood seemed positive.
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| Amethyst, prasiolite, and diamond earrings by Garavelli. - Topaz and blackened gold ring by Roberto Demeglio. |
Structural Innovations
In addition to its role in housing the three Vicenzaoro fairs, the Fiera di Vicenza is taking an active role in promoting Italian jewellery around the world. The opening talk emphasized the show’s theme, “Innovation is in our hands. Stubbornly Italian,” and highlighted concrete steps being taken by the fair. These include the FDV 2011/2015 project, which focuses its efforts on themes related to creativity, research, and cross-cultural interaction, with a link between the exhibition—mainly dedicated to business—and cultural and training events. The fair also inaugurated the New Directions Hall, dedicated to Italian contemporary jewellery.
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| Mother-of-pearl “Button” and silver earrings by Nanis. - Gold, pearl, and diamond ring by Talento Italiano. |
Another innovation was the birth of the first Creative Research Centre for jewellery trends, devoted to identifying mega trends in fashion design, luxury, distribution channels, and consumer profiles. This initiative represents an important contribution to the evolution of Italian production and starting from 2012, it will be part of the exhibition format of the fair, in the hope of spurring the development of new products.
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| “Stretch HD Silver” bracelets by Chimento, a patented stretch collection made of an innovative silver alloy that is whiter and stronger than traditional sterling. |
The future of the Italian industry also depends on young new talent, thus another of the Fiera’s innovations was the creation of the “Next Jeneration Jewellery Talent Contest” for “under-30” designers in collaboration with Professor Alba Cappellieri, director of the Fashion Design degree course at the Milan Polytechnic and professor of Jewellery Design. A separate competition was also launched, the Andrea Palladio International Jewellery Awards, dedicated to the excellence of international jewellery in seven categories, presided over by renowned Master Jeweller Gianmaria Buccellati.
Main Markets for Italian Jewellery
Despite record prices, the demand for gold is growing, with jewellery accounting for 66 percent. According to a study by Polo Studi sull’Impresa, University of Verona, the global demand for gold for jewellery (by quantity) during the first quarter of 2011 increased 12.5 percent over the previous quarter and 5.5 percent over the first quarter of 2010. India and China were the leaders in purchasing gold for jewellery, representing 37 and 25.7 percent of world demand.
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| Gold, pearl, and diamond ring by Talento Italiano. - Textured gold and diamond cuff by Vendorafa. |
In terms of Italian production, Switzerland and the UAE—intermediate stops rather than final product destinations—are the leading markets for Italian gold and jewellery. Third is the USA, where exports recovered somewhat with an increase of 11.5 percent during the first quarter of 2011. In contrast, the demand for gold for jewellery in the United States decreased from 6.2 percent at the end of 2010 to 3.7 percent during the first quarter of 2011.
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| Gold and diamond “Ant” cuff by Roberto Coin. |
In value terms, 2010 recorded growth of 18.2 percent in Italian gold and jewellery exports, with a turnover of nearly € 6.6 billion. In the first four months of 2011, exports were again the driving force behind the sector recovery, with a 17.3 percent increase in value over the same period in 2010. As a reminder, however, the value numbers reflect price trends of the raw material, while in terms of quantity, exports increased overall at a slower pace—1.1 percent—over the same period of 2010. Yet, there is still reason for optimism.
The next edition of the Fiera di Vicenza is January 14 to 19, 2012 when Vicenzaoro First will again showcase fine Italian design.
