Man on the Move; Vicenzaoro lifts industry mood by staging physical trade show
28 Sep 2020
Vicenzaoro, owned by Italian Exhibition Group, staged a physical trade show, VOICE, in Vicenza in September imposing strict safety measures to combat risks from COVID-19, and lifting sentiment in the industry although buyers booked modest orders.
Antwerp hosted a virtual diamonds trade show in mid-September. Trade show initiatives in the UK set for October failed to get off the ground.
At one stage in the summer it had looked like VOICE, Istanbul and The Jewellery Cut shows would be the only three physical jewellery trade events to take place after the lockdown in 2020, but in the end only the Vicenza fair went ahead.
Here is a summary of jewellery trade shows planned for September and October:
VOICE, Vicenza, Italy
Vicenzaoro staged VOICE, a trade show and summit combining physical and virtual features, from September 12-14, under stringent safety measures. It was the first international jewellery trade fair since before the lockdown, with buyers booking modest orders in line with expectations.
Attendance was well below pre-COVID times due to the absence of participants flying in from the Americas and Asia but the mood was upbeat as visitors, both physical and virtual, were delighted to be able to network and resume business.
The use of masks was obligatory, social distancing was in force, and hand sanitiser was widely available.
VOICE (Vicenzaoro International Community Event) presented 370 mainly Italian exhibitors, sharing identical booth architecture.
Organisers said they had set modest expectations for business due to the impact of the pandemic, but buyers ordered from exhibitors’ latest collections in physical booths. More than 200 trade deals were sealed in virtual buyers’ rooms, the fair said.
Image: Antonini
Vicenzaoro director Marco Carniello told the NAJ,
“VOICE has been designed together with exhibitors and our partners to build confidence, to inspire trust in the market, to restart.
“After days of intensive work, in the halls and online, the feedback we are getting from exhibitors, visitors and the market, is extremely positive – for what we did for the industry and for the innovation we have introduced in the trade fairs sector.”
Exhibitors spoke of fewer orders at the Vicenza show than during pre-COVID times, but relished the networking.
Laura Bicego, creative director and co-founder of Italian jewellery brand Nanis, said,
“The show was quiet on a general level, and so have been the orders.
“Greatly missed were our international customers, who preferred not to come for safety reasons. But still, VOICE was an opportunity to meet customers and colleagues, and a big signal of recovery from the past months, which I find was really important and needed.“
Image: Meneghetti
Buyer Bodes & Bode, a Dutch jewellery retailer from The Hague, noted a positive mood at the show.
“We thought it was not so busy, but everybody who visited the fair had a positive vibe and were looking to buy new items for their shops,” said owner Pieteke Bode.
“The fair was much better for us than we expected: a lot of beautiful new jewellery pieces were presented. Always good to return home with new inspiration for Q4, 2020.”
Bode added,
“We bought a lot of bracelets and necklaces from suppliers we already know. Also, we found a beautiful tennis necklace (or riviera necklace) and big heart-shaped earrings with and without diamonds.”
Buyer Jacov Joshach of diamonds supplier Blue White Group said,
“Traders, dealers and retailers all needed to restart doing some kind of business, and this has been the first opportunity after a long time.”
Image: Mattioli
Milan-based Laura Inghirami, founder of Donna Jewel, a prominent jewellery influencer, said,
“The show was an excellent model of innovation. It feels like a new chapter has begun.”
The VOICE summit gathered 100 speakers, some in person and others virtual, and attracted more than 3.5 million views across the digital channels, organisers said.
The TRENDVISION observatory, sponsored by Vicenzaoro, launched the Trend Book 2022+, highlighting the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and social movements such as Black Lives Matter on jewellery design inspiration.
The seminar, co-hosted by TRENDVISION Creative Director Paola De Luca, introduced speakers from the UK including fashion editor Ash Allibhai; Rome-based Adrien Roberts, education director of the Accademia Costume & Moda; and jewellery designer Satta Matturi.
CIBJO-World Jewellery Confederation hosted a panel discussion about sustainability, featuring London-based Iris Van der Veken, Executive Director of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), who attended VOICE in person.
Antwerp Online Diamond Trade Show
The second edition of the Antwerp Online Diamond Trade Show, organised by IDI-Israel Diamond Institute and AWDC-Antwerp World Diamond Centre, which took place from September 14-17, featured seminars on Telling the Real Diamond story, by the Natural Diamond Council (NDC), and on How to Up Your Digital Game.
October Istanbul Jewelry Show
The October edition of the Istanbul show was cancelled a few weeks before it was due to take place, due to the pandemic. The next edition of the twice-yearly Istanbul fair is set to take place from March 25-28, 2021. The March 2020 edition was cancelled.
The Jewellery Cut
The Jewellery Cut Live in association with Fuli Gemstones cancelled its second show of 2020, which was due to be held in early October.
It had planned to run a socially-distanced second edition of its boutique London jewellery show this year. However, government restrictions forced it to postpone larger-scale live events until 2021.
Company of Master Jewellers (CMJ)
The CMJ sounded out a possible virtual trading event to take place in October, but the suggestion was dropped due to insufficient take-up. CMJ may revisit the idea in the New Year.
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Source: David Brough