The world has begun to reopen to international travel and the jewellery industry welcomes the opportunity to reconnect in person with our colleagues abroad. It’s a pleasure to once again see our valued suppliers, manufacturers, and trade peers exhibiting at the various international jewellery fairs.
As many people long for a new sense of normality post-pandemic, jewellery comes to the fore with its ability to stimulate our senses with the
connection we all missed during the lockdowns – jewellery is all about touch and feel.
Despite the increase in direct marketing due to the strictures of lockdowns, jewellery, gemstones, diamonds, and watches remain primarily a tactile purchase. For consumers, retailers and wholesalers, the physical ability to inspect the quality of a fine piece of jewellery, a quality gemstone, diamond, or watch is paramount.
The real world brings with it the ability to see and feel those intricate details which can be lost in the digital world. Equally, we’ve all come to value the importance of human connection and know that it cannot be replicated behind our screens.
JAA Board directors Jo Tory and Joshua Sharp visited overseas fairs this September. Jo Tory travelled to Singapore to visit JGW Singapore, and Joshua Sharp visited the prestigious Vicenzaoro.
“It was such a relief to be able to attend an Asian jewellery fair after a hiatus of 3 years,” Jo said. “As it was such a new fair, Singapore was understandably much smaller than the Hong Kong Fairs, with approximately a fifth the number of exhibitors and visitors as Hong Kong. Many Chinese exhibitors were missing, with the exception of a few, and there was not the variety of product that we are accustomed to in Hong Kong. There were mixed reports with some suppliers reporting it to be slow whilst others were pleased with the results. The venue was great, easy to get around and close to the airport.’’
Joshua attended Vicenzaoro for the first time and found it to be eye-opening and a worthwhile experience overall.
“We found some new suppliers and rekindled our relationships with some old suppliers,” he said.
“Vicenzaoro is very different from what I had previously experienced at the Hong Kong fair. Held in the North of Italy, it understandably had a strong European essence and a price-tag to suit!
“It was nice to see some friendly faces in the crowd, with several other Australian retailers also taking this opportunity to travel to Italy for Vicenzaoro.
It is interesting to note that there has been a shift in trend to yellow gold. This may be influenced by the fact this fair took place in Europe or due to the current gold pricing, however this is a trend worth noting.
“Being able to attend international fairs again is a refreshing and welcoming change! Since the pandemic many things have changed. A great deal is carried out remotely, rather than face to face meetings within our supply chain. It was great to have this physical re-connection.”
The Jewellery Industry Fair is taking place in the luxurious settings of the Timber Yard in Melbourne on 4–5 February, 2023 and the JAA is again looking forward to connecting with members and seeing our trade friends.
See you there!
JAA Board
