Shows, side events and contests are scheduled. The World Jewellery Forum, an exceptional meeting for the elite of world jewellery, will also be hosted in Vicenza.
The Vicenza Fair will again be hosting VicenzaOro Spring, the international exhibition of the latest trends in gold and jewellery aimed at Italian and international retailing, with the participation of more than 1300 exhibiting companies from 30 foreign countries and the main Italian gold districts. From 19th to 23rd May 2012, VicenzaOro Spring will become the gold and jewellery “world capital”, a business hub for international producers and buyers from over 70 different countries.
The 2012 spring edition will have an even greater international air with the World Jewellery Forum, organised by Fiera di Vicenza in collaboration with the World Diamond Council, the organisation that represents the jewellery and diamond processing industries, and CIBJO, the world jewellery confederation, which will be holding a ten-day meeting, from 13th to 20th May, in Vicenza, the city of Palladio. The meeting will be attended by top jewellery and diamond business representatives from over 40 different countries.
The World Jewellery Forum provides an opportunity for high level confrontation and will be attended by top executives from the United Nations, who will be dealing with the implementation and development of methods linked to Corporate Social Responsibility along the diamond production line through the Kimberley Process, the international protocol which has helped achieve significant results in the fight against the trading of illegal gemstones.
The Forum will be divided into two different events: the Annual Meeting of the World Diamond Council, which will take place on 13th and 14th May, and the Annual CIBJO Congress, from 17th to 20th May, which will act as a forum for the various commissions set up for gemstones, pearls, precious metals, workshops and will be a good chance to discuss and catch up on the authoritative Blue Books. The congress will include a review of situation of the World Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation (WJCEF) and a report on the ongoing cooperation between CIBJO and the United Nations.
VicenzaOro Spring will pay homage to specific and outstanding identities, places, persons and products with clear origins, the genius loci or pervading spirits. In today’s globalised economy, it is increasingly more important to promote one’s own identity and roots. Italian goldsmiths and jewellers are expected to introduce their products into the world by promoting their uniqueness and heritage so that they become the true distinctive element with which to compete.
One of the most eagerly awaited events will be the prize-giving for the international contests launched in recent months to award goldsmith talents: the “Next Generation – Jewellery Talent Contest 2012”, for young, under-30 designers and the “Andrea Palladio International Jewellery Awards 2012”, the equivalent of a jewellery “Oscar”, awarded to the very best in productive and commercial design. The theme of the first contest was “Souvenir d’Italie” and the top prize will be awarded to the design that, while drawing from contemporary aesthetics, best interprets the concept of Made in Italy. The award will recognize those who, in seven different categories, have greatly honoured the quality and culture of premium jewellery. Prize-giving will take place during the VicenzaOro Spring exhibition.
Area Trend will also be back in May with the Trend Vision Jewellery + Forecasting project, the first independent world forecasting centre specialised in deciphering consumer behaviour with particular focus on style trends. The area will be set up in a structure outside the main Fiera di Vicenza entrance and will be a “style shop” of jewellery design and materials where style trends will be turned into products. VicenzaOro also expands into a Vicenza “Out of Show” exhibition in which Palladio’s city will become the privileged setting for a series of cultural activities and events. For the May edition, Fiera di Vicenza will be presenting the “Sustainable Jewel by Riccado Dalisi” Show, inside Palazzo Bonin Longare, where the Neapolitan artist and designer’s creations will be on display: “super-poor” jewels made from waste materials like tin, iron and plastic. At the end of VicenzaOro Sring 2012, the spotlights will move from the gold and jewellery business onto Fiera di Vicenza’s other coming events.
VicenzaOro About J, the top event for those companies in the high bracket of the market, which this year will be held in the magnificent natural setting of Cortina d’Ampezzo, has already been scheduled for 5-8 September 2012. This exclusive event will give 25 leading Italian and international jewellery brands and 100 international buyers and top Italian retailers the opportunity to meet, all in a sophisticated context where contemporary luxury will be the order of the day.