Vicenzaoro 2021: BACK to NORMAL?

After almost a year in which physical events were forced to stop, Vicenzaoro is back!

The gold and jewellery world’s international show of reference, will be held at Vicenza Expo Centre from 10th to 14th September 2021.

Despite the uncertainty of the pandemic context, the Organizers (the IEG, Italian Exhibition Group) decided to arrange a special edition to respond to the strong need to re-establish physical contacts to support the jewelry business. Buyers from all over the world as well as representatives of the entire supply chain are meeting with the objective of doing business and discuss the hot topics and trends. This edition is focusing on physical encounters, promoting exchanges and debates and is definitely business oriented. If you are interested in the Jewelry Business, Vicenzaoro is the place to be!

To know more about the fair and the upcoming challenges of the industry, we met Marco Carniello, Global Exhibition Director jewelry and fashion at IEG.

We are all looking forward meeting again: are we back to normal with this 2021 edition of Vicenzaoro ? How did you design this new edition?

This is a special edition because we are not completely out of the pandemic, there is still some uncertainty we need to deal with. I strongly believe that the trade fair is the engine of the industry. Our mission is to help the sector to move on and we realized we cannot wait much more. There was a big expectation from the industry to meet each other and to re-establish relationships with buyers and suppliers as well.

I guess it was a challenge to organize a fair in a couple of months?

It was a bet to organize this edition and define the right format in such a short time. Finally, we are in the right window!

We talked with the exhibitors to understand their expectations and build the new policies. That is why we designed and built everything to take out the risk for our exhibitors. We worked a lot in terms of lay out with a selective decoration, harmonized and open booths, more inclusive and easier to navigate.

Physical, Digital or Phygital Fair?

It is a “real” Vicenzaoro : we wanted to favor physical encounters, exchanges and debates. It will be a big exhibition with more than 800 exhibitors, well representative of the industry: all the segments of the supply chain will be represented.

But it will be a hybrid format too: we will always focus on the physical because it is on our DNA, but we have developed a lot of innovations through our online platform: with a new ecosystem online “The jewelry golden cloud”, the visitor can enjoy a much richer content and features, schedule appointments and see the products.

This digital platform can be used before and after the fair so our community remains engaged between the different editions.

What about the international dimension?

30% of exhibitors are from abroad: we succeeded to arrange the trips for international buyers coming from Europe, Middle East and the US.

How many visitors are you expecting?

The Vicenzaoro September edition has always been more visited by Europe and Middle east although we have some visitors from US. Our visitors from Asia usually come on January. Everyone who is coming to the fair come for business reason and not for a walk. We are expecting a better conversion rate. Our last fair in Dubai confirmed this trend.

Among the topics that will be discussed during the event, sustainability will once again be central – in particular, responsible sourcing and social engagement. Have new challenges emerged?

This is true, we have been talking about sustainability for years because it is a major issue in our industry. We wish to enlarge the discussion and not focus only on traceability. It is important to use a broader approach. That is why this year, we decided to focus on the gender equality on line with the SDG n° 5 (Sustainable Development Goal defined by the UNO).

Another sensitive topic will be discussed with the “natural vs synthetic diamonds” debate, according to you, what is the future of lab-grown diamonds?

The fair does not take position. We are acting as a cultural hub and not only a business hub. We try to bring all the subjects on the table and invite experts to discuss the “hot”topic. Our mission is to serve the industry and give our visitors and exhibitors keys to apprehend the market evolution. This debate will be very interesting with the participation of De Beers which will give its position about the lab grown diamond.

Can you tell us more about VO Vintage, the event dedicated to vintage jewelry and watches? Will visitors be able to purchase pieces?

The secondhand jewelry and watches market is growing especially watches. Italy for historical reasons is one of the key player. We launched this section in 2020. VOVintage is a new format: the marketplace for watches and high-quality vintage jewelry is open to a public of enthusiasts and collectors and will be staged practically at the same time together with new areas specifically for contemporary watch buyers.

Will it be a before / after COVID for the jewelry sector?

For our industry, which is an old one, it did not change so much. The pandemic accelerated some dynamics that were already there: what we could expect in 5 years, happened faster like the development of online channels. A lot of companies took the opportunity of covid to speed up processes. It allows the industry to close the gap with the fashion industry traditionally ahead of the jewelry industry.

New business models have emerged with a new generation of designer and people. It is important to give value to the jewelry industry. Our sector will continue sparkling and developing if we are able to tell the right story behind the jewel…

Once again, Vicenzaoro demonstrates its ability to adapt and meet the expectations of the industry with the support of its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the ITA (Italian trade Agency). We wish our French Industry could have such support…