Vicenzaoro January Opens Today, with The Protection of Made-in Italy And Generational Turnover As The Central Focus
With yet another all-sold-out with more than 1,300 exhibiting brands, Vicenzaoro January – The Jewellery Boutique Show, the international gold and jewellery show organised by the Italian Exhibition Group, opens today. Until Tuesday, the 21st, IEG’s Expo Centre in Vicenza – Italy, will be welcoming the international jewellery community for five days of business, education, information, trends and networking at the event that opens the sector’s global trade show calendar. Ongoing at the same time, T.Gold, the leading gold and jewellery technology and machinery show, while the sixth edition of VO Vintage, the marketplace for fine vintage watches and jewellery, will be open to the public of experts, collectors and enthusiasts until Monday 20th.
The opening ceremony is scheduled for 12 noon in the Palladio Theatre and will focus on the protection of Made in Italy: design and manufacturing that make the creations of Vicenza, Arezzo, Valenza, and Torre del Greco production districts unique and sought-after the world over.
THE OPENING CEREMONY
The Vicenzaoro opening ceremony will be attended by Valentino Valentini, Deputy Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy (Memit), General Bruno Bartoloni, head of the Financial Police’s Economy and Finance Protection Unit, Matteo Zoppas, President of the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), and Claudia Piaserico representing all the national jewellery industry associations, to take stock of legality in the jewellery sector as an indispensable element of development. Also in attendance were Luca Zaia, president of the Veneto Region, Andrea Nardin, president of the Province of Vicenza, and Giacomo Possamai, mayor of Vicenza. IEG president Maurizio Ermeti will open the ceremony.
JEWELLERY INDUSTRY REVENUES IN THE FIRST 10 MONTHS: +5.8%
In the first 10 months of 2024, jewellery industry revenues were up 5.8% (Istat data), with exports more dynamic than the domestic market (+7.2% vs +3.0%). Trends partially confirmed by the majority of manufacturers on the basis of the questionnaire administered by Confindustria Federorafi’s Study Centre and processed as part of the Mediobanca Study Area report: 39.3% of responding companies reported preliminary revenues for 2024 to be worse than 2023, 32.8% indicated improving values, while 27.9% showed an unaltered turnover. As for expectations for 2025, 47.5% of companies anticipate a stable turnover compared to 2024, 31.2% expect a deterioration, while the remaining 21.3% have a positive outlook
VICENZAORO AND INTERNATIONAL NETWORKING
Thanks to the support of the ITA, IEG’s event is hosting 515 international buyers from 72 countries, but the number of foreign flags will rise in the coming days to about 130. A unique platform for the entire global jewellery supply chain, with, on the one hand, Turkey, Hong Kong, India, Thailand and Germany among the most represented countries in the 40% of foreign exhibitors and, on the other, the very best of the Italian jewellery supply chain with the national gold districts as key players.
At the show, 207 exhibiting brands from Veneto, with 177 from Vicenza alone; 228 from Tuscany, including 200 from the Arezzo district; 84 from Piedmont with 72 from Valenza; and 68 from Campania for the Torre del Greco district. An event within the event, Sunday 19th,h will feature the Jewellery Technology Forum, which will outline the state of the art of the industry’s most innovative machinery.
BUILDING THE FUTURE
Vicenzaoro is launching itself into the future: after 70 years of Vicenza gold and jewellery shows, IEG is shaping the new face of the Expo by laying the foundation stone of the new hall designed by Hamburg-based GMP Studio last December, a new home for jewellery that will be ready in early 2026. A trajectory that needs to ensure skill and knowledge continuity to company workers and management: two aspects of the generational turnover that, on its opening day, sees Vicenzaoro host a meeting between five hundred high school students and key figures in the gold and jewellery world thanks to the partnership between Skuola.net and VIOFF, the off-show organised with the City of Vicenza. It then looks at company succession with a focus in Intesa Sanpaolo’s research for Club degli Orafi Italy, now at its sixth edition, which will also present updated industry data on the economy, foreign markets and company sentiment
THE ASSOCIATIVE WORLD
The entire institutional and associative world supports IEG and VOJ: from the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy to ITA – the Agency for the promotion and internationalisation of Italian companies abroad, Confindustria Federorafi, Confartigianato Orafi, Confcommercio Federpreziosi, CNA Orafi, Confimi Industria Gold and Silver Category, Assogemme, Assocoral and AFEMO – Italian Association of Jewellery Machinery Manufacturers and Exporters, which contribute to the event’s agenda. On the international front, CIBJO – the World Jewellery Confederation, promotes the jewellery supply chain’s economic and social sustainability
