Buyers in search of cutting-edge gold jewelry designs kick off the year in Vicenza
For a glimpse of new styles and trends for the year ahead, hit the VicenzaOro First fair Jan. 15–20 in Vicenza, Italy. Organized by Fiera di Vicenza, it’s the first fine jewelry show on the international calendar and offers 1,600 vendors (mostly Italian) with new and familiar designs to whet the enthusiast’s appetite.
Visitors can expect familiar show sections including T-Gold, which houses machinery, and Glamroom, a cozy pavilion of exhibitors who mix fine and costume materials. They’ll also encounter new additions like the freshly minted Italian chapter of the U.S.-based Women’s Jewelry Association (italianwomenjewelry.it).
The group’s goals mirror those of its sister chapters in the United States—to unify and support women working in the jewelry industry. Among the board members of the Rome-headquartered chapter: Pilar Coin, marketing director of Roberto Coin (president); journalist Hon. Irene Pivetti (vice president); marketing consultant Cristina Salvi (secretary); financial consultant Livia Elena Stivanello (chapter treasurer); and Garavelli owner Elisabetta Molina Garavelli (head of mentorship).
Irene Pivetti and Pilar Coin are heading up WJA’s Italian chapter.
Max Bonoli, the multi-award-winning artist and designer behind Mattia Cielo jewelry, predicts this year’s fair will “be much better than last year, as we’ve been receiving good responses from our distributors.” Bonoli’s firm entered the U.S. market in 2007 and has continued to strengthen sales to the States. “The American market is our reference market,” he says. “It’s more suitable for high-end jewelry, and distribution is more developed.” Still, he’ll be bringing new styles to VicenzaOro First, like his Ghiaccio (Ice) collection—including the winning piece from the 2010 Couture Design Awards—as well as the new Iguana collection. The pieces in his lizard-titled line, he says, “have the softness to melt into the body, wrapping around it like a glove.”