LUXURY WATCH SHOW DOUBLES EXHIBIT SPACE

The sixth annual Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, the luxury watch show founded by the Cartier Group of watch companies, will be held April 13-19 in a new 9,600-sq.-yard salon in the Palexpo Center in Geneva, Switzerland. That’s more than double the space of the previous shows.

Exhibiting at the show will be Baume & Mercier, Alfred Dunhill, Cartier, Franck Muller and Piaget. In addition to exhibition space, the Palexpo offers private showing rooms, a gourmet restaurant, hotels and a shuttle service that connects with the nearby Geneva airport and area hotels.

JA & AGS TO OFFER TESTS, COURSES AT PJS

The Jewelers of America Center for Business Studies will present its West Coast Regional Education Conference during the 1996 Pacific Jewelry Show, scheduled Aug. 24-26 in the Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles, Cal.

The conference will feature a two-part workshop on “Synthetic Diamonds and Gemstone Enhancement.” Presented in conjunction with the Gemological Institute of America, the workshop is designed to teach jewelers how to detect synthetic diamonds and enhanced gems.

The conference also will include “Wax Modeling Clinic,” presented by Judith Reiss of the Pratt Institute of Design; “The World of Diamonds,” David Steinmetz and Ronnie Vanderlinden of the Diamond Dealers Club; and “The History and Allure of Jewelry,” Michael Coan of the Fashion Institute of Technology.

CBS sessions count as two to four jewelers continuing education (JCE) units toward the Accredited Jewelers Designation. In addition, PJS’s own seminars will qualify as two JCEs.

Jewelers of America Center for Business Studies, 1185 Ave. of the Americas, 30 Fl., New York, N.Y. 10036; (800) 223-0673 or (212) 768-8777.

Jewelers attending the PJS also will have a chance to test their proficiency in identifying color variations in gemstones and in making appraisals.

The American Gem Society will offer its Colorvision Examination, a three-part test comprising the Farnsworth-Munsell 100-chip color test, the Ishihara 24-plate test and the Farnsworth 15-chip test. If any deficiencies are found, the jeweler can visit an ophthalmologist for solutions.

Cos Altobelli, an expert on appraising, will conduct the Certified Gemologist Appraiser Examination for eligible members of AGS. The program comprises four hours of seminars on one day and a four-hour exam the following day. Jewelers will be tested on theory, then given a strand of pearls and five pieces of jewelry to appraise.

AGS also will offer “The AGS Way” course to student affiliate members who wish to obtain their titles.

Advance arrangements are required for the Appraisal Examination and “The AGS Way” course; contact Rosanna Aguilar at (702) 255-6500, fax (702) 255-7420. You may schedule an appointment for the Colorvision Examination at the AGS booth during the show or by calling Aguilar in advance.

AMERICAN CRAFT COUNCIL ANNOUNCES 1996 SHOWS

The American Craft Council has announced its 1996 schedule of ACC Craft Fairs.

Each ACC fair offers an array of work in wood, fiber, glass, leather, metal, clay and mixed media. In addition to jewelry and art objects, the fairs include fabric, utensils, vessels, toys, ornaments and tapestries in a broad range of styles and price points. Some shows are wholesale only; others are open to the public. Upcoming shows include:

• ACC Craft Fair St. Paul, April 11 (opens to the public April 12-14), St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul, Minn. About 250 exhibitors.

• ACC Craft Fair San Francisco, July 31 to Aug. 1 (opens to the public Aug. 2-4), Ft. Mason Center, San Francisco, Cal. About 300 exhibitors.

• ACC Craft Fair Columbus, June 29 to July 1, Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio. This show was rescheduled from its traditional early June dates at the request of buyers. More than 700 individuals and companies will exhibit works in metal, wood, fiber, glass, leather, clay and mixed media. Merchandise will include jewelry, ornaments, furnishings, utensils, toys, tapestries and art objects.

The fair is a good opportunity to meet different artists, says JoAnn Brown, director of American Craft Enterprises, the marketing arm of the American Craft Council. More than 50% of exhibitors at Columbus don’t exhibit at the council’s major winter market in Baltimore (held Feb. 27-29). Attendance is limited to buyers with verifiable intention to buy crafts for resale.

American Craft Council, 21 S. Eltings Corner Rd., Highland, N.Y. 12528; (800) 836-3470 or (914) 883-6100, fax (914) 883-6130.

CAREERFAIR TO COINCIDE WITH PACIFIC JEWELRY SHOW

CareerFair, a program designed to recruit candidates into the jewelry industry, will coincide with the Pacific Jewelry Show beginning this year.

CareerFair was created by the Jewelers 24-Karat Club of Southern California and the Gemological Institute of America. The 1996 edition will be held Aug. 23 in the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, one day before the four-day show opens. CareerFair will feature a series of educational programs, one-on-one counseling sessions and job interviews. About 1,000 people attended the 1995 event.

“We’ve outgrown the facilities at the GIA campus,” says Kathryn Kimmel of GIA, who has organized CareerFair since its inception. “Last year we had to schedule the same seminars two or three times because the number of people who could fit in a room was limited. Now we can schedule a seminar such as jewelry design only once and use those time slots for other programs.”

PJS Chairman Marion Halfacre notes that CareerFair is an important element in recruiting and training new industry members. “The people who attend CareerFair today will be the industry leaders of tomorrow, the designers, manufacturers and buyers, so we felt it was important to expose them to the PJS. This will give them insight into another aspect of our business.”

ST. PAUL FAIR TO MARK 10th ANNIVERSARY

The 10th-anniversary American Craft Fair St. Paul will be held April 11. The compact, high-end market will give wholesale buyers a chance to replenish midseason inventories.

The event will be held in the St. Paul Civic Center Arena and will feature handcrafted merchandise in metal, wood, fiber, glass, leather and clay. (The market will be open to the public April 12-14.)

American Craft Council, 21 S. Eltings Corner Rd., Highland, N.Y. 12528; (800) 836-3470 or (914) 883-6100, fax (914) 883-6130.

STORE FIXTURING SHOW SCHEDULED IN CHICAGO

The 1996 Store Fixturing Show will be held April 13-15 in McCormick Place North, Chicago, Ill. The show features fixturing and visual marketing products, services, suppliers and materials.

New in 1996 will be participation by the Point-of-Purchase Advertising Institute. The POPAI® Expo will add 100-plus exhibits and an expected 5,000 attendees. POPAI also will coordinate a series of seminars focusing on point-of-purchase advertising.

Other elements that make up the Store Fixturing Show are the Visual Merchandising Show, the Retail Operations & Construction Expo and the Exhibit Ideas Show.

All shows are sponsored by the National Association of Store Fixture Manufacturers and produced by Display & Design Ideas. Store Fixturing Show Inc., 6255 Barfield Rd., Suite 200, Atlanta, Ga. 30328-4300; (800) 646- 0091.

TWO WEST COAST CRAFT SHOWS PLANNED

Organizers have announced 1996 dates for the Contemporary Crafts Market in San Francisco and Santa Monica, Cal. The shows will be held Sept. 28-29 in the Concourse at Showplace Square, Eighth and Brannan Sts., San Francisco, and Nov. 1-3 in the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 1855 Main St., Santa Monica.

Roy Helms & Associates, 1142 Auahi St., Suite 2820, Honolulu, Haw. 96814; (808) 422-7362, fax (808) 423-1688.

WRITE SHOW GETS EXPANDED NAME

The Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association has changed the name of its biennial Write Show to the International Write Show: Showcasing Components and Machinery for the Writing Instrument Industry. The new name more fully reflects the purpose of the show, say organizers. The show features exhibits of inks, tips, clips and assembly machinery for all types of writing instruments, plus hot-stamping and decorating equipment.

The 1996 edition of the show is scheduled for May 5-8 in the Stouffer Renaissance Orlando Resort in Orlando, Fla.

Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association, 236 Route 38 W., Suite 100, Moorestown, N.J. 08057; (609) 231-8500, fax (609) 231-4664.

MICHIGAN GIFT CENTER RECEIVES NEW NAME

The Michigan Association of Gift Sales has been renamed the Michigan Gift Mart. The new name coincides with completion of a redecoration and additional parking space at the mart in Northville, Mich.

The first show of the year, scheduled for Jan. 7-10, featured a Jan. 8 celebration marking the mart’s 25th anniversary.

Michigan Gift Mart, 133 W. Main, Northville, Mich. 48167; (800) 886-6247 or (810) 348-7960, fax (810) 625-0065.

OASIS SHOW SCHEDULED

The OASIS Gift Show was held Jan. 12-14 in the Phoenix Civic Plaza, Phoenix, Ariz. The show, which is trade-only, featured 97 exhibitors in 1,300 booths. Organizers expected about 125 exhibitors offering jewelry and related services.

OASIS, 1130 E. Missouri, Suite 750, Phoenix, Ariz. 85014-2717; (800) 344-6301 or (609) 344-6300, fax (609) 344-4164.

SHOW TO FEATURE IRISH PRODUCTS

The fourth annual The Look is Ireland trade show will be held April 28-30 in the Embassy Suites Hotel, 455 Plaza Dr., Secaucus, N.J.

The show will feature giftware, jewelry, crafts and fashion from Ireland. Organizers expect more than 600 buyers and 80 exhibitors. Several exhibitors will launch new jewelry at the show, including J&Z Blackman, Celtic & Heraldic Jewelry, Brian De Staic Teo, Ogham Crafts and Solvar.

Seminars are “The Winning Retail Colors for the Late Nineties” by Margaret Walch, associate director of the Color Association of the United States, and “Every Day’s a Holiday When It Comes to Shopping” by Tony DeMasi, editor/publisher of Giftware News.

The show is sponsored by the Local Enterprise Development Unit of Northern Ireland, the International Fund for Ireland and the Irish Trade Board, 345 Park Ave., New York, N.Y. 10154; (800) BUY-IRELAND or (212) 371-3600, (212) 371-6398.

CRAFTS FAIR RAISES $100,000 FOR CHARITY

The 10th Crafts at the Castle, held in December in Boston, Mass., raised $100,000 for Family Service of Greater Boston, a non-profit human service organization.

The show featured crafts from 98 artists in varied disciplines, including jewelry.

This year’s event will be held Dec. 4-9. Family Service of Greater Boston, 34 1/2 Beacon St., Boston, Mass. 02108-1487; (617) 523-6400, fax (617) 523-3034.

FOREIGN SHOW UPDATE

Exhibitors said traffic and business was good despite severe weather during the International Spring Fair, held Feb. 4-8 in Birmingham, England. A record 76,363 buyers attended. The 1997 edition of the fair will be held Feb. 2-6 in the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.

The 20th Expo International will be held Dec. 1-7 in the Expo Centre, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The multiproduct fair includes jewelry and gifts as well as household furnishings, toys and games, sporting goods and apparel. Expo Centre, P.O. Box 3222, Sharjah, U.A.E.; (971-6) 391-888, fax (971-6) 392-888.

The 16th Barnajoya will be held Oct. 4-8 in the Fira de Barcelona Montjuïc-2 in Barcelona, Spain. The fair will include special sections for design students, international designers and avant-garde jewelry. Fira de Barcelona, Av. Reina M. Cristina, 08004 Barcelona, Spain; (34-3) 233-2000, fax (34-3) 233-2272.

Internazionale Dell’Antiquariato will be held May 4-12 in Milan, Italy. The fair features about 100 dealers of fine jewelry, timepieces, paintings, drawings, sculpture, furniture, ceramics, carpets and textiles. Ente Manifestazioni Commercio Turismo Servizi, Via Londonio 2, 20154 Milan, Italy; in England, (44-171) 381-1324, fax (44-171) 610-1890.

The Mideast Watch & Jewellery Fair will be held Oct. 1-5 in the Expo Centre in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The fair will showcase jewelry, timepieces, equipment and, new this year, a special section for loose gems for jewelry, private collections and industrial use. Expo Centre Sharjah, P.O. Box 3222, Sharjah, UAE; (971-6) 391-888, fax (971-6) 392-888.

The next Hong Kong Jewelry & Watch Fair will be held Sept. 18-22 in the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre. More than 1,300 exhibitors from 36 countries and 30,000 buyers from 58 countries are expected to participate. The show is organized by Miller Freeman Inc., One Penn Plaza, P.O. Box 2549, New York, N.Y. 10116-2549; (212) 615-2657, fax (212) 279-3966.

The fourth Shanghai International Watch and Jewellery Fair was held Nov. 30 to Dec. 3 in Shanghai Centre. The fair featured 31 watch brands and 43 jewelry vendors from 10 countries. Buyer attendance averaged 14,500 daily (the fair is open to the public). A contingent of Italian equipment vendors exhibited for the first time and reported numerous orders from Chinese jewelry manufacturers, say organizers. This year’s fair will be held Nov. 28 to Dec. 1. Promo Services Ltd., 1601 Far East Finance Centre, 16 Harcourt Rd., Hong Kong; (852) 2529-1519, fax (852) 2529-1534.

OroArezzo will be held March 30-April 2 and Sept.7-10 in Arezzo, Italy. The spring edition of the show will feature “Oro d’Autore,” a collection of more than 100 jewels designed by internationally famous artists and produced by Italian companies. About 300 exhibitors and 3,500 buyers are expected. This is a transition year for the fair as it moves from the traditional fall date to spring; this is the last year for the fall edition. Centro Affari e Convegni Arezzo, Via Fleming 1, 52100 Arezzo, Italy; (39-575) 381-333, fax (39-575) 383-028.

Jewellery Arabia ’95, held in October in Bahrain, attracted 360 exhibitors and almost 7,000 buyers. Internationally known exhibitors included Alfred Dunhill Ltd., Chopard, Harry Winston, Tiffany & Co. and Vacheron Constantin. As part of the show, the World Gold Council sponsored a technology symposium that attracted more than 200 attendees. The next edition of Jewellery Arabia will be held Nov. 6-9 in the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre. Kallman Associates, 20 Harrison Ave., Waldwick, N.J. 07463-1709; (201) 652-7070, fax (201) 652-3898.