The global jewelry industry showed an optimistic outlook at Oroarezzo 2024 despite soaring gold prices and geopolitical unrest, with total attendance at the gold and jewelry show in Italy up 5% from 2023.
Oroarezzo took place May 11–14 at the Arezzo Fiere e Congressi center in Arezzo, Tuscany. Italian Exhibition Group (IEG), the show’s organizer, said attendance from outside Italy rose 14% over 2023, bringing more eyes to its efforts to promote and educate the trade about “Made in Italy” gold and jewelry.
“The 2024 edition confirms the relevance of Oroarezzo in the international gold and jewelry exhibition calendar,” Massimo Guasconi, president of the Arezzo-Siena Chamber of Commerce, said during the opening ceremonies, hailing the event for “attracting hundreds of companies and, above all, a consistent selection of the most qualified international buyers.”
Now in its 43rd year, Oroarezzo featured 370 exhibitors of jewelry, semi-finished products, components, and jewelry industry technology. Many exhibitors, including Femar, COAR, D’orica, and Cameo Italiana, brought new collections and colors to Oroarezzo.
About 40% of Oroarezzo attendees came from Europe, said IEG, while 16% were from the Middle East, 14% from Asia, 13% from the Americas, 8% from Africa, and 8% from Turkey.
Some jewelry brands exhibiting at Oroarezzo told JCK that due to high gold prices, they are leaning toward more minimalist jewelry and trendy styles in enamel and silver.
During the show’s educational programs, Italian officials and industry members discussed how turmoil in Israel and Russia/Ukraine is affecting the international jewelry trade. International buyers also debated the possible impact the U.S. presidential election will have on consumers.
“Our sector needs peacetime,” said Mauro Benvenuto, president of the Provincial Council of Arezzo Goldsmiths and Silversmiths, in a talk. “Escalating wars lead to price swings in raw materials and consequently to concerns for companies.”
In another talk, about retail stores versus online sales, researcher Pierluigi Ascani of Format Research spoke about the costs pulling at jewelry companies, including those of staffing stores adequately and for the latest in technology.
Oroarezzo also included the Premiere competition, with 53 participants displaying their works near the show’s entrance. Winners included D’orica, for its Rosa del Deserto (Desert Rose) tricolor gold necklace, and Moraglione 1922, for the rose gold Anastasia necklace featuring a pink quartz pear cabochon with diamonds and sapphires.
IEG said Arezzo was Italy’s No. 1 district for gold, silver, and jewelry exports in 2023. According to data from Confindustria Federorafi, the Italian jewelry trade organization, Arezzo’s exports in the sector rose 9.4% over 2022, to $3.491 billion—30.5% of the nation’s total jewelry exports.
The next Oroarezzo show will be May 10-13, 2025.
(Photos courtesy of Italian Exhibition Group)
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