Nearly 7,600 members of the jewelry industry attended the 29th edition of the OroArezzo trade fair, held March 29 – April 1, a 12 percent increase from the prior year.

It was the first time the fair surpassed the 7,000 mark in visitors. This is despite the fact that the number of fair days was reduced from five to four.

Fair officials say that the increase is almost entirely attributable to foreign trade professionals, whose numbers increased from little more than 2,000 to more than 2,800, with 71 countries represented. Spain, Greece, the United States, France, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, and Germany provided the greatest number of attendees. The increase in foreign attendance was 38 percent. Attendance by Italian companies was largely unchanged from a year ago (0.8 percent) with foreign professionals accounting for 37 percent pf attendance in 2008—a 7 percent increase from the prior year.

“This confirms that OroArezzo is increasingly well-regarded around the world and that the Centro Promozioni e Servizi is recognized as an important body in promoting Italian jewelry,” said Mauro Patrussi, president of the company that organizes the exhibition.

Franco Fani, Centro Promozioni e Servizi vice president said: “We made a promise to our 500 exhibitors, summed up in the slogan ‘your customers up close.’ There is little doubt that this promise was kept. Italian and foreign clients were seen and not only in the fair’s aisles. The unprecedented commitment by the Centro Promozioni e Servizi to bring 230 international top buyers and a large number of important Italian and foreign buyers was more than rewarded by the results.”

Fani added that many exhibitors were pleased with the results of the fair. “From what has been said to us, the actual results of OroArezzo surpassed all expectations, which of course were not too high given the problems that the sector is dealing with the world over. Obviously, these results should be viewed cautiously and care taken to avoid excessive celebration, but one can reasonably conclude that OroArezzo has launched a positive message to the entire sector: when one works in the name of quality, the results will come.”

The annual “Première” design competition provides an early preview of Italian jewelry trends for the end of this year and the beginning of 2009.

A jury made up of international buyers and international and Italian journalists from specialized trade publications selected nine joint winners, which were announced during a gala dinner.

The winning jewelry was created by: Collaro Salvatore, Marcianise, Caserta; Giante, Bassano del Grappa, Vicenza; Torresan, Vicenza; Graziella Group, Jolly Bijoux, Nemesi, New Line, Oro Brokers and P.R. Export, all Arezzo companies.

The models previewed at “Première” reflected the stylistic and technical innovations in the Italian jewelry sector.

Yellow and red gold returned to the fore, as well as shades of bronze, while white gold was slightly less in evidence compared to past years. Satin, scratched, and shiny elements were used to embellish the ample surfaces of necklaces, slave bracelets, and rings. The large sizes worked to enhance the quality of the techniques that include hammering and filigree.

The theme was a return to nature. The use of colored stone in comforting and romantic pastel shades seemed to draw its inspiration from spring, while fresh and interesting experimentations echoed primordial flora and fauna shapes extending to the use of moving elements to reproduce motion or even to convey the idea of life’s creative phase.

Enamel was in, as was the juxtaposition of black and white, and very long and highly colored chains and necklaces. Coral and cameos were also given new interpretations.

Upcoming events OroArezzo events are as follows:

* Oct. 28-29: “Incontri d’Autunno” workshop, third edition

* March 21-24, 2009: 30th edition of OroArezzo

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