A U.S. economic recovery bodes well for the VicenzaOro Winter fair

The European debt crisis and Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s abrupt November departure be damned. What Italy’s export jewelers really care about is how the U.S. jewelry business did over the holiday.

Put simply, a strong holiday season means there’s cash to buy—and room to replace—sold-out inventory. So holiday sales will be the hot topic when VicenzaOro Winter convenes Jan. 14–19 in Vicenza, Italy. As the year’s first major ­jewelry fair, the show sets the global tone for jewelry sales for the 11½ months that follow.

Florence, Italy, firm Annamaria Cammilli Gioielli will bring as many as 12 to 15 new collections, plus popular existing lines such as Black Rose, Calla, and Dune, some featuring trendy matte gold finishes. While a rep calls Italy its “first market,” the United States “is important and at the same time relatively new for us, and we have again begun to approach it with enthusiasm.”

© 2011 Fiera di Vicenza Fiera
The 2012 edition of VicenzaOro Winter will host the Andrea Palladio International Jewellery Awards and Next Jeneration Jewellery Talent Contest.

Carlo Palmiero, head of Palmiero Jewellery Design in Valenza, Italy, tells JCK he saw a slight rise in sales in 2011. Of American buyers’ preferences, he says: “We sell very well our Art Collection and other variants of Mushroom Collection, Flowers, and Drapes.”

Organized by Fiera di Vicenza, January 2011’s VicenzaOro fair brought 1,488 exhibitors from 31 countries and some 32,000 attendees, most from Europe. For 2012, officials are enthusiastic about the Andrea Palladio International Jewellery Awards and Next Jeneration Jewellery Talent Contest. The former highlights the best international design; the latter gives up-and-­coming ­Italian designers a chance to win recognition and prize money. Entries are due March 16; winners will be announced at May’s VicenzaOro Charm show. For information, visit aboutjewellery.it.