Unconventional watchmaking: the passion that encourages breaking the mould
What does being unconventional mean? Exploring the frontiers of watchmaking yesterday afternoon at Vicenzaoro September 2021, was the talk entitled “Unconventional watchmaking” featuring Antonio Terranova, Co-Founder and Head Designer at CVSTOS The Time Keeper, Yeznig Maghdessian, Chief Operating Officer at Corum and Walter Ribaga, General Manager of CYRUS, moderated by Dody Giussani, Editor of L’Orologio and Enrico Zazzali, Editor of Revolution Magazine Italy. The last decade has seen a blossoming of unexpected designs and new functionalities in the work of niche companies: independent brands, created to offer different solutions from those of large groups by thinking outside the box on a daily basis. This has led to the creation of iconic models such as the Rolls Royce by Corum, one of the first timepieces made in partnership with another brand, or the new Cyrus, the first watch with an independent double chronograph able to separately measure the time of two athletes that set off together. Nowadays, non-conformism is increasingly appreciated by the market, which is looking for unique pieces in which technical skill translates into harmony of form, a world made of enormously dedicated craftsmanship, which often draws inspiration from dialogue with a clientele fuelled by the same love for timepieces.
Vintage watch storytelling: the secrets of the vintage world revealed by prof. Ugo Pancani
“A vintage watch has a story to tell,” said Ugo Pancani, professor of Mechanical and Electronic Watchmaking and trainer and the Academy of the Haute Horlogerie Foundation, at the beginning of his keynote address yesterday, which further enriched the conference programme at VOVintage, the event open to the public of vintage watch enthusiasts and collectors at Vicenzaoro September 2021. "Time leaves marks that give a unique identity and a special charm to a timepiece that must be preserved over time," explained the professor, who offered a complete overview of the world of vintage, the market, the conditions at the moment of purchase and how to restore a watch correctly. Also analysed were the technical and historical skills needed to better understand this sector, which, in the first months of 2021, recorded a boom in the auction house and online sales market of +255% compared to 2019. Vintage watch sales are, in fact, experiencing a period of considerable development in a constantly evolving market with enormous potential.
The watch, between passion and investment
Sandro Fratini, the world's biggest Italian watch collector, Elvio Piva, one of the main dealers, and Maurizio De Angelis, expert dealer and promising young Italian talent in the world of vintage timepieces. A conversation between great connoisseurs of vintage watches on the last day of VOVintage, the event dedicated to vintage watches at Vicenzaoro September 2021, IEG’s jewellery show ongoing at Vicenza Expo Centre until tomorrow. The "Watches between passion and investment" dealt with the evolution of the vintage and modern timepiece market. "There is no limit to the value of timepieces. The watch has definitively asserted itself as a safe haven" - according to the guests. However, balances are shifting: over the last ten years, interest in vintage watches has grown, leading to an increase in prices given the scarcity of pieces, some of which are no longer reproducible. The customer base is also expanding and today, as the experts pointed out, true enthusiasts and connoisseurs make up only a small proportion of those approaching the world of watchmaking in a diverse market where modern is becoming increasingly important. Vintage or modern? The experts agree: invest in iconic pieces that have made watchmaking history, with an eye on the new that will become the vintage of tomorrow. With one warning: the market is sovereign in determining the value of timepieces, it is possible to make predictions because no-one knows what tomorrow will bring.
"Startup & start": 12 ressources to plan the future of jewellery
“Multimedia" jewellery that conveys emotions and memories thanks to a smartphone app (REM Jewel); innovative and sustainable nanomaterials that can be integrated into industrial processes through a circular production platform (Particular Materials); an Italian agency that helps brands maximise investments in Amazon on a global scale (Xingu by the Labelium group); a Digital Export Platform as the only access to the world's largest market, China, with over a billion users online every day (Sell In-To China). 12 young companies are exhibiting in Startup & Carats, the project organised by ITA – Italian Trade Agency together with IEG and which is back at Vicenzaoro September 2021, the international show of reference for the gold and jewellery world organised by IEG - Italian Exhibition Group (until tomorrow 14th September at Vicenza Expo Centre) to support the industry’s development under the banner of cross-contamination, innovation and creativity. Successfully launched in January 2020 to favour synergies and collaborations by promoting dialogue and relations between all the players in the jewellery supply chain, Startup & Carats has been integrated into the same area as T.Gold, the event for machinery and technologies applied to gold and jewellery processing at Vicenzaoro, thus confirming its role as an innovation platform. In fact, in a single solution, sector buyers and operators can discover the latest trends in jewellery, technologies for its creation and preview innovations yet to be launched onto the market, selected with the strategic direction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and ITA through the national Italian StartUp initiative, to meet the specific needs of the goldsmith world or to generate fruitful cross-sector contamination.
Federpreziosi's digital talks: long live the stores!
Digital development in the jewellery world was spotlighted at Vicenzaoro September 2021 with Digital Talks, meetings with experts and innovation professionals that Federpreziosi Confcommercio has been organizing in collaboration with IEG - Italian Exhibition Group’s international gold and jewellery show since 2017. At today’s meeting entitled “Long live stores!”, introduced by the President of Federpreziosi Confcommercio, Giuseppe Aquilino, and presented by Director Steven Tranquilli and Fabrizio Valente, Founder and CEO of Kiki Lab, discussed the issue of the current co-existence of two opposite phenomena: e-commerce and the return of the physical store. "According to a Federpreziosi survey," Tranquilli said, "over 55% of jewellery retailers expressed confidence in the future. The signs are therefore positive, indicating a new springtime for physical sales points and this is precisely the right moment to take advantage of the acceleration that has taken place in terms of the use of digital tools by adopting omnichannel solutions and investing in growth on this front." According to Fabrizio Valente, "in a world where more than 40% of users are used to making both online and in-store purchases, the jewellery store can become a 'modern temple' capable of attracting evolved and aware customers, who are now accustomed to using technology and social networks. The future of the jewellery store belongs to those who know how to integrate their ‘trade’ experience with the use of digital channels in order to maintain contacts and relations, offer an impeccable welcome and service experience and, above all, make intelligent use of data relating to their customers for online and offline communication and marketing initiatives". Approaching investments from a system perspective will be strategic in encouraging customer flows to the physical store.
The new 2022 show, JGT Dubai, introduces itself to the vicenzaoro community
At Vicenzaoro September 2021, the presentation of one of Italian Exhibition Group’s new initiatives for developing the gold and jewellery industry on strategic international markets: Jewellery Gem & Technology Dubai (JGT Dubai), the new B2B international event for gold and jewellery with the first edition scheduled to be staged at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 22nd to 24th February 2022. With Mr. Tawhid Abdullah, President of the Gold Souk of Dubai in attendance, Marco Carniello, Global Exhibition Director Jewellery & Fashion Division for IEG, and Adelaide Ruzzi, Project Leader J&F for IEG, presented the Vicenzaoro community with IEG’s initiative organized in joint venture with Informa Markets Jewellery, one of the world’s leading players in jewellery trade show organization, with the support and expertise of the DMCC (Dubai Multi Commodities Centre) and Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group, official partner and industry partner respectively. The new show offers companies in the industry the opportunity to fully exploit the potential of a large market of 4 billion consumers that is just a seven-hour flight away and supports consolidating Made in Italy business development with wholesalers, retailers and manufacturers in the Middle East, India, Russia, Southern Europe and North Africa. JGT Dubai will be further enriched by an exclusive programme of seminars and networking activities, which will see the participation of some of the sector’s most influential personalities and top experts. In addition, there will be two world-class events: the eagerly awaited Dubai Diamond Conference organised by DMCC and the presentation ceremony of the Jewellery World Awards (JWA) by Informa Markets Jewellery.
