By Gary Dawson
I once wrote a survival guide for a U.S. jewellery trade publication intended to help first-time visitors get the most out of attending the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. As I have never attended the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, I could have certainly used something like that to help get me through the three days I spent there. Consider the following figures: more than 204,387 m2 (2.2 million sf) of exhibit space; 24 km (15 mi) of show floor; over 3600 exhibitors; and more than 20,000 products on display. You can imagine navigating those aisles as one of over 170,000 attendees was a potentially intimidating experience.
Since there was no way I was going to see all CES 2015 had to offer in the short period I was there, I ended up following my own advice: to simply focus on the venues and products I thought might hold the most interest for those of us in the jewellery industry. As it happens, these turned out to be products that might help us in either retailing or manufacturing and new innovations in wearable technology.
