VicenzaOro: Exporters find success with ‘Made in Italy’ brand

by charlene_voisin | December 1, 2013 9:00 am

By Jacquie De Almeida

Donatello Polizzi sometimes prays for rain.

Although she is in the jewellery business, her material of choice is of the flora and fauna variety. Using a proprietary technique, she transforms roses, orchids, and even butterflies into 24-karat gold-plated and resin pendants and earrings.

While the jewellery looks to have been fashioned from man-made materials, they all have their start in nature. It’s something that requires a bit of an explanation, says Polizzi from her booth at VicenzaOro ‘Fall.’

“We’ve had to educate our clients because they were used to jewellery that was made from a mould and with machines,” explains Polizzi, who co-owns Lip Plus with her husband, Franco Lipparini. “If you want 10,000 pieces of jewellery, you add metal to a mould and you have the product in a few days. For us, if God doesn’t send enough rain, we may lose a batch of flowers.”

Exhibitors at the Italian fair were certainly hoping everything would come up roses. And with markets like Eastern Europe buying heavily into the ‘Made in Italy’ brand, sunshine appeared on the horizon for exporters against a backdrop of economic troubles in Italy. This is welcome news for the show’s organizer, which remains focused on creating partnerships with key organizations to help promote Italian jewellery in new markets.

At VicenzoOro ‘Fall,’ fair officials signed an agreement with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) designed to strengthen the presence of Italian brands at the March edition of the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show. It also formed a new partnership with the Armenian Jewellers Association (AJA), which owns the Yerevan International Jewellery Show. The deal looks to explore new promotional opportunities, such as initiatives aimed at engaging buyers. Lower gold prices may also help in that regard.

According to the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), official numbers are signalling positive results for the first time in two years. Italian jewellery exports for the second quarter of 2013 are up six per cent in value and 2.6 per cent in quantity. Exports to the United States showed significant improvement at 12 per cent in value, while the United Arab Emirates is up by 32 per cent. Both markets have been the focus of the fair’s efforts to grow the ‘Made in Italy’ brand in the form of agreements inked with JCK Las Vegas and the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).

The latest agreements are part of the fair’s 2013/2017 strategic plan, which includes delivery of a new pavilion and an eight-storey, 600-car parking garage to be completed by the end of this year. The 15,000-m2 hall will be organized into ‘communities,’ reflecting categories identified by TrendVision, the fair’s independent research centre. At the heart of the new additions—which cost 32 million euros ($44 million Cdn)—are food services and reorganization of access routes, two considerations high on the fair’s list of priorities in anticipation of growth in attendance due to the new partnerships. About 50,000 buyers gather for the three annual shows, but fair officials say that number is expected to increase by 100,000.

“Fiera di Vicenza is updating its approach and its strategies,” fair president Paolo Mantovani told the international press.* “The focus aims at improving the quality of the exhibition format, space, purchase flows, as well as the services offered to exhibitors and buyers, in order to facilitate matching supply and demand.”

Mantovani also announced creation of a steering committee made up of select companies belonging to the gold, gemstone, and technology sectors. The group is expected to meet three or four times a year to discuss ways to develop projects of common interest.

Brazil is one area of common interest among exporters. This market’s appetite for brands is appealing to jewellery companies, but steep import taxes remain the biggest obstacle. Some have even considered importing gemstones, diamonds, and other materials into the country and finishing the goods onsite, whether in their own facility or by partnering with an established manufacturer.

Ricardo Vianna, owner of Vianna Brazil, located in the southeast part of the country, says there are several considerations to take into account.

“The market in Brazil is very small for jewellery, and legislation can be difficult to manoeuvre,” he said. “People see in the media that the Brazilian economy is booming, but that’s because of commodities we sell to China. Yes, it is true there is a whole group of people moving from lower class to middle class, but they are spending their money on electronics or renovating their houses, not jewellery.”

In the heart of Italy’s gold industry, the price of the precious metal is always a consideration. Metals consultancy Thomson Reuters GFMS is forecasting gold prices to fall below $1300 US per ounce toward the end of 2014. At press time, the spot price hovered around the $1310 US mark, more than $600 below September 2011’s record high of $1920.30 US.

Marleine Nehman, spokesperson for Luca Carati, says the company has introduced more price-point-sensitive 18-karat gold pieces with and without diamonds ranging from $3000 to $6000 retail. It’s helping Luca Carati appeal to both new clients and established ones who are loyal to the brand, but may be hesitant to buy another expensive piece.

“We’re trying to get into that market because it’s tougher at the higher end right now,” she added.

Competition from Asian manufacturing centres pumping out lower-cost pieces are a concern for most Italian companies who choose to produce at home. However, Nehman says consumers looking for ‘Made in Italy’ jewellery understand there’s a premium to be paid.

“We have a small shop, our own designers, and we do all the modelling and setting there,” she says. “The labour in Italy is very expensive, but you can see the difference.”

Whether at VicenzaOro ‘Fall’ or About J—the fair’s invitation-only event held two days prior in Venice—companies were clearly ramping up on innovation.

Eduardo Bruner, marketing and creative director for Brumani, says he wanted to put a different spin on things. In the past, the company used a matte finish on the underside of cabochons to prevent the setting’s metal from affecting the stone’s colour. Now, Brumani is using it to create an entirely different look, in this case, applying the finish to its teardrop earrings.

“This process allows contrast between polish and matte,” Bruner notes. “And people want to know how the matte finish is created, so there is a story behind the jewellery.”

One interesting trend this year has designers using different coloured gems as the main stone in earrings. In one case, a company used a sapphire in one half of a pair and an emerald in the other. A matching ring featuring both stones is part of the set and meant to be worn together. Manuel Martin, Utopia’s director of U.S. operations, says this is a trend the pearl company has also embraced.

“There was a famous diamond dealer who once said there’s a nose between the ears and you can’t look at both at the same time,” he explains.

Other noteworthy styles include layering long necklaces, The Great Gatsby or art deco-inspired pieces like pearl tassel necklaces and earrings, Paraiba tourmaline, gemstone slices, matte and shiny metal combinations, mother-of-pearl backed stones, cat’s eye gems, enamel blossoms, and leaf designs.

Sarah Ho—founder and creative director of SHO Fine Jewellery, which exhibited at About J—says wearability and longevity are top of mind when she’s designing.

To achieve that, Ho designs her collections according to different chapters of her life, a reflection of how she sees her clients also looking back on meaningful moments in their past. Her ‘Origami’ collection is based on growing up in Macau and countless hours spent folding sheets of paper into animals, flowers, and other figures.

“The bigger picture here is this is my autobiography that I’m writing through jewellery,” Ho explains. “People always hold on to things that are important to them, so why can’t that idea be translated into design? What’s more beautiful than having jewellery tell the story about parts of someone’s life? Everyone can relate to things like that.”

Relating to the plight of the world’s artisanal and small-scale gold miners is one area of design that is gaining more steam, particularly with the recent announcement that a steadier supply of fairmined gold is now available in North America.

Stephen Webster, a first-time exhibitor at About J, says consumer interest is growing in fairtrade gold as more consumers become aware of it.

“There’s sort of a process from the consumer’s point of view,” Webster tells Jewellery Business. “They know what fairtrade is, but they don’t know about fairtrade gold. Once you tell them what it means, they want it.”

About 15 million artisanal and small-scale miners around the world—including women and children—produce 200 to 300 tonnes of gold each year.

“When gold came down $500 since last September, it helped hugely because I was absorbing 15 to 20 per cent [of the extra cost associated with fairtrade gold],” Webster says. “In some ways, it ought to cost the same, but I think 10 per cent is reasonable. I can do it because it’s not a huge part of my business. The younger generation wants to use anything that is associated with responsibility, muchmore than my generation.”

VicenzaOro ‘Winter’ runs from Jan. 18 to 23.

* Paolo Mantovani has since resigned as president of the Vicenza fair.

Source URL: https://www.jewellerybusiness.com/features/vicenzaoro-exporters-find-success-with-made-in-italy-brand/

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