Jewellery & Watches 2014, the Spring edition.

11 March 2014 | Esther Ligthart | Industry, Business & Industry

The only trade fair we have here is held twice a year in Utrecht, the Netherlands. It has around 70 exhibitors. Most of them are there on a permanent base. Open every Monday for jewelers. The others are the guest exhibitors that are allowed only on these two occasions: spring trade fair and autumn trade fair. On these occasions all exhibitors show their newest products.

Pleasant fair

So I jumped on the train to Utrecht and visited the fair. The trade fair in the Netherlands is very small compared to events like Vicenza Oro and Basel World. It does claim to service the whole Benelux but 99% of visitors are actually from the Netherlands. Everything is done to make it a nice experience for the visitors. There is a beautiful bar and meeting area with free coffee and drinks. And the whole look and feel of the fair is pleasant.

A bit too many fashion brands?

As a lover of jewelry, it is not the kind of fair I feel very thrilled about. The brands are mostly in the middle section and lower section. Nothing wrong with that of course! But there isn’t much jewelry as much as there are fashion brands, like the watches and so forth from labels like; Boss and Hillfiger etc etc. Other labels are f.e. Seiko, Guess, Ti Sento, Buddha to Buddha, Fossil Group and lots of others similar to these names.There is nothing like a little more exclusive jewelry but what makes the trade fair always worth a visit are the guest exhibitors. I always hope to discover something exciting there! You know: that new designer that makes my heart beat just a little faster. That brand that has really something new.

The beautiful and multi-talented Maria Kooistra

Maria Kooistra

I met Maria Kooistra, once an actress, who studied to become a metal smith in New York. She was absolutely stunning and her jewelry looks very nice. It’s a small but delicate collection of Chinese Zodiac signs. As I am a complete sucker for jewelry that represents animals I was literally drawn to her little booth! She sold so far only online, but is now reaching out to jewelers that want to carry her line. I did find her collection exciting and hope for more items of her in the future.

Peter Devillé in front of his booth presenting proudly his newest addition to his agency: Rebecca

Rebecca

I also talked to Peter Devillé, from Chaurum trading, who recently had to stop working with Pianegonda and started with Rebecca. Many of the jewelers from the Netherlands responded that it looked very *Southern European* And there you have exactly why it is so charming! J Rebecca is a big name in Italy. And it responds to the trend of other metals than gold or silver, to simulate the luxury feel, without the cost.

Mark Bos, also proud of his product. This is a really interesting one for many jewelers and they are ready to work all over the world.

Mark Bos, something really innovative!

Then I met Mark Bos who has a laboratory in Twisk, a gorgeous little town around 50 km above Amsterdam. He had a truly novelty. He invented ( see also here: Link) rings, wedding rings, friendship rings and so on, that contain your personal heartbeat . Now this concept is ready to conquer the world. A jeweler has the software on its computer and when their clients sit down they can see everything they choose directly on the screen, including the price. There is a small attribute that can measure your heartbeat ( two people can kiss and THAT can be caught on screen in their heartbeat!) The rings are immediately visible afterwards on the screen and furthermore; the clients receive shortly afterwards on their smartphone a photo of their rings! Now how personal can you get??

The bar area. Always well visited :-)

Light on the horizon for the jewelry market?

The atmosphere was a bit more positive than the past years. Although some of the participants moaned about jewelers being way too careful and buying with the calculator in their hands for amounts even below the 1000 euro’s. But it was actually very busy and with the beautiful sudden spring outside it makes me feel hopeful for slow but very sure recovery of the market.