VicenzaOro 2016, The Celebration of Italian Jewelry!

05 February 2016 | Esther Ligthart | Trends & Inspiration

VicenzaOro is one of the most important jewelry trade fairs in the world. A trade fair where I have been going to a lot over the past 20 years.

Photo's from Vicenza Oro ©Bizzita.com

VicenzaOro is the most important jewelry trade fair in Italy. Italy today is still one of the top players in the world of fashion and design and yes, also for jewelry production.

Fope is one of those brands that stay true to their original formula and design. They are still hot as their booth was filled with clients who all wanted to see and buy the newest collections for their stores.

Palmiero Jewellery Design...One of the greatest Master Jewelers of Italy....

Valenza Po, Vicenza and Arezzo jewelry production

Valenza Po, situated in Piedmonte, is known for its craftsmanship, specialized skills and handmade jewelry. It's filled with artisans and small workshops, but also the home of a large Bulgari factory, which is build right now over there. The main reason? The level of the artisans craftsmanship.

Mattioli is gaining more and more fame on the market. And very right so. This company has an enormous collection with some exquisite and really outstanding pieces like these two.

Vicenza is the second big area in Italy that is famous for jewelry production. Here we find smaller and larger companies. Often factories, with a larger production than say, Valenza Po. We don’t find many high end jewelers here, although there are some and some very famous ones too.

Roberto Coin. Trying on these pieces made me, once more see, true value of craftsmanship. Even if these pieces are not small, the are extremely comfortable to wear and fit on your finger and arm like a soft hug. Photo's ©Bizzita.com

The third is Arezzo in Tuscany. A beautiful place, here we find a lot of factories involved in more mass production of jewelry in gold and silver.

I don't do many selfies, but did take pictures of these beautiful rings by Paolo Piovan. On the right side below, posing with Roberto Coin. Photo's©Bizzita.com

Italian jewelry showcase

VicenzaOro is a showcase of mainly Italian producers of jewelry. You can find here around 1500 booths! Anything from the smallest company with a brilliant idea, to diamond and gemstone suppliers, cameo and coral companies from Torre del Greco and many many beautiful brands.

Mattioli, showing another style.

Jewelry brands

It is scary, but it is indeed 20 years ago that I first sat foot on this trade fair! Time flies, aiaiai!

The last time I visited the fair was 2 years ago and I found a completely restyled fair. I experienced more flow and if possible, more clearity and It was easier to navigate and I spent most of my time in the halls that were marked as ICON. In these halls one could admire all the brands.

Paolo Piovan Dragon Collection

Trends and vision

I watched all the windows, talked with designers, pr-ladies, marketing managers and many people I just know because I have been around for a while now ;-) I went to visit to presentation of the trend forecasting service of the fair and talked a lot about jewelry, retail, the visions on the future of jewelry and trends for the long run. This has resulted in a good view on what the trends will bring us in the nearby future. And not just that, there was a lot of talking about communications with future clients. Millenials were once again, a group that everyone talked about. More about marketing, communication and this specific group this month on Bizzita.com.

Paolo Piovan Tigers and Lions

Paolo Piovan

Italian jewelry rocks

This trade fair isn’t open to the public unfortunately, however, if one is working, maybe in a store, as a designer, or even if you are still a student, this is a trade fair that you really should visit! It’s such an amazing showcase and Italians do rock, they really do rock when it comes to jewelry design:-) Even if Italians are the fast majority, there are some exhibitors from other countries too. Even famous ones, like LeVian for example.

Today I wanted to show you just a few of the photo’s from that trip and some pictures from companies that I visited. Next week, I will present you all the megatrends for 2016-2017!

I asked both group of girls for a picture and the guy below is Rolf Buchholz, a GuinnessBook of Records holder for most pierced guy in the world. Very impressive. The girls were delightful. A bit of a contrast, but that's fine :-) The girls on the left were promoting Le Bebè and the brides were showing Comete Gioielli. Photo's © Bizzita.com

Dada Arrigoni from Valenza Po

A little peek into my private pictures :-)

Some of my own private pictures : ) Taking the train to the airport, arriving in my AirBnB in Vicenza, my son who is never happy when mum is off for a trip abroad ;-) Arriving at Venice airport (that's Venice down there), majestic views over the Alps and my golden sneakers that I bought one day before I left as I thought they would be just perfect for the occassion! (oh, how I grew to love comfort!)