MAN ON THE MOVE – Increased Visits to Gemgenève Underpin Buoyant High-End Gemstone and Jewellery Market

08 Nov 2022

By David Brough

GENEVA - A surge in visits to the November 3-6 GemGenève signalled strong orders at the fifth edition of the upmarket gemstones and jewellery show despite worries over recession and inflation.

Visits exceeded 5,000 and were up more than 7 percent compared to the previous edition of the show in May, according to preliminary figures from organisers. The event had 144 professional exhibitors, slightly below the May salon.

GemGenève (Geneva International Gemstone and Jewellery Show), which took place at Palexpo near Geneva airport, emerged in 2018 following the decline and extinction of Baselworld after exhibitors exited the Basel showcase amidst widespread criticism of its organisation.

“GemGenève is distinguished for the beauty and quality of the gems, and the quality of the cuts,” Gaetano Cavalieri, President of the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO), told NAJ.

“At this event, although it is small, I saw many of the top experts of the gemstone and jewellery industry.”

GemGenève is scheduled close to the Magnificent Jewels auctions in Geneva staged by Christie’s and Sotheby’s, thereby gathering the world’s leading high jewellery, diamond and gemstone collectors in the Swiss city to deal in “big ticket” items.

After a successful edition in May 2022, coinciding with the auctions, the exhibitors asked co-founders Ronny Totah and Thomas Faerber to organise the event again in early November, partially due to the absence of competing trade fairs in Asia in the final quarter of the year.

GemGenève is unique among trade fairs because it is organised by exhibitors for exhibitors, rather than hosted by professional event managers.

The salon offers a vast array of exquisite diamond cuts, rare and beautiful coloured gemstones, as well as top-quality signed antique jewellery spanning Victorian and Art Nouveau to the ever popular Art Deco era and the now fashionable 1970s.

Dealers spoke of resilient demand for the rarest fancy color diamonds, internally flawless white diamond cuts, no-heat Burmese rubies and sapphires, Colombian no-oil or minor-oil emeralds, and antique jewellery signed by the top maisons such as Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels.

But they added that the middle diamond and gemstone markets were more vulnerable to risks of softening demand if the global economy slows.

Fuli Gemstones offered a selection of vibrant green peridot fine gemstones extracted from their mine in northern China that is presently under development and is expected to ramp up production in 2023.

Fuli plans to step up a marketing campaign to raise awareness of the beauty of peridot gemstones, London-based chief marketing officer Pia Tonna told NAJ.

Mood upbeat

The mood at GemGenève was optimistic after impressive results at recent high-value jewellery auctions and strong orders at the previous edition of the show in May.

"The market is very good,” GemGenève co-founder Thomas Faerber told a news conference on the eve of the salon, referring to his own experiences this year at the Faerber Collection, which specializes in exceptional gemstones and antique jewellery.

"We have had a very good year so far. I am confident that this edition of GemGenève will be a successful one.”

Exhibitors later spoke of good orders. The stands were busy from the outset, with vibrant networking going on throughout the show.

GemGenève attracts visiting high retailers from Bond Street in London, Place Vendôme in Paris, and other upmarket hubs, looking for exceptional stock.

Nicholas Wainwright of Bond Street retailer Boodles, a regular attendee at the show, said he visited because of the high-quality goods on offer and its exceptional organisation and hospitality.

“Boodles, we come every year. We like the feel of GemGenève. This event has got all the right people exhibiting, the people we like,” he told NAJ.

“We’re compulsive buyers. It’s like going to a sweet shop! You can’t not spend money. We’re looking for something different. We’re looking for interesting stones. We bought a lovely Burmese ruby here, with no heat. We bought a 3.84-carat greenish-yellow – but it looked green – diamond. We’re looking for things that are a bit more exciting than ‘standard’.”

GemGenève featured the Vivarium Quartet of jewellery designers, curated by London-based jewellery historian and journalist Vivienne Becker, alongside other established or up-and-coming designers such as Sean Gilson, Alexander Tenzo and Wallis Hong in the frequently visited designer area of the show.

The Vivarium Quartet comprised the UK’s Alexandra Jefford, returning to the show for the third time, Alix Dumas, Philippe Lauras, and Elena Okutova.

“Vivienne Becker helps independent designers to showcase their work,” Alexandra Jefford told NAJ.

“The Vivarium is super-prestigious. It’s very high end. It’s small enough that you get noticed, and you make fantastic contacts here. For me as an independent jeweller, I can meet some fantastic gemstone dealers.”

Vivienne Becker, commenting on how she curated the Vivarium Quartet, said: “What I am looking for is a strong, well-defined individual creative vision. I look for a certain level of sophistication in craftsmanship. I like to have a huge range, to show versatility. I like the designers to be very different one from another, to show the sheer breadth of creativity that we have in the jewellery world.”

GemGenève will return in May, 2023.

Source: David Brough