The second edition of Jewellery & Gem Fair – Europe attracted more than 6,500 jewelry professionals from around the world, of which over 4,500 were buyers from 87 countries and regions.
The jewelry trade fair, held March 22 - 25 at Messe Freiburg, Germany, also attracted 445 exhibitors from 28 countries and regions, according to UBM Asia, which owns and operates the event.
“JGF Europe is positioned as an effective trading platform for mid- to high-end jewelry,” said Wolfram Diener, Senior VP, UBM Asia. “We believe that JGF Europe fills the gap in the European trade fair calendar; it gives European buyers the opportunity to source effectively from suppliers from around the world without having to travel to overseas trade shows. With the participation of over 4,500 buyers, this shows that JGF Europe addresses a market need.”
The majority of visitors came from Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, China, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Austria. There were 1,801 buyers from Germany, while Switzerland ranked the second with 309 buyers, up 17.5 percent compared to last year. The top 10 visiting countries account for 70 percent of the total number of visitors.
Meanwhile, exhibitors were from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Poland, Russian Federation, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. In addition, nine group pavilions representing Antwerp, ACODES, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Mauritius, Thailand and the United States.
Dates for the 2016 edition of the fair are March 19 – 22. “We believe that this will enable smaller jewelry retailers or jewelrs from the peripheral area of Freiburg to have sufficient time to visit the fair,” Diener said.Please join me on the Jewelry News Network Facebook Page, on Twitter @JewelryNewsNet and on the Forbes website.
The second edition of Jewellery & Gem Fair - Europe (JGF Europe) will be held March 22 - 25 in Messe Freiburg, Germany. The fair has so far attracted 2,400 buyers, primarily from Europe, and around 440 exhibitors from 27 countries and regions.
Positioned as a B2B mid-end jewelry sourcing platform for continental Europe, JGF Europe has expanded from three halls to four halls, including the central foyer, occupying all 19,000sqm of exhibition space at Messe Freiburg. The tradeshow is being held the same time and about 45 miles north of Baselworld, the world’s largest watch and jewelry fair.
The fair is divided into three sections—loose materials, fine jewelry and packaging, tools & equipment—to make it easier for buyers to locate suppliers, show organizers UBM Asia said. It also has nine group pavilions: Antwerp, ACODES, Germany, Hong Kong, International Colored Gemstone Association, Italy, Mauritius, Thailand and the United States, where exhibitors display their distinct market specialties.
“Many of the exhibitors who joined in the first edition are returning with bigger booths,” said Celine Lau, director of Jewellery Fairs, UBM Asia. “Buyers can expect to view and source a wide range of mid-priced finished jewelry and loose materials. The fair is open on Sunday, which enables retailers to restock on inventory conveniently.”
On Jan 2015, the Swiss National Bank announced the unpegging of the Swiss franc from the euro, impacting various industries including jewelry, across Europe.
“Although it is too early to predict the consequences for the jewelry industry, German exports to Switzerland will certainly be cheaper,” said Uwe Staib, president of the German Federation of Jewellery, Watches, Clocks, Silverware and Related Industries e.V. in Pforzheim.
“Buying within the European countries has become more reasonable but selling Swiss products is much more a challenge now,” added Jörg Lindemann, managing director of Bundesverband der Edelstein– und Diamantindustrie e.V.
The fair will host a series of seminars organized by jewelry associations, including Deutsche Gemmologische Gesellschaft e.V., USE Uhren Schmuck Edelsteine Bildungszentrum Pforzheim and GRS Gemresearch Swisslab AG.
A reception will be held on March 22.
The fair also will bring in buyer delegations totaling approximately 260 buyers from China, Brazil, Italy, Israel, Russia and the United Kingdom.
Visit www.jgf-europe.com/pre-registration to register. Pre-registration enables visitors to avoid long lines at the registration counters and save the admission fee of 30 euro.
For visitor convenience of visitors, UBM Asia will offer a free shuttle bus service running between Basel Badischer Bahnhof/Freiburg Hauptbahnhof and Messe Freiburg throughout the fair’s four-day run. It is also working with Deutsche Bahn AG for train ticket for visitors travelling from any German city to JGF Europe in Freiburg, Germany. For details about shuttle bus service and train offer, visit: www.jgf-europe.com.
Please join me on the Jewelry News Network Facebook Page, on Twitter @JewelryNewsNet and on the Forbes website.
This new tradeshow called, “Jewellery & Gem Fair – Europe,” will be held April 1 – 4, 2014, in Freiburg, Germany. The dates and location line up nicely with Baselworld 2014, which will be held March 27 – April 3, 2014. Freiburg is less than an hour away from Basel, Switzerland. In fact, it’s so close that when I attended Baselworld two years ago, I stayed in Freiburg
This announcement of a new tradeshow comes after the world’s largest watch and jewelry tradeshow finished a $454.5-million upgrade to the Messe Basel complex that came with several upset vendors. In fact, the 1,460 companies who exhibited at the recently concluded Baselworld 2013 was 355 fewer than those who exhibited the prior year.
The biggest player to exit Baselworld this year was David Yurman, after what was described as “‘exasperating’ back-and-forth with the powers that be at Baselworld.” People from several companies expressed their dissatisfaction to me with their booth placement, the substantial increase in the cost of participating this year, and the pressure to construct newer, larger and more expensive booths for the show. One company, which was one of the few companies to both remain in the same space and not expand their booth, told me they still had to pay 30 percent more than the prior year.
UBM Asia is refusing to acknowledge that they are creating a competing show, calling this new fair “a comprehensive sourcing fair offering a wide range of jewelry products.” It is being positioned “as a high-efficiency, high-level face-to-face jewelry business platform to create real business value for international suppliers and buyers.”
UBM says that more than 260 exhibitors from 25 countries and regions have reserved exhibition space a year ahead of its launch. “This figure represents more than 50 percent of the expected number of exhibitors and represents 60 percent of the total exhibition space which indicates the market’s enthusiasm for this new fair in Europe,” UBM said.
Exhibitors that have signed up are from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Hong Kong region, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zambia.
The fair is open to the jewelry trade, business professionals and members of the media. Free admission to save €30 will be granted to preregistered visitors and online preregistration opens in June 2013. Please join me on the Jewelry News Network Facebook Page, on Twitter @JewelryNewsNet and on the Forbes Website.
