GemGenève 2026 Closes its Tenth Edition: Figures, Themes and Visions
The International Gem and Jewellery Show, which for four days brought together the global elite of jewellery and gemmology, closed yesterday at Palexpo in Geneva
After ten editions, it is time to take stock, and today, as GemGenève comes to a close, we can say that the event held at Palexpo from 7 to 10 May has increasingly confirmed itself as the leading curated fair for the high-end and independent segment of the sector. The figures speak for themselves: around 240 carefully selected exhibitors—including rare gemstone dealers, jewellery maisons, independent designers, gemmological laboratories and cultural institutions—attracted an estimated audience of more than 5,000 visitors, made up of collectors, international buyers, museum curators, high-end retailers and professionals. A mix that gave the event a strongly international scope, with exhibitors and visitors from over 109 countries, while maintaining a deliberately “human-scale” format, one of its key distinguishing features compared to large, generalist trade shows.
Alongside its exhibition offering, GemGenève continued to develop and strengthen its cultural vocation with a programme of talks, workshops and awards addressing the central themes of contemporary jewellery. One of the most attended panels, for example, was “Chromatic Luxury: The New Language of Coloured Gemstones”, moderated by Donatella Zappieri, which focused on the role of colour as a true design and identity language. With contributions from Milena Lazazzera, Ming Lampson, Pippa Small and Emmanuel Piat, the talk highlighted how coloured gemstones—including unconventional ones—have become key players in new aesthetics, new markets and new ways of narrating value.Also highly appreciated was “Precious Colour: Unpacking the Rarity and Value of Colour in Diamonds and Gemstones”, featuring Richa Goyal Sikri and Dr. Laurent E. Cartier (SSEF), alongside Harsh Maheshwari and Jochen Leën. The panel explored the scientific and cultural mechanisms behind colour, the challenges of communicating with the end client, and the increasingly debated topic of investment in fancy-colour gemstones and diamonds. Great attention was also drawn by the osmium gouaché atelier led by Tania Chan, which combined the centuries-old tradition of high jewellery drawing with a world first: the painterly rendering of osmium, the rarest precious metal on Earth. This workshop attracted designers, students and professionals, underscoring GemGenève’s role as a place of experimentation as well as a marketplace.The theme of customisation took centre stage in “Meet the Customisers… Custom and Colors”, a space dedicated to the expressive and commercial potential of personalised objects, featuring live demonstrations and direct dialogue with the public. The lecture by Katerina Perez, “10 Golden Rules of Selling Gems and Jewellery on Instagram”, was also widely followed, offering a practical guide to using social media as a tool for storytelling, positioning and sales for contemporary jewellery brands, designers and retailers. As mentioned, awareness was also driven by the many contests and awards that animated the four days of the event. The highlight was the GemGenève Awards Ceremony, held under the patronage of SSEF, which celebrated schools, students and young creatives. This was complemented by a series of themed competitions, including the Jewels of Italy Contest, An American in Paris Contest, the Gouaché Contest “C’est Gonflé !”, the Photomicrography Contest, and the Éric Horovitz Foundation Award. Alongside the awards, the Winners’ Spotlights of the Bucherer Gouache, JGAA Design and Osmium Institute contests further confirmed the fair’s strong focus on education and the future of the sector.