Vicenzaoro Highlights, January 2024: Heritage according to Amedeo Scognamiglio
If the jewelry industry does not evolve, it risks becoming a museum: the words of Amedeo Scognamiglio, speaking at yesterday’s Trendvison talk on the theme of heritage and preservation, organized by Paola De Luca
How much do "heritage" and "preservation" affect business management?
Can a person choose to buy a piece of jewelry merely because of the history and baggage behind it? Representing a family history and craftsmanship is a great incentive for doing more and better and gives the "creative artist" or enlightened entrepreneur a direction to follow in an industry that is saturated and crowded, even with numerous newcomers in at the deep end. That said, the advantage of history and generations of "commissioning" can often become a limitation if not an insurmountable wall because, by sticking to the past, to family history and products that have been the same for centuries, you can lose focus on innovation, development and, why not, on that smidgen of madness that is the salt of creativity. The rules often need to be changed and you must have the courage to overturn codes and those old superstructures that have governed for decades or centuries. The world is changing faster and faster and jewelry needs to keep up, otherwise it risks becoming a museum.
What levers does a contemporary jewelry brand need to pull in order to remain competitive and attract a growing audience?
Our aesthetic, from design to retail, is the backbone of the brand, like a manual. However, we are not afraid to surprise and change the register. Traveling and living a little bit everywhere (NYC, London, Dubai) I absorb new trends, cultures and lifestyles and then translate these new emotions into collections or communication. When we create new jewelry, we think about each individual customer. Drawing on a sheet of paper, even with beautiful polychromatic watercolors, means nothing. We design thinking about where that woman will go for dinner, on vacation, even what shoes she might wear. Only then does a piece of jewelry really come to life. But you have to choose the woman, "elect" her as your customer, your muse, and create accordingly. You can't make everyone happy!
What innovations and transformations are affecting jewelry?
When a piece of jewelry becomes a "status symbol" or an indelible reminder of a special occasion, the purpose has been achieved. Compared to the past, jewelry now suffers from competition with new status symbols (luxury hotels, private jets, super yachts, Kelly bags), something that has not happened in watchmaking. We need to bring uniqueness and rarity back to the center of attention, which means knowing how to limit production as well as distribution. Too often I notice that we try to distribute everywhere, spreading huge productions into a thousand droplets of attempted sales. At the expense of the mystery of rarity.
What can't Faraone Mennella and Amedeo?
Our small but magical laboratory and creative team: the ability to immediately turn every new idea into reality, as masters of production capacity, makes us strong and independent. But we also cannot do without Capri, which is still our muse and stage onto the world for all our new collections.
What is your relationship with Vicenzaoro and with trade shows in general?
I attended my first trade show with my father when I was 14 - the JA in New York. After that I spent my youth at all the world’s shows, including Vicenzaoro, with my parents. Faraone Mennella, on the other hand, has only attended Couture Las Vegas a few times. But Vicenzaoro is still an important event for us as a company on the lookout for stones, machinery, packaging as well as for meeting customers and friends in the industry. The world needs fewer trade shows, but we do need more and more of those events, like Vicenzaoro, that offer a complete panorama of the industry and an answer to every production need. Vicenzaoro is able to be a meeting place, a crossroads. Here, more than at any other show, you feel that sense of community that the industry needs. You don’t go anywhere on your own!
Can a person choose to buy a piece of jewelry merely because of the history and baggage behind it? Representing a family history and craftsmanship is a great incentive for doing more and better and gives the "creative artist" or enlightened entrepreneur a direction to follow in an industry that is saturated and crowded, even with numerous newcomers in at the deep end. That said, the advantage of history and generations of "commissioning" can often become a limitation if not an insurmountable wall because, by sticking to the past, to family history and products that have been the same for centuries, you can lose focus on innovation, development and, why not, on that smidgen of madness that is the salt of creativity. The rules often need to be changed and you must have the courage to overturn codes and those old superstructures that have governed for decades or centuries. The world is changing faster and faster and jewelry needs to keep up, otherwise it risks becoming a museum.
What levers does a contemporary jewelry brand need to pull in order to remain competitive and attract a growing audience?
Our aesthetic, from design to retail, is the backbone of the brand, like a manual. However, we are not afraid to surprise and change the register. Traveling and living a little bit everywhere (NYC, London, Dubai) I absorb new trends, cultures and lifestyles and then translate these new emotions into collections or communication. When we create new jewelry, we think about each individual customer. Drawing on a sheet of paper, even with beautiful polychromatic watercolors, means nothing. We design thinking about where that woman will go for dinner, on vacation, even what shoes she might wear. Only then does a piece of jewelry really come to life. But you have to choose the woman, "elect" her as your customer, your muse, and create accordingly. You can't make everyone happy!
When a piece of jewelry becomes a "status symbol" or an indelible reminder of a special occasion, the purpose has been achieved. Compared to the past, jewelry now suffers from competition with new status symbols (luxury hotels, private jets, super yachts, Kelly bags), something that has not happened in watchmaking. We need to bring uniqueness and rarity back to the center of attention, which means knowing how to limit production as well as distribution. Too often I notice that we try to distribute everywhere, spreading huge productions into a thousand droplets of attempted sales. At the expense of the mystery of rarity.
What can't Faraone Mennella and Amedeo?
Our small but magical laboratory and creative team: the ability to immediately turn every new idea into reality, as masters of production capacity, makes us strong and independent. But we also cannot do without Capri, which is still our muse and stage onto the world for all our new collections.
What is your relationship with Vicenzaoro and with trade shows in general?
I attended my first trade show with my father when I was 14 - the JA in New York. After that I spent my youth at all the world’s shows, including Vicenzaoro, with my parents. Faraone Mennella, on the other hand, has only attended Couture Las Vegas a few times. But Vicenzaoro is still an important event for us as a company on the lookout for stones, machinery, packaging as well as for meeting customers and friends in the industry. The world needs fewer trade shows, but we do need more and more of those events, like Vicenzaoro, that offer a complete panorama of the industry and an answer to every production need. Vicenzaoro is able to be a meeting place, a crossroads. Here, more than at any other show, you feel that sense of community that the industry needs. You don’t go anywhere on your own!
