Vicenzaoro Highlights, September 2023: Expanding Borders

Europe's most prestigious Boutique Show and among the top in the world, Vicenzaoro September 2023, opens today with a total sell-out of every exhibition space, replicating the successful performance of the last two editions. Latest numbers indicate more than 1,200 exhibiting brands arriving from 34 countries, including Germany, Turkey, China, India and Thailand, with a good 40% of the total coming from across the border. An international parterre that matches that of buyers, with 400 guest operators thanks to skillful scouting work and collaboration between IEG Italian Exhibition Group, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and ITA - Italian Trade Agency. On the other hand, the fact that this is a particularly happy season for the entire jewelry industry is also confirmed by the data in a recent report conducted by Confindustria Moda’s Study Centre for Federorafi, which shows a 9.3% increase in exports in the first five months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, for a value of 4.36 billion euros. The jewelry industry is therefore in good shape, better even than other Made in Italy sectors. With such a large flow of foreign visitors, Vicenzaoro thus becomes a unique opportunity for the entire area to promote itself and showcase its many artistic beauties, something that, once again this year, is guaranteed by the packed entertainment program of the tenth edition of the off-show event, VIOFF - Golden Experience, organized in synergy with the city of Vicenza and featuring a multisensory itinerary among history, art, music, food and wine. Back inside the exhibition halls, where, as always, all the voices of the supply chain, from the best raw materials to packaging and touching on fashion jewelry and haute couture, are located, together with the more contemporary offer in the Design Room hosting 14 independent brands including new entries, such as Osi Vitoria, Miseno Jewelry, Salima Thakker, Leonori and Busatti Milano, as well as the return of cult names, Stephen Webster, first and foremost. Alongside the jewelry theme, the main attraction of the Boutique Show with all its variations, Vicenzaoro continues in its intent to create a veritable watchmaking hub, which, at this September edition, sees two formats ongoing simultaneously: the B2B Time and the B2C VO Clock Privé. The over 40 Made in Italy and beyond brands will include Time, Locman, U-Boat, Venezianico, Out of Order, Fathers, Mühle-Glashütte and Junghans, in encounters with buyers in arrival from every continent. Hence, Vicenzaoro is increasingly becoming a place for meeting and dialogue between the parties and the disseminator of content for the benefit of the many communities that make up the sector. Moreover, the themes that will take center stage will also include technology and innovation in support of creativity. In the Startup & Carats area, a project organized in collaboration with ITA, the latest high-tech solutions in terms of software, digital tools and augmented reality will be on show, while Trendvision Jewellery + Forecasting, IEG's independent observatory on the jewelry world, will take the stage as usual with co-founder and Creative Director Paola De Luca involving her guests in a discussion on various experiences of “AI - Art Intelligence” and a broad and futuristic vision of what awaits us in the jewelry sector in the near future. Space therefore for all-round watchmaking passion. The VO’Clock Lounge, open to the public, will host spokespersons from prestigious brands such as Zenith, Bulgari, Hublot, Tudor and Eberhard, the protagonists of meet-ups, talks and training courses specifically designed for watch lovers and collectors.