Vicenzaoro September 2021: Women’s "Special Touch"

A talk enriched by an international tone, with streaming connections and an all-female panel, will be held today, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., in Hall 7 of the Fair’s Main Stage. The guests’ table will be hosting Sheryl Jones, Jewellery Designer and GIA alumn (linked in streaming), the first and only African American woman to have a store in New York's “Diamond District”; Chaoqiu He, Founder of QIU Fine Jewelry (linked in streaming), creator of collections composed of unique pieces, one of the few Asian women to visit Colombia with the purpose of buying emeralds; Laurence Ardies, a young designer from Antwerp who makes jewels following an ethical supply chain; Iris Van der Veken, Executive Director, Head of the Jewellery Council, who is committed to investigating the issue of gender equality by explaining how this industry is approaching female empowerment; Linda Kozloff-Turner, Jewellery Designer and author of the book "100 Women of Jewellery". The moderator is Donatella Zappieri, Jewelry Business Consultant and Director of Master Luxury and Jewelry at Créa Geneva, who is going to tell how «for the first time, right on Vicenzaoro’s stage, Linda Kozloff-Turner's project is unveiled, a collection of stories and testimonies by 100 international women who, each engaged in their own way in the world of jewellery, have fought to achieve goals and success. The aim of the research is to highlight how important it is to have female entrepreneurship, but also at the same time, how difficult it is for women to achieve certain objectives». The main focus of the talk between the speakers, who are among the 100 protagonists of the book, is to demonstrate that there are women who have made important journeys, thus giving a message of positivity. They will be talking about diversity, inclusion, ethical procurement, opening up to female projects and highlighting the ever stronger need to integrate women’s "special touch" in the jewellery industry.