2024 represents a milestone of great importance for Vicenzaoro, namely the Seventieth Anniversary of the Italian Exhibition Group’s international jewelry exhibition, in the name of excellence, culture, innovation, and sharing. This new year has begun with excellent results, as demonstrated by the data recorded at the end of the VOJ24 edition which has just concluded in Vicenza, and by the widespread feeling of optimism and cooperation that has seen the entire gold and jewelry sector come together.
In fact, compared to 2023, Vicenzaoro January 2024 recorded a +3% participation from 141 countries around the world (compared to 136 in 2023), including the United States, Turkey, and Spain on the podium. Six out of ten visitors came from abroad, confirming once again the great international relevance of Vicenzaoro. Overall, 53% of participation came from Europe, 9.3% from the Middle East, 10.5% from Asia, 8% from Turkey, 7.2% from North America, 5.1% from Latin America and 4.9% from Africa. Italy also individually demonstrated a very positive turnout, increasing by 3.2% compared to 2023.
There were more than 1300 exhibitors, and the involvement of the younger generations was also important, both inside and outside the fair. In fact, 23 schools were present at the show, mainly from Italy, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, for a total of around 750 students and guides, and more than 490 students participated in the 20 events in the city of the VIOFF program (Vicenzaoro Fuori Fiera).
Among the schools present, IED Turin: the young students in the second year of the Jewelry and Accessories Design Course took part in the show alongside Laura Inghirami for the cultural and training project Inspiration Boards, through which Vicenzaoro in collaboration with Laura Inghirami involves and supports young generations at every edition. At VOJ24 the young immersed themselves in a traveling journey to discover the latest trends in the sector and the history of jewelry over the last 70 years, to celebrate the anniversary of Vicenzaoro’s excellence. At the fair the students observed the trends that refer to the style of jewelry from the 1950s onwards, identifying the contemporary trends that represent and reinterpret the history of the sector of the last 70 years, creating an axis between past and future. The most captivating inspirations captured by the students were then shared on the Vicenzaoro Instagram profile @vo.inspiration, where they published the images and videos accompanied by hashtags corresponding to each decade from the 1950s to today. The contents will also populate the Vicenzaoro website, “Special Projects” – “Inspiration Boards” section, as inspiration for buyers from all over the world.
To enhance young talents and promote the ethics of art, Alessio Boschi, Creative Director of Alessio Boschi, and Alessia Crivelli, General Director of Crivelli, National Vice President of Fedeorafi with responsibility for Training and President of the Mani Intelligent Foundation, gave life to the project “The 80’s”, inspired by the symbolism of the number 8 in Asia, linked to the concept of infinity and enduring life. The initiative involved four young artists who exhibited their creations inside the Design Room: Igor Quagliata and Antonia Ascolillo of IED Rome, Roshanak Payrovi of the Master in jewelry design at the University of Siena, and Juan Sebastian Plah Galindo, winner of Digital Jewelry Week.
Furthermore, Vicenzaoro hosted the prestigious awards ceremony of PROGOL3D Design Contest, the competition organized by Progold S.p.A which saw the participation of over 74 students from 7 international schools on the B-EVOLUTION theme proposed by Bulgari to celebrate the gaze of the young to the future of jewelry, through the combination of innovation, sustainability, and creativity. The technical jury, made up of experts from Progold, Bulgari, and Platinum Guild International, declared Giulia Noascone of IED Turin and Asia Roccazzella of LAO – Le Arti Orafe of Florence as joint winners. The public jury also awarded Christophe Darreau of the Haute Ecole de Joaillerie in Paris as winner.
Marco Carniello, Global Exhibition Director Jewellery & Fashion, Italian Exhibition Group, declared during the interview with Laura Inghirami: “It is also the fair’s responsibility to help the sector bring young people closer to the industry. To do this, we have activated numerous projects together such as Inspiration Boards, so that students come to explore the novelties and beauties of our show and promote them. Through the eyes of the young we see what future trends will be. In addition, we have organized a student desk here at the fair welcoming more than 500 students who come on trips with schools. Furthermore, we have launched numerous awards involving design schools. The Jewelry Museum and the workshops outside the fair are also of great importance in this sense. Young people represent our future and it is therefore right that we take on the responsibility of involving them.”
Innovation and growth are always keywords at Vicenzaoro. T.Gold, the international event dedicated to goldsmith machinery and the most innovative technologies applied to gold and jewelry, organized in partnership with A.F.E.M.O., recorded an absolutely positive increase in attendance of 4.7% in this edition. VO Vintage also saw a 22% growth in exhibitors for vintage watches and jewelry open to the B2C public, with collectors, experts, and watch enthusiasts from Italy and around the world also growing by +13%, confirming the importance of the trend in constant growth of vintage jewelry and watches, even among the younger generations.
In conclusion, Vicenzaoro January 2024 proved to be a very successful edition which predicts just as many satisfactions in the continuation of this new year and in the years to come, in the wake of the show’s 70 years of excellence. There are many initiatives in this sense, such as the new construction site which will give a new layout to the Vicenza exhibition center for the September 2026 edition: to increase the space offered to exhibitors and visitors, the new 22,000 square meter pavilion will replace pavilion 2, the historic “snail” built in 1971, and pavilion 5.
