Germans are a people comprised of polar characteristics and tastes. On the one hand, typically German-styled designs are petite pieces combining carefully calibrated geometric shapes and point-sized stones. On the other side of the fence are designers who rebel against tradition by creating jewels of extraordinary proportions set with polished or unpolished stones, some clean and others riddled with inclusions and natural-occurring pockmarks, plus a wide array of materials including wood, glass, rubber and wire.
The wide range of tastes of the German market was evident at the 22nd annual Inhorgenta fair, held in Munich from February 24-27. The four-day show provided a comprehensive overview of 1,309 companies from 32 countries. The bulk of these were from the renowned gemstone cutting center of Idar-Oberstein and Pforzheim, where more than 500 jewelry manufacturers produce 70 percent of the country’s jewelry. Other exhibitors included skilled cutters and jewelry producers from other points across Germany and watch and clock producers and equipment suppliers.
Trade visitors attended one of Europe’s grandest trade shows en force. Visitors from 67 countries totaled 26,000 up significantly from last year’s figure of 21,000.
Messe Munchen, the show organizers, attributed the growth in attendance to the increased demand from retailers who made up 68 percent of the visitors. Suppliers cited satisfactory-to-good ordering activity, particularly in the moderate and upper price ranges in jewelry.
With Idar-Oberstein as well as some of the world’s most technically advanced jewelry manufacturers within German borders, the country’s jewelry designs are remarkable for their technique and precision.
Many of the 950 German firms excelled in pieces of unbuffed, matte and textured finishes with polished accents. Others implemented geometric shapes and dimensions on fragile bands sprinkled with diamonds and gemstones by skilled craftsmen. And others produced outrageous, warlike pieces.
Textures ranging from etchings on polished gold to hammered and matte finishes were common among the producers who don’t use gemstones. In contrast to the Italians, many German prefer the rough, unpolished look. Rauschmayer of Pforzheim offered simple gold and platinum bands, made attractive by the intricate etchings. The company also displayed pieces of polished figurines dancing across matte bands.
And nowhere else in the industry can buyers find designers with such perverse, yet hilarious, imaginations. One such designer was Kiki Brodmerkel of Frankfurt, who came up with a lover’s token—silver rings set with a high center mount sprouting two inches of human hair in shades of red, auburn and brown. The winning sales pitch: “The hair of your lover?”
Tri-color jewelry of white, pink and yellow gold, which was extremely popular at the VicenzaOro I show in January, found few producers in Germany. One company which offered pieces of tri-color gold jewelry was Burkhard Schmuck of Rulzheim. And with a fondness for blunt designs, rarely did jewelry producers fall back on shaping metals into hearts and cute, cuddly animals.
Other German firms which work with a healthy number of gemstones rely on the skilled stone cutters in Idar-Oberstein to fulfill their creative urges. Clean cuts of perfect proportions are seen in common stones like amethyst and citrine as well as more unusual items such as morganite, kunzite, rubellites, tanzanite and spinel. Cuts range from the traditional to the one-of-a-kind.
Three of the most well-known original cutters include the three men of Philipp Becker and Co-Veit Helmut Goris, Karl-Heinz Neumann and Friedrich M G Wilshaus.
Peter Lorenz of Idar-Oberstein also offered incredible cuts, stylized faceting and double-sided carvings.
Gunther Herrling of Germany took the middle-range look of amber and upgraded it by finely cutting it into triangular, trapezoid and moon shaped dimensions. The resins were set in contemporary German-styled jewelry.
Cede of Pforzheim produced a platinum line set with unusual-cut gemstones accentuated with gold plated animal-skin patterns.
Companies which strayed off the beaten path with traditional ethnic silver jewelry and beads from Asia, America and Africa had more than their fair share of visitors. Most visitors, however, made only small; on-the-spot purchases.
Tuareg Schmuck offered an exclusive line of traditional Nigerian jewelry in silver. A company representative said Tuareg Schmuck works with the skilled craftsmen of Nigeria by providing them with silver to control the high quality standard of the Germans and then allowing them to produce pieces common to their people and culture.
Twiga, a San Francisco-based company, displayed a fabulous collection of ebony and wooden jewelry and sculpture from Tanzania. The Tanzanian-born owner, Twiga Mbunda, said the large pieces sell exceptionally well in the United States. However, Twiga felt they were perhaps too pricey and ornate for the German market. With an increased knowledge of the German tastes, she plans to offer a more appropriate line next year. Her pieces started at more than $100.
More than 350 foreign firms appeared at the show, including 13 Thai companies. The majority of the Thai exhibitors described the show as slower than 1994 despite a stronger deutsche mark and a strengthening world economy. Companies which may have weathered the slow traffic around the Thai section were companies such as Gentry Jewelry and Thai Jewelry Manufacturer which offered jewelry consistent with the tastes of the German people.
Gentry Jewelry displayed its latest line of African tribal-inspired silver jewelry. Thai Jewelry offered bi-color gold jewelry and petite pieces combining yellow gold and platinum of geometric shapes and point-sized diamonds perfect for the German market.
Suthep Rintanalert, manager of Taste Jewelry, Suchart Rintanalert, manger of Mona Jewelry, and S V of S V Jewelry all said the show was slower than last year.
Suchart makes regular incursions into the German market by attending three shows in the country –Inhorgents in Munich, a smaller trade show in Hamburg and a public show in Berlin. He said his silver and marcasite pieces were selling slightly better than his gold lines, although he considered business to be “somewhat show”.
S V said that both attendance and orders at last year’s show were better. He said former customers had not stopped by his booth this year and those who visited him and used to spend DM10,000 were now spending DM1,000. Despite having less orders for his heavily gemset gold bracelets and rings, S V still believes that his line appealed to the German people.
One Thai manufacturer was suffering from a dilemma typical of many Thai companies. Five years ago, she said, nearly anything her company produced could sell, but presently sales are not easy and new customers are scarce. The manufacturer pointed out three main problems that hurt her and some other Thai exhibitors.
One of the main things that turn off visitors is the unappealing display of jewelry, the manufacturer said. However, it appeared at Inhorgenta that she had not taken her own advice. Trays were stacked upon trays giving her display an unorganized, disheveled appearance.
The sloppy, haphazard display undermined the value of the pieces. She said many visitors could not believe the items were really set with natural gemstones since they were so carelessly displayed.
Another handicap facing her company, and several others, was the perpetual rehash of old, dated designs, when asked where her latest designs were, she said she had none and agreed that the lack of new lines was a problem in attracting new customers. Again, the exhibitor had seen the problem, but didn’t act. Her reason for not creating new designs was because previous customers preferred the styles they had initially started buying from her.
The success of other exhibitors depended largely on new, innovative offers. Fair organizers reported that 81 percent of the exhibitors introduced new products to the trade audience which contributed to sales and targeted a specialist trade searching for diversity and pieces of unique appeal.
Some claimed the lack of business also lay with the sluggish German economy. However, international economists claim that Germany’s recession eased up in the second half of 1994 and optimism for a revived market is gaining ground.
With increased competition from all corners, companies longing for their former glory days will obviously have to start concentrating more on quality and trying to inject more spirit into their products. Indian and Sri Lankan exhibitors with strong support from the German government, designers and technicians offered a fair range of jewelry appealing to the German tastes. Wholesalers and larger retailers can also turn to western producers, who continually offer fresh designs that appeal to an ever-changing market and service-oriented incentives that appeal to the retailers.
Rund um die Perle was one company which offered such a service. The firm’s latest sales promotion campaign for jewelers blends the charm of the pearl with the sparkle of champagne. The offer consists of a promotional package with a 0.2-liter bottle of sparkling wine bearing a specially designed pearl-promotion label.
According to fair organizers, market researchers claim that consumers expect to pay as little money as possible while acquiring exclusive products.
“A majority of interviewees stated they would rather buy something else than expensive jewelry. But the studies also showed that quality demands for jewelry are high, and that customer’s accord great importance to a large selection of products,” the report said.
Only one in six German consumers are satisfied with fairly low quality standard when purchasing jewelry, the report continued.
The Indian pavilion, which consisted of eight companies, offered traditional gold jewelry and Germanic stone-studded pieces of high quality. The Indian jewelry firms were assisted by the Indo-German Export Promotion Project (IGEP), a cooperative venture between the German and Indian governments designed to increase exports of goods, including jewelry, from India to Germany. The program sends German goldsmiths, designers and technical and marketing experts to firms in India to teach their employees the latest advances in the industry.
The group also prepares companies to exhibit at trade shows in Germany and arranges meetings between the heads of both German and Indian companies.
Ruth Mein hart of IGEP said the Indian companies attended Inhorgenta to gauge market demands. The program is set up to allow companies to exhibit for a few years until they have gathered a sufficient number of accounts. At that time, newly established companies will take their place.
Mein hart said that despite a fairly slow show, she was surprised at the number of people visiting the Indian pavilion. The IGEP had sent out 300 invitations by direct mail to wholesalers and large retailers in Germany.
One surprise came from the Sri Lankan pavilion, where 11 manufacturers were allotted but a single display case and window. Despite their space constrictions, the Sri Lankan manufacturers offered attractive, youthful pieces of silver with combinations of textured and polished surfaces gold-plated details and semiprecious faceted and cabochon adornments.
Companies included Raja, Southern Goldsmith, Sun moon Jewellery and Trio. Though Sri Lanka is a gem-rich country, many of the designs on display had few stones. The look targeted the young-at-heart in Europe and the United States.