Though it probably didn’t need proving, the VicenzaOro I show confirmed once more that the Italians are masters of creating jewelry of exceptional sophistication and taste.

            At the January show in the Italian city of Vicenza, Italian companies revealed their latest creations to a crowd of 15,500. Even though many visitors said there were few truly new ideas, what the Italians do with the earth’s metal is stunning whether it is a repeat performance or not.

            These masters of the jewelry trade consistently design jewelry with effortless style and beauty. Well-crafted pieces of uninhibited expression in 18k gold with a few carefully placed gemstone or no stones at all is their hallmark.

            To the Italians, jewelry is more than a whimsical accessory. Jewelry is created to fit a woman’s body—making the clothes, the piece inseparable. Let other countries spend their time discussing price points and metal weight. In Italy, the key concern is the woman and how she will look and feel while wearing the piece.

            At the Vicenza show, one of the top dates on the world trade fair calendar, many of the more high end producers were not showing their most recent designs. Chronic copying from other manufacturing countries caused companies like Stephen Hafner and La Nouvelle Bague to keep their latest creations under wraps. These firms posted notices in their display cases which read merely: “To See the New ’95 Collection, Please Request Inside.”

            Simple gold forms rippled at the eight-day show. Alfrieri & St John was just one of the Italian firms displaying a remarkable line of gold which almost seemed to breathe. Another distinguished Italian company, Baraka, combined the concept of movement with mechanics. The company exhibited a playful line of rings and bracelets of intricate detail which had a central rotating element hiding or displaying a row or barbell-shaped band set with diamonds.

            The care of the Italians when producing a piece is complete. With great skill and verve, clasps can hold center attention. For some companies such as Uno-A-Erre Italia and La Pepita, necklace and bracelet clasps were the focus and the source of the piece’s power. Clasps displayed at the trade fair were set with diamonds, gemstones, enamel or finely etched gold.

            One trend evident at the fair was the resurrection of tri-color gold. Nearly every Italian exhibitor displayed at least one piece of tri-color gold jewelry. The look originated several years ago with Cartier’s interlocking three-band ring, each band being either of yellow, pink or white gold. While tri-color gold was creative at first, it quickly became debased by mass-marketing in the United States in low-end chain necklaces and flowery rings. Now the look is high-end and sweeping across Italy. The longevity of this new trend remains to be seen. One American at the show doubted it would filter again to the US in mid-to low-end pieces.

            Peter Wong, a respected designer and opinion-maker, commented, “Anything done in three colors looks better in one color.”

            There was also a stronger production of textured gold pieces and lighter pieces.

            For these light, chunky pieces, electroforming was used and gold sheets for large convex pieces featured cut-outs of simple square, round, heart or star shapes. One company offered a convex cross pendant of 1.5 inches in length, but weighing only six grams. Another youthful look—large, but light—came from designers who formed hollow shapes set with transparent, colored enamel. When seen in the proper light, the baubles looked like panes of stained glass set in gold.

            Mesh, braided, interwoven and textured designs were also prominent. Bairo show a line of unpolished tri-color gold in a texture of fine, unbuffed lines that resembled Thai silk. Fope’s 1995 collection featured tubular mesh produced by electroforming.

            The Italian reputation as great lovers and romancers could be confirmed with a visit to an Italian jewelry exhibition. Hearts were on display everywhere—seen in pendants, rings, bangles, earrings and brooches. Nearly every exhibitor had at least one heart shaped piece of jewelry. Hearts were polished, hammered, twisted, etched, gemset, interlocked, strung, enameled and even made to overlap other hearts. A few audacious firms produced bold combinations of tri-color, texture and gemset hearts.

            Animals were also popular, and the leader of the herd was the Elephant. Elephants of gold were seen trampling over bamboo, with gemset bodies. Elephant pendants with sleepy eyes stared out at consumers strolling the aisles.

            It is apparent that the wilds of Africa hold some power over Western consumers, as do cute and cuddly animals. Zebras, giraffes, and birds of all sorts shared booth space with kittens, puppies, frogs and fish.

            Two of the most unique and well-crafted animal designs were a sting ray with a black pearl body, diamond studded tail and gemset eyes, and a gold partially kneeling camel with a star and moon over its back. One company risked the ire of animal conservationists by displaying a piece featuring a golden leopard’s carcass hanging over a chain.

            LeGi International’s line of hearts and stars set in boles of sapphire and ruby, made famous by the company’s ads featuring Claudia Schiffer, was another popular look repeated by several manufacturers.

            One designer who veered from the norm of chains, hearts and animals was Antonino Rando, and animals was Antonino Rando, an Italian sculptor and goldsmith whose pieces were unusual and provocative.

            Another unique piece of jewelry, a flexible finger sheath, came from Errecibi. The sheath was approximately two inches long and covered the entire finger. The gold mesh creation was kept in place by two bands fitted at the top and base of the finger.

            Traditional gemstones were the norm with diamond, the most popular stone and ruby, sapphire and emerald used to powerful effect. Medium-sized citrine, amethyst, aquamarine and blue topaz was also used. However, designs with the more unusual stones such as tanzanite, tsavorite and rubellites were nearly nonexistent. Although cabochons continued to be popular with Italian jewelers, more manufacturers produced pieces with faceted precious and semiprecious stones. Opaque lapis lazuli, amber and pink coral, traditional favorites of Italians and colors which set off their own warm hue, continued to be popular.

            One company which used semi precious stones with great flair was La Nouvelle Bague. The company offered jewelry featuring large-size faceted stones set with a diamond band partially covering the stone. The gold support of the stones was high and either etched in fine detail or cut-out in patterns.

            Buyer attendance at one of the year’s premier shows was brisk—with a total of 15,500 visitors, an increase of eight percent over the previous year. Attendance of foreign buyers amounted to 6,000, an impressive 20 percent rise over the 1994 show indicating a healthy worldwide market recovery and positive new year sales.

            Germans made up the largest contingent of foreign visitors, followed by the Americans who returned in force after a sluggish two years, with an increase of 30 percent. Attendance increases were seen from every corner of the world including Europe, Japan, South East Asia and South America.

            “This strong boost from foreign markets is a very positive sign.” Said Carlo Dolcetta, president of the Vicenza Trade Fair Board. “And it is not only the numbers of those attending that is significant. Important buyers came and most exhibitors seem to report having done good business.”

            After several years of recession, the Japanese market seems to have rebounded. This was evidenced by the country’s strong turnout at the show, and a giant 51 percent increase in Italian-made imports in the first nine months of 1994 over 1993, according to Andrea Turcato, executive director of the Vicenza Trade Fair Board.

            Turcato also and added that there has been major increase of South American buyers, especially from Brazil and Argentina. In November, the Vicenza Trade Fair Board sponsored a small show in Buenos Aires in which 35 Italian companies exhibited. He described the show as a success and said visitors came from all parts of South America including Chile, Colombia, Brazil and Argentine. Heavy promotion in South America also led to more Brazilians and Argentinians coming to Vicenza this year.

            The energetic trade fair board also held an exhibition in Shanghai in 1994 and plans to hold another similar show in Asia this year. The location has yet to be announced.

            There were more than 1,200 exhibitors at VicenzaOro 1—of which only a fractional share were foreign. The show was a success for the Thai jewelry manufacturers and stone dealers who exhibited including Pranda Jewelry, Yoo Lim Gold Factory, Jewel Décor, Jewel Tech International and Vatana Gems. Most of these companies were consistently busy throughout the eight-day fair.

            Although fine Italian jewelers generally do not regard Thai companies as competition in the high end of jewelry manufacturing, competition exists for the medium-to low-range gemset gold jewelry, especially for the US market.

            Said Turcato, “There is a place for both in the world market.”

            Turcato has been to Bangkok and has visited Pranda Jewelry’s pristine factory. “It can absolutely stand against other factories in the world,” he said.

            Turcato also sees Thailand as an emerging market for Italian-made chains. According to Turcato, younger Asians are buying more and more 18k gold, as opposed to the 22k and 24k gold jewelry the market has traditionally favored.

            The Vicenza Trade Fair will hold two additional jewelry shows this year: VicenzaOro II on June 10-15 and Orogemma for the local retail market on Sept 9-13.