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| Wolfram Diener (center) reading a prepared statement during a press conference at the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair. Photo credit: Anthony DeMarco |
UBM Asia has announced that it is entering the European
market with Jewellery & Gem Fair – JGF Europe 2014, to be held in April 1 -
4, 2014 at the Messe Freiburg Exhibition and Convention Centre in Freiburg,
Germany.
Wolfram Diener, senior VP, UBM Asia, Ltd., who made the
announcement Thursday during a press conference at the September Hong KongJewellery & Gem Fair, made it a point to note its convenience to major
jewelry trading hubs, such as Antwerp, Paris and Vicenza. What it’s really close
to in both timing and distance is Baselworld, the world’s largest and most
important watch and jewelry fair held in Basel, Switzerland. The two cities are
so close that I stayed in Freiburg two years ago while attending Baselworld.
Diener downplayed that the new tradeshow will compete with
Baselworld for exhibitors and buyers.
“It wouldn’t be our notion to rely on any other exhibitions
for our success and lack of success and we expect that we can draw exhibitors
or buyers from another show,” he said. “I think we have to build our own
success. As for the timing of the event, it’s really difficult with a full
calendar of jewelry tradeshows to not clash or be close to any other shows.”
However, a UBM official told me afterward that JGF Europe is
most likely positioned to indeed compete with Baselworld. If this is true, then
it will be the battle of titans. The September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem
Fair, which UBM owns, is the largest fine jewelry tradeshow in the world.
However, as already noted, Baselworld is the largest watch and jewelry show in
the world. It is also the world’s most prestigious tradeshow and it is where
trends are set in the watch and jewelry world each year.
One thing that the new show will not be involved with, at
least at this time, is watches, which is the lifeblood of Baselworld.
There are plenty of jewelry trade fairs in Europe but Diener
says that the continent lacks “a real and comprehensive sourcing fair.” This
new show is an attempt to fill this void.
“JGF Europe is positioned as high efficiency, high level,
face-to-face jewelry business platform that will create real business value for
the international suppliers and buyers,” he said. “It’s going to be a
comprehensive jewelry show with jewelry, raw material and packaging and
equipment”, he said. “It’s going to be a good balance of European and
non-European exhibitors. That will be refreshingly different from other shows
in Europe.”
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