The 14th Amberif International Fair of Amber, Jewellery and Gemstones, the world’s largest event dedicated to amber, has come to a close.
Exhibitors and visitors
This year, 480 exhibitors including 71 foreign companies from 14 countries took part in the Fair. The foreign contingent was represented in the greatest numbers by Italy (43) and Lithuania (12). The International Exhibition Centre has run into the same problem as the organisers of Baselworld some time ago, namely, insufficient exhibition space. This issue is to be solved by a new exhibition hall with an area of 3,000 m2, planned for opening this September. (See
interview with Ewa Rachon, Amberif’s Executive Manager).
Over the first four days, Amberif was attended by some 6,500 trade visitors from 40 countries: representatives of manufacturing companies, wholesalers, galleries, jewellery and watch shops, as well as representatives of museums and scientific institutions. From the very first day, the Amber Hall was abuzz with activity and so it remained until the end of the Fair. It is worth noting that the final day of Amberif is traditionally open for the non-industry public (2,600 tickets were sold).
Generally speaking, the atmosphere at the Fair was quite good, the exhibitors and the visitors were pleased with the number and the quality of the transactions they made – for many of them, this was the best edition of Amberif so far. Certainly, this state of affairs is influenced by the unexpectedly high turnover in the jewellery and watch industry in 2006 in Poland and abroad and the optimistic forecasts for 2007. The good feeling was not spoiled by the incident with the theft of diamonds worth USD 1.5 million (The Gdańsk International Fair Co. (MTG S.A.) has set a reward of PLN 20,000 for help in apprehending the thief).
It is still uncertain to what extent the Fair’s success, in terms of exhibitor and visitor satisfaction, is due to the organiser’s decision to extend the event by one day. Everyone is now waiting for another important decision, this time on the dates of next year’s Amberif. The decision will be based on the results of a survey of this year’s exhibitors and visitors.
On the design trends in amber jewellery
The exhibitors offered mainly Baltic amber jewellery, the lion’s share of which was invariably set in silver. However, there is a growing trend for elaborate settings made of more expensive materials such as gold or diamonds, which increases their attractiveness and helps to increase amber’s prestige as an ornamental gemstone. One of the most interesting design ideas at the Fair was the combination of amber with colour wool from well-known Gdańsk artist Paulina Binek. Her innovative approach, was appreciated by the expert jury of the
Mercurius Gedanensis Jewellery Competition and the Amberif public. In contrast to last year, this year’s Amberif did not feature very many new ideas. Generally speaking, however, the designs offered by the companies and the designers are getting more and more nimble and inventive each year. It is still trendy to combine amber with colour stones: onyx, turquoise, amethyst, citrine and quartz, so that the necklaces and bracelets become joyful and full of life. There is also a greater tendency to use natural amber in settings which underscore its beauty and are made with minimal intervention into the stone itself. It looks like the work and effort put into popularising the value and properties of natural amber is slowly yielding results. It used to be the artists who appreciated natural amber’s qualities, now the manufacturers have followed in their footsteps.
Seminars
Amberif was accompanied by a number of seminars. The seminar on diamond certification and the visual identification of synthetic gemstones organised by the Association of Jewellery Experts (SRJ) and the Diamond High Council (HRD) met with a lot of interest. A large audience came to the seminar on Trends in Jewellery 2008+ by Paolo Novembri of the TJF Group. The seminar entitled Baltic Amber – Geology was held under the auspices of the Museum of the Earth of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) and the
International Amber Association. Yet again, Amberif played host to the academic session on Artistic Craftsmanship and Design in Poland developed by the
Toruń Branch of the Art Historians’ Association. The Fair in Gdańsk is an opportunity for the representatives of all the Polish jewellery industry organisations to meet at the Polish Jewellers’ Forum headed by the
Polish Commercial Chamber of Amber (KIGB).
Competitions
For years, the Gdańsk International Fair Co. (MTG S.A.) has been supporting non-commercial activities to promote amber. To this end the MTG S.A. organises the Elektronos Amberif Design Award International Competition for the
Design of Jewellery with Amber and the
Mercurius Gedanensis Jewellery Competition. The results of these competitions, just like the results of, the
National Competition for Goldsmiths and Jewellers, organised by the Trade Committee of Goldsmiths and Jewellers at the Pomeranian Craft Chamber of SMEs in partnership with the Gdańsk International Fair Co. (MTG S.A.), were announced at the Amber and Fashion Gala. The Gala was also an opportunity for the on-stage introduction of the winners of the Polish Jeweller Magazine Amberif Stand Award: Monika & Co. of Wo³omin (Poland) and Kim-Art of Warsaw (Poland). Awarded by the students of the Academy of Fine Art and Design in £ód¼, the Amber Sphere is an extremely valuable distinction. This year the Amber Sphere went to Wojciech Kalandyk’s Art 7 company of Gdańsk.
