Inhorgenta Munich 2013 Trade Fair demonstrated an impressive present-day jewelry realm of Germany. From February 22 to February 25, 2013, Messe Munchen, the main Trade Fair Centre, brought together jewelry manufacturers of Northwestern Europe from Germany, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Austria and Great Britain.
On the Trade Fair opening ceremony, Klaus Dittrich, President of the Messe Munchen Trade Fair Centre, in his cordial welcome speech noted that the year 2013 was a jubilee one for Inhorgenta.
“On 27 April 1974, the first Inhorgenta – with 210 exhibitors from 19 countries – opened its doors, so this year it takes place for the 40th time. The central question here was: what do the buyers find in Munich which they don’t find somewhere else? The answer was simple: ‘affordable luxury’, i.e. jewelry and timepieces from the mid- to high-price luxury segment. In this area, INHORGENTA MUNICH reflects the current trends in the market and offers them a platform. In jubilee year, we have fundamentally strengthened our international orientation thanks to a large number of new exhibitors from abroad – from Italy, for example, but also from Spain, Greece and Turkey. Starting today, a total of 1,237 exhibitors from 38 countries are exhibiting their latest collections at the New Munich Trade Fair Centre. For the first time, INHORGENTA MUNICH occupies seven halls at the Munich trade fair centre and thus an area of 76,000 square meters.”
Simple geometric patterns hit a visitor’ eye at the Trade Fair. Surely, it is fashionable, but it is only one of the design trends in fashion-oriented jewelry displayed at Inhorgenta. A variety of chains, necklaces, bracelets, handbags made of all kinds of materials including ceramics, wood, textiles, leather of various animals, bones, fish scales, a variety of silver and gold alloys – all these are modern ideas of the designers of our century.
Eight jewelry companies exhibited in Couture Las Vegas jewelry show became honorary guests for the first time at this Trade Fair and they were very much pleased with the results of their participation in the Fair.
A great variety of booths displaying the highlights of the engagement rings draw the buyers’ attention. Wedding jewelry is among the segments that will exist for ever. The price range for these rings is now so wide that it can satisfy any customer. Trauringe Rubin, a German manufacturer, succeeded in attracting most of the visitor by staking on the magnificent booth advertising and the live performance by a Marilyn Monroe double. The appeal was deserving attention as the eternal love symbol is only diamonds, so there was no compromise on the choice – a ring for the girl you love could be definitely crowned with a diamond. A US jewelry designer proposed the diamond wedding rings in elegant black platinum which is a combination for those who values investments.
The success of any event lies in thorough planning and in this respect, unfortunately, it should be noted that the marketing aspect of the Trade Fair left much to be desired. The Business Programme was planned for four exhibition days but not every participant was aware of it, which explained the scarce attendance at the workshops. For outstanding seminars declared, the best speakers and experts were chosen with whom it was possible to discuss the issues of manufacturing technology, its future aspects, current trends and innovations, sales channels and business success. Every day, there were discussion meetings held with the participation of leading experts, industry representatives and popular bloggers.
Veit Haug, Head of Creative Industries Division at Wirtschaftsförderung Region Stuttgart GmbH., introduced the discussion to the topic “Augmented reality as a marketing instrument.” Dr. Katrien De Corte, Head of Education Department of HRD, Antwerp, made an educative lecture about the synthetic diamond nature “ABC of CVD synthetic diamonds”. Edahn Golan, an analyst of IDEX, made a presentation at the workshop with his analysis “Diamond prices and forces that shape them”, in which he commented on the polished prices behavior during large trade fairs. Mark van Bockstael, an expert from Antwerp, delivered a lecture “Kimberly process – the real story”.
High-tech equipment, well-known German jewelry manufacturing machines have a specific place in Hall A2. The buyers show special confidence when ordering German-made equipment. One customer commented “I do not spend money on equipment - I invest it in the successful business. Of course, there are many cheaper machines in the market, but 10 years of steady production is of more importance to me than some saving within 3 to 4 years.”
Special attention was paid by the hosts to the design of the recreation areas. There were many comfy bars and lounges offered that distinguish Inhorgenta from other similar trade fairs thanks to its quite and comfortable German hospitality.
An unusual idea of the Trade Fair Centre architects impressed by its warm alive pond located in front of the main entrance among the winter cold with swans swimming gracefully and seagulls flying agile. An ‘artificial iceberg’ towered over the pond.
When asked about the outcome of the Trade Fair and the related expectations, the exhibitors gave rather diverse answers. Some high-end jewelry manufacturers remained very pleased as they got new customers. The mid-price jewelry manufacturers - as they expected - received orders from the constant customers. The new-comers were disappointed as they had only a few buyers. Gem dealers from Asia were pessimistic and the diamond dealers from Antwerp were indignant as no interest was expressed towards their goods.
Having made a couple of tours around the Trade Fair halls, one comes to an only conclusion: the goods stocks of the jewelry manufacturers many times outstrips the consumer demand. The low demand growth publicly noted by the optimists can not compare with the manufacture growth at all, as well as with the quantity of new goods on the market.
An average European buyer does not change his tastes often and he is more interested in a reasonable price. But the jewelers are up-and-doing to satisfy the customers’ requirements and manufacture all kinds of jewelry. However, there exist another type of customers – they are older and interested in classic designs but they also buy high-end fashionable jewelry willingly because their priority is their status in the society and investment into the valuables. It seems that it is the customer category making up to 15 percent that fuels the demand for high-end jewelry.
Veronika Novosyolova, Rough&Polished, Munich
