The VIII International Amber Forum 2025, the largest event in the industry, organized by the Kaliningrad Amber Combine of the Rostec State Corporation, was held in Moscow from July 31 to August 3.
The forum, usually held in Svetlogorsk in the Kaliningrad Region, was moved to the Russian capital, where it gathered over 30,000 visitors on the territory of VDNKh, including industry professionals, investors, experts, collectors, designers and foreign guests.
The exhibition and fair of amber products became the center of attention for participants and guests: 40 leading manufacturers created new collections of products specifically for this annual event and presented 100,000 jewelry and souvenirs made of the Baltic stone. 90% of the products presented in Moscow had never been exhibited anywhere before.
The visitors highly appreciated the range of items, their originality of design and level of execution. During the exhibition and fair, most of the items were sold - almost 70%.
"Sales during the forum showed that attention to Russian amber is huge both domestically and abroad. Our task is to support this interest. We focus on technology, design and direct communication with new markets," emphasized Mikhail Zatsepin, CEO of the Kaliningrad Amber Factory.
The main event of the forum's business program was the plenary session "The Future of the Amber Industry". Its participants discussed the prospects for entering new international markets, as well as technological challenges, digital transformation and training of personnel for the industry. Particular attention was paid to the launch of a system for marking amber products (using artificial intelligence technologies), which should ensure transparency of their origin and reduce the share of counterfeit goods on the market.
Traditionally, the forum also hosted an auction of rare amber, the only one in the world and the first time it was organized in Moscow. Unique samples, including nuggets and inclusions, made up 50 lots, of which 41 were sold, with the final prices for some of them exceeding the starting prices several times. Collectors and companies from Russia, Kuwait and Hong Kong took part in the auction.
A bright and memorable event for the forum guests was the premiere of the fashion collection "Russian Soul" - a catwalk featuring clothes with amber elements, where "the Baltic gemstone appears as a modern decorative and cultural symbol".
Sponsors of AmberForum'25 - Bank Novikom and RT-Finance (part of the Rostec State Corporation).
Galina Semyonova, Editor in Chief of the Russian Bureau, Rough&Polished
