On May 11-14, one of the world’s most significant exhibitions of jewelry and precious stones took place in Geneva. We have collected the opinions of experts in the jewelry industry: consultant Donatella Zappieri, influencer Katerina Perez, expert, lector and literary editor Elena Veselova and and founder of the designer jewelry marketplace Delagem.com Inesa Bachurina.
GemGeneve was created by Thomas Faerber and Ronny Totah, two recognized professionals, long-time friends who worked together to create a show like no other, bringing together exhibitors from all over the world.
GemGeneve represents a unique meeting hub between jewelry designers, gemstone dealers, retailers, collectors and enthusiasts. Created by exhibitors for exhibitors, Gem Geneva offers a platform for expression bringing together passion, expertise and education.
Katerina Perez:
“Why do I love visiting GemGeneve? First of all because of the curation of exhibitors – everyone participating in the annual event is TOP. Best gem dealers and art jewellers meet under the same roof to showcase their exquisite jewels and gemstones to the audience.
Second reason is the educational talks – there is a number of them taking place every day… at 4pm I will be doing mine talking about the changes in the industry within the 10 years that I have been actively present.
Thirdly, this is the place to discover! You have to explore different areas of the exhibition for the full experience and see the section with gouache artists, books, gemmology exploration etc.. they are dotted around the fair.”
Elena Veselaya:
“What can you say about the GemGeneve exhibition in general? From the very beginning (five years ago), everyone wondered where the new undertaking would lead, bringing together the best stones, antique galleries and young designers.
Today it is obvious: the exhibition defines itself as BtoB – there are more and more stone sellers, all the rarest and best are brought to Geneva, and you can meet the world’s most famous jewelers who come for stones. For some special samples there is a real struggle.
At the same time, the design side noticeably sags – new people do not come, those who exhibited a couple of times in the past left dissatisfied – there are practically no people at the exhibition who would be interested in young design (not to see, but to buy). So obviously something needs to be done about it. For example, change the curator.
Antiquarians feel great – their showcases contain treasures from previous eras, and you can buy a biography quite inexpensively.”
In her blog, Elena presented a video of the ring from the Ukrainian project Strong & Precious Drutis Jewelery.
The work of Ukrainian jewelers was also noted by Donatella Zappieri:
“First stop of the day is Strong & Precious, the corner devoted to Ukrainian jewelry designers!
This diamond pendant by Drutis Jewelery contains a caleidoscope and you can actually admire stones composition inside. Too bad I cannot show you what I could admire when rotating the pave rondelles.”
Inesa Bachurina:
“I am happy that the world notices and appreciates the work of Ukrainian masters. Our Delagem.com platform also features Ukrainian brands. The same Rokah that was exhibited at GemGeneve in November 2022.”
All experts unanimously noted the work of the Chinese designer Wallis Hong.
Katerina Perez:
“The most extravagant jewel of this edition of GemGeneve exhibition is surely displayed at Wallis Hong salon… He used titanium to create this crocodile brooch with textured skin that is both voluminous and light. The creature is holding a purple sapphire in it’s jaw and is embellished with more sapphires and diamonds…”
Donatella Zappieri:
“For the second time Wallis Hong is showing his wonderful collections GemGeneve in the Emerging talents area selected by Nadege Totah. Stunning pieces in titanium and aluminum with gems and diamonds.
The delicacy of his artwork is really amazing, balanced by the color shades which are always in line with the stone color selection.”
And of course, the experts highly appreciated the gems presented at the exhibition.
Katerina Perez:
“I am dreaming of turning these layouts of aquamarines and morganites that I spotted at HC Arnoldi into an unconventional jewellery set… I like it how the pastel colours add a bit of subtlety to the stones while the cut gives them an edge – this mix made this layout stood out for me at GemGeneve.”
Elena Veselova:
“There are many stones on GemGeneve – the most selective ones. Vendors are eager to brag about rarities – my old Nomad’s friends show off a 200-carat tsavorite, a huge aquamarine and a stunning tangerine garnet.”
Inesa Bachurina:
“We see an actively growing demand for jewelry with colored stones. And the growth in the number of participants in the show only confirms this. After pearl jewelry and drop earrings, colored gemstone jewelry is the third most popular category on our platform.”
In addition to the beautiful Ukrainian project Strong & Precious, the category of young talents did not show anything previously unknown. The selection of participants was, as always, perfectly curated.
Katerina Perez:
“It was a pleasure to explore Asian culture through Austy Lee ring and earrings inspired by the fan. Can you guess what the centre stone here is?
Donatella Zappieri:
“In the very contemporary mood of “quiet luxury”, Faerber I discovered this truly elegant collection of diamond rings.
Each stone is one of a kind, special for its cut, color, dimension and the setting is designed to enhance such peculiarity.
As an example, the oval ring carries a 3,48 color IF stone and most of the rings plating are in soft gold tones , sometimes brushed and the gold proportion is never overwhelming the stone beauty.”
Katerina Perez:
“At Lia Lam, courageous creativity meets fine jewellery artistry. In a dance of design and concept, Lia’s architectural pieces express meaning in a minimal and poetic form.
Handcrafted to order in London, Lia’s pieces are made with recycled gold and set with traceable gemstones and diamonds of exquisite quality.
I love the concept as each single piece has a specific meaning sublimated by excellent manufacturing and savoir faire.
Donatella Zappieri:
Serendipity Jewelry showed a wonderful collection of precious gems. Look at this ring and tell me how amazing it is!
