The annual “Jewelry Week” in Las Vegas has become a fixture on the North American jewellery calendar. Composed of several major shows in three separate and diverse venues, it covers everything from cash-and-carry mass-production items to elaborate oneof-a-kind designer creations. While this year there generally seemed to be a good level of enthusiasm for the week of jewels, the glitter was far from uniform.
The largest jewellery trade show in North America, JCK returned this year to the Sands Expo and Convention Center, where it took place from 1992 to 2010, until it relocated to Mandalay Bay at the other end of the Las Vegas Strip in 2011. JCK’s move back to the newly renovated Sands Expo was welcomed by retailers who could now merely walk across the street to Emerald Exposition’s upmarket Couture Show.
Another major change from last year was the absence of the AGTA GemFair at JCK. Apparently, the two organisations could not reach a mutually acceptable financial arrangement to keep the GemFair at its traditional location in the periphery of JCK. To make up for this important participant, JCK created a Global Gemstone area, made up of the ICA Pavilion, the Fine Gems Pavilion and three other gemstone areas.
As for AGTA, Emerald Expositions stepped in and offered the GemFair a prime spot at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), a few minutes’ drive from JCK and Couture. Here, the GemFair shared space with the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch Show and the newly created Premier section, intended to be a lower-cost, designfocused alternative to Couture and JCK’s Luxury Show. Together, these three shows were marketed as “The Collective.”
Impressions
At a time of declining attendance at trade shows, e-commerce competition, and store closings in North America, one might question the relevance of trade shows at all. This year, while official statistics have not been published at the time of going to press, it was clear anecdotally that there were fewer buyers in attendance. The aisles were less crowded, the booths less busy, the ambience more subdued.
A somewhat minor exception was the Couture Show, with its always-elegant, more intimate feel. The aisles and many booths seemed busy, although some were not, especially the newer exhibitors. There were also several new faces, replacing exhibitors that had dropped out for whatever reason, including many long-standing ones. Over at Luxury (JCK’s version of Couture), the exhibitors I spoke with generally reported decent to good contacts and sales on the first two days. I did not attend the show those days, but did notice a definite lack of visitors on the third and fourth days at Luxury.
The busiest part of all the shows seemed to be the tools and equipment section, located on the ground level of JCK. Here, traffic was heavy, with 3D printing options being the main draw. As technology expands and costs come down, 3D printing offers myriad possibilities for small and large designers alike. This would imply, then, that the industry continues to move forward. A good sign, perhaps.
Clearly, any major change such as JCK’s relocation to the Sands would have growing pains, and this move was certainly no exception. The most obvious problems involved the Global Gemstone area that opened a day earlier than JCK. I visited the area four times over the five-day show, and it was virtually empty each time. While a few exhibitors reported good sales, most were disappointed. Since the Luxury Show was right above it on the second floor, it is strange that more people did not visit the area. The majority of exhibitors cited the lack of pre-show marketing and signage as reasons for the low turnout.
Over at the LVCC, exhibitors at the Antique Show and AGTA Gemfair reported brisk sales on the opening day and a few good mornings. In general, however, buyer attendance was disappointing. AGTA offered free Uber and Lyft rides to the show as well as opportunities for substantial sweepstakes prizes that retailers could win at the show. At Premier, which featured many interesting new designers, along with a few mass-production companies, visitor attendance was very low.
Having said all the above, maybe this lower level of attendance and sales is now par for the course. Maybe it reflects the new reality of trade shows. Maybe trade shows, while still relevant, need to adapt somehow to this new reality.
On a more positive note, JCK announced the results of its second annual “JCK State of the Jewelry Industry Report.” It indicated that 86% of those surveyed are optimistic about business for the next year, a slight decrease from 88% last year. The main challenges they see are online competition (67%), overall economic climate (56%), lack of general consumer demand (50%), and lack of millennial demand (40%). Social media was the most popular advertising platform among respondents, while Facebook and Instagram were the most popular for customer engagement (each 74%).
Trends and more
There was one sure thing about all the shows—the high level of creativity by many designers from around the world who participated. Although there was nothing dramatically new in terms of trends, the way the traditional formats were interpreted was creative and modern. From simple to sophisticated, hoops took on new life, rings became more ornate, necklaces made bigger and more innovative statements. Geometrical shapes evolved into new forms while rainbow coloured jewels continued their growing popularity. Enamel was also more apparent this year in a variety of jewels.
In terms of stones, there was an increased use of gem slices accented with other gemstones and/or diamonds in earrings, rings and pendants, while the more “natural” gems such as agate, druzies, malachite and other “ornamental” stones were used in high-end creations. Aside from the traditional Big Three (ruby, sapphire, emerald), Paraiba tourmaline (both Brazilian and African) was popular as were morganite and aquamarine. Tourmaline, especially the “lagoon” colour was also in high demand.
Continuing its popularity over the last few years, spinel seemed to be the “gem of the season”, with the “cobalt blue” variety the “colour of the season”. One dealer offered an amazing 10-carat cobalt blue spinel for prices hovering around a whopping $100,000 per carat, even though somewhat less for smaller stones.
Although not a design trend as such, a rising and inexorable shift in this industry is the awareness and acceptance of sustainability and social and environmental responsibility, topics discussed at several seminars during the week. The emphasis was on how jewellers can tell stories that resonate with consumers to make them feel good about their purchases. Most talks centred on the mined diamond industry, which is trying to pull the narrative back from the lab-grown sector that is marketing the ecofriendly and socially-responsible aspects of their stones – both hotly contested assertions.
On the retail side, an example was a talk by Lisa Bridges of Ben Bridges Jewelers, a North American retail jewellery chain. She spoke about the company’s responsible and sustainable supply chain, insisting that a retail jewellery chain can be commercially successful while sourcing materials responsibly and being involved in the communities where these materials come from.
India Pavilion in Las Vegas
In addition to a number of Indian brands exhibiting at the various shows in Las Vegas, the GJEPC organised the India Pavilion for the 16th consecutive year at JCK. Featuring 40 gem and jewellery exporters, the Pavilion showcased a variety of trendy jewels made especially for the USA market.
“The US is a significant market for the Indian gem and jewellery industry,” explained Pramod Agrawal, GJEPC chairman. “India exported $10.58 billionworth of products to the US in 2018. The rising GDP growth, employment rate and private consumption expenditure in the US have contributed to the rise in India’s exports of gems and jewellery to the market.”
This year, the India Pavilion featured an exclusive India Design Gallery, showcasing some of the pieces created under the theme of Cosmos for the GJEPC’s Artisan Design Awards, and a representation of US consumer trends in 2020. The jewellery features a variety of cosmic elements in intricately crafted rings, pendants, earrings, bracelets and more.
New 2020 show dates
To avoid having the issues of some exhibitors missing the show on Saturday, JCK has announced that the 2020 show will take place from Tuesday, June 2nd to Friday, June 5th. Emerald Expositions, organiser of the Couture Show and the new “Collective” at the Las Vegas Convention Center, has not yet announced the dates of its shows.