RAPAPORT... For the Russian jewelry industry, Junwex, held in St. Petersburg, is the first major show of the year. One of the country’s biggest jewelry exhibitions, this year’s event, held February 6 to 10, was an opportunity for dealers to scout for early indications of the latest style, color and fashion trends and to gain some insight into what will be in jewelry shops this year.
Svetlana Khramova, commercial director of Jewelers of Ural, one of Russia’s oldest jewelry makers, who has been attending trade shows for 20 years, summed up what wholesalers were seeking this year as the same thing they always look for — something out of the ordinary. They don’t want boring; they want something unique and fresh, she explained.
Junwex 2008 offered the more than 15,000 dealers attending an abundance of opportunities to seek out the unique and fresh from approximately 700 participants in the more than 200,000 square feet of exhibition space, located on a picturesque bay. The dealers, who came from throughout Russia, were looking to replenish their inventory for Women’s Day on March 8, a popular gift-giving Russian holiday that accounts for almost one-third of the year’s jewelry sales.
“Our goal is to strengthen trade ties,” said Valery Budny, the director general of Restec Junwex, the organizer of the show. “It’s all about Russian producers. We want to support the regions.”
With cheerful shoulder slapping, handshakes and laughs reverberating around the six pavilions, the show is reminiscent of a school reunion. Yet there was intense business going on.
WHAT’S SELLINGWhen it comes to what is selling and what is in demand, show attendees had mixed opinions. “What sells is either something cheap or something very expensive,” said Khramova, explaining that demand is at the two ends of the price spectrum. Most larger producers prepared their collections for the show accordingly. As much as 80 percent of the displays was mass-market jewelry, with the remaining items standing out not only by price tag, but also the uniqueness of their designs. Jewelry with diamonds made up the bulk of the items at both the high and low ends.
The most expensive offering at Junwex 2008 was a 45.45-carat, cushion-shape diamond by Kristall Smolensk. The price tag of $2.7 million makes it the most expensive stone ever cut by the company. The weight is significant: Kristall Smolensk celebrates its 45th anniversary this year. “The diamond is most likely to be bought by a private collector,” says Nikolay Afanasiev, the deputy director of Kristall.
“Among diamonds, round cut stones of any size up to 0.30 carat are the best sellers,” said Ilya Adamsky, the commercial director of Moscow Jewelry Factory. Jewelers at the show said that most sales are between $500 and $700, yet the segment of $1,000 to $3,000 also is growing very fast. Sales of more expensive jewelry are also increasing.
“If the central stone is over 1 carat, then people are interested in fantasy forms,” said Svetlana Rakhmanina from Ekaterinburg-based Rifesta. She added that there are more people in the market who understand diamonds and have a clear idea of what they need. Many at the show also noted that more people are asking for bigger stones but of lower quality.
CLASSICS DOMINATE
Classic design dominated at Junwex. There were numerous variations of dangle earrings and of rings with one stone surrounded by melees. Jewelry with melee only was also in abundance. Russians have a heart for melee if the design reminds them of Italian design. “People are getting tired of melee; they want something different,” said Dmitry Gavrilenko from Estet.
Outside the realm of standard one-stone classic rings and dangle earrings, the show featured a mosaic of styles and designs — the only rule was the pieces had to impress. “People are interested in intricate design,” said Irina Shadrina from Golden Orchid. “They are self-sufficient, they want to express their character” and, she said, they “become less price sensitive” when impressed with the design.
Some companies bet on unusual designs. Jewellers of Ural presented hair ornaments in the form of butterflies in diamonds and white gold, linked together by gold chains. Moscow-based Almaz-Holding showed diamond-studded computer mice and USB Flash Cards.
Yet, when it came to the winning design, it was the classic, not the original, that took home the award. The winner of the show’s St. Petersburg Laurel competition in diamond jewelry was a classic diamond design set named Empress by St. Petersburg jewelers Elena and Vadim Soloviev. The topaz gemstones surrounded by diamonds looked as if they came out of the Hermitage collection. “Our collections are saturated with the spirit of St. Petersburg,” said Elena Solovieva, who created the collection along with her husband. The set was ordered by a woman who is assembling a collection of jewelry for her daughter.
Both small and large jewelry makers came up with exclusive jewelry designs for this show. Demand for exclusive items has been increasing every year, from both shop owners and individual buyers who come to the show to search out a truly unique item. “The work of Russian designers is less expensive than work being done in the West, so the exclusive things come at a lower price here,” explained Svetlana Maksimova from Casting House, a company specializing in Yakutia-cut diamonds. Manufacturers said that there is less competition in the high-end segment and as costs keep going up, it is not profitable to do cheap things. “It’s difficult to compete with imported cheap jewelry. With exclusive pieces, we found our niche,” says Roman Fedorov from Russkiye Samotsveti, one of the oldest St. Petersburg companies, which organized a grand showcase of its exclusive jewelry and tableware.
Although Junwex was primarily targeted at Russian companies, foreign jewelers from ten countries attended. “The Russian market is growing, while our market is dropping,” said Karl Leugn from Hong Kong–based Noble Jewelry Ltd. “And Russians like our fancy intricate design.” Choron Diamond announced at Junwex that it would market Italian gold jewelry under the trademarked brand Gold Expressions, which represents 60 Italian designers and is owned by the World Gold Council (WGC). “Russians love Italian design,” said Rajesh Gandhi, director general of Choron Diamond.
In addition to trading, Junwex 2008 included seminars and roundtable discussions. The topics ranged from bookkeeping to marketing to dealing with corruption. Yet, Junwex attendees said the most important role of the show was getting connected with their old and new clients. “The organizer invested a lot in attracting people to the show, so the payoff was good,” said Nikolay Zhuravlev from Kristall Smolensk.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - March 2008. To subscribe click here.