UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 18 APRIL 2018
BA (Hons) International Jewellery Business students recently spent a week in Vicenza, Italy, including a visit to the world-famous Vicenzaoro festival.
Vicenzaoro is the largest show in Europe for Gold and Jewellery, and brings together the best and brightest in the gold and jewellery world. A great access into the European markets, Russian speaking countries and the Middle East, the event is the perfect place in which to develop business and relationships. It’s also an opportunity to understand the latest trends in terms of style and design on the gold and jewellery market.
Students spent three days exploring the luxury trade fare visiting stands, talking with retailers, manufacturers and suppliers such as Faberge and the designer at J Jewels, the sophisticated jewellery brand. It was a chance for students to gain first-hand experience of the international jewellery market, meeting some of the biggest names in the industry.
The brief for the exploration of technology used in the jewellery industry. They had the opportunity to attend a talk hosted by Birmingham City University’s Dr Ann-Marie Carey on technology used within the heritage sector at the Vicenza Fair.
The week’s itinerary also included two behind-the-scenes factory visits. The first was to Nuovi Gioelli, design-led jewellery experts who are integrating the use of the ‘Sisma’ laser sintering machine into their prototyping and manufacturing processes. This additive manufacturing technology is still relatively new to the jewellery industry and Nuovi are at the forefront of design and production. The second visit was to Ciemmeo; a manufacturer of chains. They develop all of their production tools in-house and combine with laser technology for an automated process.
Students then had the chance to join the MA Luxury Jewellery Management cohort for a technology fact finding activity. The group visited T-Gold, a demonstration, machinery and technology hall before venturing into Vincenza itself to an exhibition at the jewellery museum ‘Museo del Gioiello’.
A key element of working in the jewellery industry is exploring different cultural environments and understanding trends across the world. This tip gave students real world context and will undoubtedly help shape their future career.