“We aim to put even more emotion into the world of gemstones than before,” says trade fair head Kai-Uwe Hille. “After all, selling fine jewellery involves real feelings.” Around 120 exhibitors and 3500 visitors from around the world, including top buyers from major jewellers and luxury jewellery brands, are expected at the trade fair, which will culminate in a big trade fair party at Oberstein Castle on Saturday night. “And this counts for the whole event in the halls with our catering plan too – a great opportunity for specialists to celebrate while sharing news and views and forging new contacts,” says Hille.
This year’s programme includes sales coaching seminars for jewellers to come up to speed on everything they need to know about gemstones and share it with their customers. Hille explains: “What is important to us is to arouse enthusiasm for these precious stones amongst jewellers and their staff and to pass that enthusiasm on to their customers. We have lots of exciting stories to tell in the gemstone industry – where these gemstones came from, their history and tradition in cutting and polishing, what it takes to get them out of the ground in the first place, their peculiarities and the many steps it takes to turn an unassuming raw material into a gleaming jewel.” A showcase production line will be set up in the foyer to demonstrate this. Masters of the craft from leading Idar-Oberstein companies will be showing the path a rough stone takes to become a perfect jewel. Every step from cutting and polishing to setting will be shown. The lobby will also be transformed into a place of discovery with an immersive multimedia installation on the arcane world of gemstone mining. “Idar-Oberstein is a world-class hub of the gemstone industry,” Kai-Uwe Hille says. “We’ve taken this new approach towards documenting the outstanding craftsmanship of exhibitors – cutting shops, equipment suppliers and jewellery designers – and presenting the entire value chain that makes Idar-Oberstein’s position so valuable, all in an accessible way.” Sounds intriguing? www.intergem.de
