JB Insights
VICENZAORO JANUARY 2025 confirms its success as leading international business and networking platform
The show saw 1,300 brands, increase in international attendance and buyers from 145 countries
Vicenzaoro January 2025, the event of reference for the global jewellery industry and the starting point of the sector’s global calendar. The edition not only confirmed last year’s exceptional numbers, it also touched the international dimension record: in fact, foreign visitation – greater than that of Italians – reached the extraordinary participation number of 145 countries from all over the world , with Turkey, the United States, Germany, Spain and Greece in the lead and interesting increases in countries such as North Korea and Australia.

“We have won the internationality challenge,” commented Corrado Peraboni, CEO of Italian ExhibitionGroup, in regard to Vicenzaoro January 2025. “Several years ago, we decided to develop our leading products abroad. A successful strategy that has decisively increased foreign visitation at our most important events in Italy.”



Matteo Farsura, head of IEG’s gold and jewellery division, underlined: “With 1,300 brands and the involvement of the entire jewellery supply chain, from technologies to haute joaillerie, Vicenzaoro confirms its position as a global platform of reference, favouring dialogue among the different segments to meet the needs of the various markets.
US retailers were out in force at the Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) event staged in the Vicenza show. In attendance were buyers from leading companies, such as Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Saks Off 5th, Ben Bridge Jeweler, Diane Glynn Jewelry, and Manfredi Jewels.







“Vicenzaoro was a fruitful experience where I filled some orders and discovered unique, well-crafted jewelry,” Lisa Vinicur of Pennsylvania-based Diane Glynn Jewelry told Rapaport News. “I specifically sought important pieces like bangles, earrings, necklaces, and rings that are only available in Vicenza, and I’m pleased to say I found them.”
“Although the venue had construction happening, [the organizers] increased the signage to make the show easy to navigate,” said Nina Bruno of Macy’s, based in New York. “We are always shopping for new inspiration in chains. We were pleased to see fresh manipulations in chains and innovative diamond cutting.”








Laura Barringer, Seattle-based senior buyer at Ben Bridge Jeweler, said the brand refilled all of its core selections and resourced and created a new collection it hoped to launch this spring. Managing partner of New York-based Manfredi Jewels Bianca Chiappelloni explained that part of the show’s draw is the ability to access Italian companies in one place. “It’s been beneficial for us to visit with so many of our Italian brands, in most cases seeing a much more complete and fuller showcase of their offerings than we see at some of the shows in the US,” she said
Vicenzaoro was held in conjunction with T.Gold, which showcased the excellence of the sector’s technologies (a T.Gold that, thanks to the Expo Centre’s expansion, will be staged inside the Vicenzaoro areas as of the second half of 2026), and VO Vintage, the fine vintage watch show, and the collaboration with Vicenza Municipality at VIOFF, the experiential off-show event that involved guests from all over the world.








A “rhythm” of business and innovation that never stopsbut continues for twelve months a year in a unicum of Italian Exhibition Group appointments and jewellery & fashion projects all over the world. IEG’s agenda will see OROAREZZO in May, SIJE in Singapore in July, Vicenzaoro September at the end of the summer (and the return of VO’Clock Privé) preceded by the new Vicenza Symposium, the Valenza Jem Forum in October, JGTD Dubai in November, and the Italian Jewellery Summit in Arezzo in December.
JB Insights
The Silver Shift: India Navigates A Calibrated Transition To Mandatory Silver Hallmarking
Unlike The Mature Gold Compliance Culture, Silver Represents A Fragmented Landscape, Requiring A Highly Nuanced Regulatory Strategy.
India’s silver industry is undergoing a steady transformation toward a formalised and traceable ecosystem. Driven by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the sector is transitioning toward mandatory silver hallmarking via a calibrated approach that balances regulatory goals with market realities. Unlike the mature gold compliance culture, silver represents a fragmented landscape, requiring a highly nuanced regulatory strategy.
The Scale of Adoption
The shift toward formal quality assurance is rapidly accelerating:
- Infrastructure: India now hosts nearly 2.22 lakh BIS-registered jewellers (with 23,000 registered for silver) supported by 286 dedicated Assaying and Hallmarking Centres (AHCs).
- Volume: During FY 2025–26, nearly 59.31 lakh silver articles were hallmarked.
- Traceability: Over 44 lakh silver pieces feature a six-digit Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) code, bolstered by digital upgrades like automatic weight recording and photograph capture.
The Overlooked Heavyweights: Silverware and Temple Artefacts
While jewelry often dominates the conversation, industry experts emphasizes that silverware and religious artefacts represent a massive portion of India’s silver imports by tonnage, yet remain highly underrepresented in policy debates.
Despite the millions of pieces being hallmarked annually, thousands of tonnes of silver circulate uncertified in high-value categories:
- Market Diversity: Items like puja articles, temple silver, giftware, home décor, and corporate gifts are widely assumed by consumers to be of high purity, but fineness tests frequently reveal alarming variations.
- The Sensitivity of Testing: Large or highly intricate religious pieces—such as jhulas (cradles), maces, chhatris (canopies), and heavily ornamented temple decor—present unique hurdles. Applying destructive sampling methods to these items is not only logistically complex but emotionally and culturally sensitive.
To address this, experts advocates for an incremental rollout. This involves prioritizing easily testable silverware categories first, alongside establishing clear, practical sampling rules for oversized items. Furthermore, they emphasize the need for transparent retail pricing—where metal value, making charges, and wastage are clearly broken out—allowing consumers and temple trusts to make informed decisions and avoid under-purity controversies.
Standards and Operational Hurdles
At the core of this transition is IS 2112:2025, the updated technical standard governing silver purity grades (ranging from 800 to 999.9 purity). The standard mandates safer manufacturing practices, prohibiting cadmium and lead in solders while utilizing advanced XRF analysis for verification.
However, standardisation must be balanced so it does not suppress design innovation. Stakeholders note that popular oxidized and mixed-material pieces require highly tailored hallmarking approaches, alongside resolving existing bottlenecks like hallmarking capacity constraints, hallmark wear, and delicate traditional styles like bandhel and filigree.
A Consultative Future
Recognizing these friction points, BIS is avoiding abrupt disruption. Through national consultations and the BIS Care App, the regulator is actively gathering industry feedback to design a phased rollout. By factoring in specific exemptions based on weight or technical complexity, the framework aims to protect traditional craftsmanship and design innovation while establishing standards, traceability, and trust as the foundation for Indian silver’s global competitiveness.
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