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ITALIAN JEWELLERY MACHINERY SEEKS RECOGNITION AT THE WATCH & JEWELLERY EVENT IN DUBAI
The goal is to reinforce Italy’s global excellence in the production of jewellery machinery, replicating the Italian sector’s presence in Dubai ahead of the 2007 edition of Watch & Jewellery (www.jewelleryshow.com). The event, scheduled for 11th to 15th December in the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, is centred on jewellery products as well as on related machinery and crafting technologies. The gathering is a strategic date for sector operators: it is held in the Asian hub of the jewellery and goldsmith trade, and meets not only local demand but also that of the huge Indian market.
Over 14,000 participants attended the last edition, a great increase compared to the 8,707 of the previous year. There were 383 exhibitors from 24 countries. Among the most represented nations, besides Italy, there were also Hong Kong, India, Thailand and Turkey. Italy’s presence at the fair was focused exclusively in the jewellery machinery field (with 16 companies), alongside a limited participation of German, American and Chinese businesses. In light of the broadly encouraging results of the last official Italian participation, the Italian Trade Commission (ICE) has decided to organise another group attendance of the machinery sector for the upcoming edition.
Italy is the undisputed global leader in this sector. The relevant trade association is Afemo, the Association of Jewellery Machinery Manufacturers and Exporters (www.afemo.it), which brings together the entire jewellery supply chain. In this niche sector, Italian production covers 80% of the global demand and encompasses the whole system range: from chain-making machinery to induction ovens, from presses to laminators, from automatic welders to cleaning systems. Italy’s leadership on the global market is not the result of the Italian product’s price competitiveness, but rather the continued effort in research and technology and product innovation, the flexibility of the solutions offered and pre- and post-sale customer service.
Italian industry in this sector offers further added value compared to its international competitors thanks to the cluster model, which characterised by a high degree of innovation and by the availability of real high-quality services at competitive prices. Furthermore, the downstream presence of a vast system of user industries supported the consolidation of increasingly structured synergies, characterised by a constant exchange of best practices to improve the use of innovative ideas. In the post-war period, the endless technological development of machinery manufacturers had successfully facilitated the progress of the Italian jewellery sector in all its components, from large industry to the tiny craft shop.
This virtuous circle has allowed the ‘Made in Italy’ jewellery sector – comprised of 10,000 companies (the vast majority of which are craft enterprises) – to become the biggest global manufacturer and the third market in gold-processing. In the first half of 2007 (source: ICE), Italian exports of jewellery and goldsmith items grew by 11.75% to 2.628 billion euros, with a bottom line profit of EUR1.808 billion. Despite the rise of fierce competition in the last five years, the sector has been able to keep a first-rate role worldwide.
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