Preserve To Evolve, Four Made In Italy Stories At The “Trendvision” Event
In 1954, Italian television was black and white and civil rights were not on the public agenda. It was the year of the first gold fair in Vicenza, later to become Vicenzaoro, and jewellery, like fashion, reflected a different world to the contemporary one and the idea of luxury itself. «Luxury is not opulence, but a chance to contribute to social change, said Paola De Luca, art director of Trendvision, Italian Exhibition Group’s independent observatory. The event that opened the second day of Vicenzaoro January dealt with a key word for the jewellery industry and its future: preservation.
Mariella Milani, iconic voice who has reported on fashion and lifestyle on RAI television for three decades; Lucia Silvestri, creative director of Bulgari; Alessia Crivelli, CEO of Crivelli and president of Fondazione Mani Intelligenti; and Amedeo Scognamiglio from Faraone Mennella and Amedeo's Gioielli. On stage at Expo Centre’s Palladio Theatre, De Luca's guests offered Vicenzaoro's business audience several aspects of the Made in Italy story: the legacy of history, creativity, intelligence, craftsmanship and responsibility for the Planet that this heritage imposes.
Mariella Milani, a journalist whose unmistakable voice has chronicled Italian fashion and lifestyle for three decades on RAI, now has a free channel on social media on which to comment on custom trends. She has no doubt whatsoever: “People need real relationships, authenticity. It is no longer the time for digital “conversion” because we live in the time of misrepresentation, of fake news. What we wear tells who we are. The value of high jewellery is not related to the face of that actress or actor: it is the message that must be authoritative.”
Love for jewellery as a form of biography. This is the story of Lucia Silvestri. A temporary post that should have lasted a few weeks became her life's work. The future biologist made way for the “gem hunter” who became the creative director at Bulgari with a special relationship with precious stones. “I like to play with gems, which should not just be looked at but felt. They are gifts from nature, which we turn into gems. We work around an emotion,” Silvestri extracted a message for young people, and women in particular, from her brilliant working career: “I started with great masters in Bulgari: it is the artisans who make you understand if what we imagine is actually achievable. Buyers, artisans, designers: working as a team makes you appreciate the value of “legacy”. Without masters, determination and spirit of sacrifice, you don't go forward.” It is in the generational transition that roots are strengthened or completely new paths are taken. The cases of Crivelli and Scognaviglio prove this. The former, with the Foundation she chairs, the first time in the industry where companies that are normally individualistic collaborate for a common goal. The latter with an unconventional, cosmopolitan choice that rewrites the function and meaning of a traditional object like the cameo. “What was missing,” explained Alessia Crivelli , “were the new generations. But why? We can't reason on how to hand something down if no one listens to you. We probably did something wrong. The product is recognised, but not our story. The beautiful and well-made is seen, but the story behind it, which is priceless, is not told.” Amedeo Scognamiglio discovered himself to be “heir” to 150 years of company tradition, but he chose to break the mould, and as luck would have it, Sarah Jessica Parker wore one of his creations in Sex and the City. "I wanted to do something radically different, far from souvenir or museum items. New York City was the place to do something really disruptive instead of brooches with a woman's profile." Skulls, monkeys, snakes entered the cameo. "My father and mother disagreed, but now, these are products that are recognizable as my own, a product of our culture," Scognamiglio concluded.
The Italian Watchmaking Tradition Between History And Synergy
Italy is a country steeped in history in terms of the clock world: from Giovanni Dondi dell'Orologio, who lived in the 1300s and invented one of the most important astronomical clocks in history, to Father Embriaco, who made the Pincio water clock in the 19th century, to the 20th century, when many Italian industries supplied Swiss factories with key components for the construction of timepieces. History and synergies for promoting the Italian watchmaking tradition were discussed on the first day of Vicenzaoro January, Italian Exhibition Group's international trade show ongoing at Vicenza Expo Centre until Tuesday, January 23rd. The “ Made in Italy Watches and Synergies" event featured Locman, an independent watchmaking company based on the Island of Elba, and the collaborations the brand has set up to spread Italian quality and elegance around the world. Among the success stories presented was the company’s collaboration with the Navy and its special "Amerigo Vespucci" line to celebrate the 2023-2025 world tour of the "Most Beautiful Ship in the World," and the line dedicated to the Ducati brand. Also presented was the "Decimo Canto" watch, inspired by Canto X of the Divine Comedy, where one of the earliest literary references to a mechanical watch can be found, and created through collaboration between Locman and expert Sandro Fratini with the participation of Valenza-based company, Crivelli. The event featured speeches by Marco Mantovani, president of Locman; Alessia Crivelli, CEO of Crivelli Gioielli Srl; Admiral Lorenzano Di Renzo, commander at the Naval Academy in Livorno; Alessandro Cicognani, licensing and corporate partnership director for Ducati; and Sandro Fratini, owner of the L' O. Belvedere Angelico Srl brand (via video link). Also participating in the talk was Fabrizio Dellacà , founder and coordinator of Watches Of Italy, a collective of Italian watch and accessory operators, who stressed the importance of joining forces to make the potential of Made in Italy understood abroad.
The Revival Of Vintage Jewellery Between History, Fashion And New Communication Models
Vintage jewellery is experiencing a new golden age and taking the market by storm with unprecedented force. The revival, fuelled by a number of factors such as the boom in luxury goods resales that has seen volumes almost triple in recent years, is based on the rediscovery of the intrinsic value of pieces that are exclusive and embedded in time as symbols of charm, beauty and eternal uniqueness. The topic was discussed this morning, Saturday, January 20th, during the second day of VO Vintage, the marketplace specifically for fine vintage watches and jewellery organised by Italian Exhibition Group and held in the Expo Centre’s foyer until Monday, January 22nd, in partial conjunction with Vicenzaoro January. The talk, hosted by journalist Federica Frosini, featured Manuel Menini, collector and founder of the Vincent Vintage Bijoux boutique in Milan. A phenomenon that wins over all generations and consumer segments, fascinated by the feeling of owning a piece of history that comes back, due to a combination of the old and the new that helps rediscover forgotten styles and jewellery. A key player in this revival is communication, which develops on the cornerstones of irony and spontaneity as in the Menini model. Social platforms have played a significant role in attracting attention to this phenomenon and the stories behind each item of jewellery.
