European jewelry show Inhorgenta, held in Munich in February, attracted more than just watch and jewelry giants – it devoted one of its showrooms for boutique and young designers who wanted to break into the European and world jewelry market.
Inhorgenta is a marketing platform that focuses mainly on the robust diamond market found in central and south Europe, in Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland – some of the world's richest and most-toured countries.
The human imagination knows no boundaries and boutique jewelry are the perfect example of that. Boutique jewelry designers rarely adhere to trendy, contemporary designs, utilizing their individual creativeness instead.
The trick – especially in a market geared for high-end jewelry – is to find a way to combine local elements and known tastes with innovative, and sometimes revolutionary, designs.
Jewelry designer Heiko Schrem, who owns an Elchingen-based jewelry store, is a wonderful example for creative and wild thinking that comes together perfectly with elegance.
"We're a small company that has been around for 15 years. The team is made up of me and two other employees and all of us design the jewelry," he told me.
What is the company's designing vision?
"I'm the one who comes up with the designs we use. We use mainly rounded and curved shapes set it diamonds, gems and pearls. We try to stretch our clients' imagination," he said.
Like many other small design firms, Schrem's designs are independent of seasonal trends. Instead, he follows his own designing vision, which is constantly evolving.
Do you set the diamonds yourselves?
We don't set the diamonds ourselves, we use local experts who do it with the utmost precision. I'm a designer. I design the jewelry," he added, smiling. "I leave the setting to the experts."
Are you regular participants in Inhorgenta?
"We've been coming to the exhibition every year, except for last year. You can definitely see more people here this year, than what my colleagues told me they had last year, or even two years ago. I have a colleague – an Israeli designer – who used to exhibit here every year for a decade, but I haven’t seen him in the show in the past two years."
Israel Diamond Institute Information Officer Iris Hortman later told me that in this specific market, buyers are looking for precision and consistency. If a jeweler decides to participate in the show, he must become a regular – he can't just try it for one year. Buyers' see that kind of behavior as disregardful.
Have you finalized any deals during the show?
"We conduct business in the show, but with retailers and stores rather than with end-consumers."
Despite the large number of visitors in the exhibition, Schrem said his sales were lower than in previous years. Perhaps it was because retailers and stores are still reeling from the effects of the global financial crisis on the jewelry industry, and perhaps because they are eyeing the next hot-zone – the Asian market.