As one of the largest jewellery shows in Poland, Gold Silver Time (GST) was successfully held between 2 and 4 October 2014 in Warsaw, the capital of the country. According to the show organiser MCT International Fair Centre (MCT), the 15th edition of the show focused on exhibitor promotion and jewellery fashion trends. This year, the three-day show began on Thursday and concluded on Saturday for the first time. Rafał Galimski, president of MCT, estimated roughly: “Similar to the previous edition, more than 300 companies presented their new products for approximately 6,000 visitors in 2014.”
GST’s exhibits included silver jewellery, wedding jewellery, amber jewellery, watches and clocks, manufacturing equipment for jewellery and watch production, packaging and more. A designer gallery was presented to further promote Polish jewellery design to the globe. At the fairground, more than 90 percent of exhibitors were small and medium jewellery enterprises from Poland, such as Warsaw, Kraków, Gdańsk, Katowice, etc. Overseas exhibitors mainly came from Germany, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Hong Kong, etc. Hong Kong Jewellery observed a satisfactory visitor flow, with a significant number of attendees searching for their targets. As GST was open to the public on the last day, it brought more buyers to the fairground, particularly the Chinese for sourcing Polish jewellery.
An opening ceremony was held on the first day. Galimski emphasised in his speech: “GST’s contribution to promoting jewellery art and artistic craftsmanship in these 15 years builds a positive image of Polish jewellery design. In addition, we established a very close relationship with the jewellery community, which has made us better recognise and hence meet the industry’s needs. As a result, it builds a strong brand of GST.” The ‘25 for 25. Jewellery in the Time of Freedom’ exhibition was hosted during the show period to celebrate the 15th edition of GST recapping the 25 years of freedom in the jewellery industry. A total of 25 jewellery designers who have contributed most significantly to Poland’s post-1989 development showcased over 100 pieces of their products to visitors. Monika Szpatowicz, exhibition curator, expressed: “The past 25 years have been extremely interesting for Polish jewellery. The political transformations have had a clear impact on the development of the jewellery market, while changes in the way of thinking have brought about new trends and new artists.”
Amber is strongly associated with Poland. As we can find, many Polish jewellers are making amber business with other countries while designers are highlighting their pieces by using exotic ambers. Michał Kosior, office manager of the International Amber Association (IAA) told Hong Kong Jewellery: “Compared to the Amberif in March, amber exhibitors do not occupy a very large proportion of total exhibitors in GST. Around 20 to 30 percent of companies are making amber business, while the remaining are some small and medium jewellers and independent designers.” Amber Apple, one of the amber wholesalers in Poland, offers gold, silver and gold-plated amber jewellery. Representative Andy said: “The amber market is positive and the prices remain stable at a high level. In 2014, drop, ball and donut amber are best-received by consumers. In addition, an increasing number of consumers from China are coming here for amber. Currently, around 60 percent of our clients are Chinese. I have to say that amber really connects Poland with China.”
Established the factory in Poland in 1996, the Swedish Swepol specialises in manufacturing gold and titanium wedding rings. Jan Olof Lundqvist, company’s CEO, said: “GST’s first day was not very well. Though the population of Poland is around 40 million, we see a decreasing marriage rate. People live together but do not get married, resulting in a falling demand for wedding jewellery. Currently, we have to explore the European market.”
Anna Biernacki-Hejzner from the Poland-based Verona-Yes Biżuteria Sp.z o.o. told Hong Kong Jewellery: “This edition is very good. We usually source jewellery from different countries, such as China, Thailand, and the recently-concluded September Hong Kong Jewellery and Gem Fair. Our aim is to offer a wide array of jewellery to Polish consumers who do not want to travel or do not have time to travel. In addition, since people in Poland are not very wealthy, they prefer sourcing silver or cubic zirconia jewellery. Gold, itself has investment value, also becomes their favourite metal in the recent two years. Therefore, we started to offer them gold jewellery.”
Warsaw-based Wyganowscy mainly offers worldwide consumers silver jewellery. The third generation of the family business and designer Ana expressed: “Jewellery design in Poland is very good. We should cooperate more with clients from other countries so as to promote our design to the world.” Galeria Dubiel is another exhibitor from Poland. Representative Maryla Dubiel said: “Poland’s jewellery industry is formed by many independent workshops where many craftsmen, goldsmiths and designers are working very hard to create their pieces with great personality.” The 16th edition of GST will be hosted from 1 to 3 October 2015.
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