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| February 2005
Trend Spotting Gold Expressions 2005 World Gold Council and Vicenza Fair introduce this year's collection For a second year, the World Gold Council teamed with the Vicenza Fair to encourage the design and creation of gold jewelry by Italian goldsmiths. Gold Expressions 2005 was unveiled in December in New York City and then traveled through Italy, the Far East, the Middle East and India. WGC gave Italian gold jewelry manufacturers a design brief that challenged them to produce gold necklaces, rings, bracelets and earrings in styles consumers said they want. The consumer information was gathered by WGC in a study of gold consumers in the U.S., China, India, Europe and the Middle East. Study respondents said they wanted contemporary styles. Gold Expressions 2005 is divided into two themes the study found to be motivators for purchase: gold as a gift of love and gold as a way to express a woman’s individuality. This year’s effort builds on the success of Gold Expressions 2004, which WGC says benefitted the Italian gold market. During the first six months of 2004, exports of Italian gold jewelry rose nearly 6% from the year before. Between 2002 and 2003, by comparison, gold jewelry exports dropped 34%. Along with bolstering Italian gold jewelry exports, the initiative helps U.S. retailers, says John Calnon, WGC managing director, Americas. “Gold Expressions designs in 2004 helped to reinvigorate the style and design of gold jewelry, broadening its appeal to consumers.” Collections from Gold Expressions 2005 were scheduled to become available at the Vicenza Fair in Vicenza, Italy, Jan. 16-23. For more information about these and other styles in the collection, call Duvall O’Steen at the World Gold Council, (212) 317-3880.
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