Mood upbeat at Italian Jewellery Awards
NAPLES, December 1, 2009 – The mood among jewellers attending the 2009 Italian Jewellery Awards at the weekend was decidedly upbeat despite worries over the Dubai debt crisis and a fragile global economic recovery.
“The show must go on” was the mantra of jewellers attending the sumptuous gala awards dinner in the historic and splendid surrounds of San Lorenzo Maggiore in central Naples on November 28.
A delegation of leading British jewellers flew in to the event, the second edition of the Italian Jewellery Awards, which was co-organised by Spring Fair 2010/UK Jewellery Awards, with Italy’s Universal Marketing.
The feeling was that purchases of jewellery for engagements, anniversaries and special occasions would be immune to external market convulsions.
Liveried waiters on Saturday night served cocktails and a sit-down dinner to hundreds of well-heeled guests from Italy and the UK, who seemed impervious to the turbulence of the markets, after a sharp sell-off in gold and a flight to the dollar the day before.
Sentiment among jewellers at the high end of the spectrum was that demand for exquisite and precious items would remain steady due to their rarity.
