The Jewellery Show, which took place at ExCel London on September 5-6, has already booked almost double this year’s exhibition space for 2023, an organiser of the event, Michael Dynan, told Jewellery Outlook Editor David Brough. The inaugural edition of the Jewellery Show was organised by CloserStill Media, with the support of Michael’s event management company, The Assembly.
Michael Dynan
Following the inaugural Jewellery Show, which ended on September 6, how are bookings so far for the second edition of the event in 2023?
The bookings for next year have been fantastic — this is obviously the best way we can measure the success of the exhibition. We have rebooked 175% of the net square meterage that we had in the show this year.
This means the 2023 show is already bigger than this year through a combination of the exhibitors on site this year booking bigger spaces and new exhibitors who came to visit the show coming into our office and booking for next year.
How did this first edition of the show do in terms of visitor registrations, exhibitor bookings and orders?
It surpassed our expectations in terms of visitor numbers but more importantly the quality of visitors was very high. All good jewellery retailers — and they all stayed for a long time. Many stayed for the two days of the show.
How do you see the health of the UK jewellery and gemstone market? Which segments are outperforming?
The atmosphere amongst the exhibitors was very positive. We had exhibitors and visitors from overseas who see the UK as a very important market and will be coming to the show in bigger numbers next year.
The conference sessions were very well attended discussing topics such as the sustainability and future of the sector, the luxury market in the UK, and the digital transformation of the gemstone and jewellery industry.
Sustainability panel discussion
What are your ambitions for the show next year? Do you anticipate more bookings by overseas suppliers?
Yes, with a launch event you usually expect it to be quite domestic but we did see exhibitors from overseas — America, Belgium, India and Thailand — and visitors from many countries.
We are in discussions with trade bodies and government departments overseas to bring some international pavilions next year, and our promotion will reach further afield so it is definitely another area of growth for the show.
