By David Brough
VICENZA, Italy – Vicenzaoro (January 16-20, 2026), the first major international trade fair of 2026, saw buoyant turnout at the opening despite a backdrop of soaring and volatile precious metals prices, and U.S. tariffs.
Surging gold, silver and platinum, which have seen pullbacks from record highs by short-term investors, and sudden changes in U.S. tariffs since last year, have complicated exports of fine jewellery, diamond and gemstone suppliers. Italy, for example, is a leading exporter of gold and silver jewellery to markets including the United States.
Despite the challenges, visitor footfall was high as the show got under way in industrial grounds in the outskirts of Vicenza in northeast Italy.
The January edition of Vicenzaoro is seen as a major bellwether for jewellery design trends in the coming year.
Jewellery suppliers from around the world offer their latest designs and collections to visiting retailers.
Key trends lately have included more offers of lightweight gold jewellery, lower purities of the yellow metal and increased offers of gold vermeil in some market segments, in response to the lofty and volatile bullion prices.
Retail buyers flew in from around the world, notably from key markets such as the United States, the world’s biggest economy. The UK’s National Association of Jewellers (NAJ) hosted a large delegation of British retailers.
The January edition of Vicenzaoro stages a series of topical panel discussions focused on pressing market issues.
Jewellery Outlook Editor David Brough was due to moderate two panel discussions for CIBJO, World Jewellery Confederation.
One of them, on January 17, was set to focus on how AI will impact gemstone labs and reporting, and the other on January 18 looked at whether the coloured gemstone industry was meeting its market potential.
Other CIBJO panels during the January edition of Vicenzaoro explored standards in precious metals jewellery trade, as well as forward-focused sustainability issues.
