N e w s

From 8th to 13th June, the 2002 edition of the second international gold and jewellery exhibition at the Vicenza Fair.

Image, fashion and style on the one side and technology, research and professional updates on the other. These, in a nutshell, are the two "souls" of Vicenzaoro 2, to be held at the Vicenza Fair from 8th to 13th June 2002. Gold Virtuosi belongs without a shadow of doubt to the first category, a competition set up for the exploration of new frontiers in gold jewellery design.

Great anticipation for the press conference - to be held Monday 10th June - when the winners' names will be officially announced; the presence of over 200 journalists from all over the world has already been confirmed. Whereas the Gemmological Day rightly comes under a technological heading - 9th June 2.00-5.30 pm in the Palladio Room, on a theme of "Treatments on corundum: yesterday and today" organised by the Vicenza Fair, Cisgem (Centre for Gemmological Information and Services, Milan) and Irigem (Gemmological Training Organisation, Rosa, Vicenza) - which will look at colour-enhanced orange corundum, which uses a procedure that is still being studied.

Technology again on the programme with "Design and Technology for modern jewellery makers" - organised by AIFM (Italian Metal Finishers Association) and AIM (Italian Metallurgy Association) - which will take place on Tuesday 11th June from 9.30 in the Palladio Room.

Rightly considered as part of the research and business culture environment is the book "L'oreficeria italiana nel mondo. Una storia di successi" (The success of Italian jewellery in the world), presented by the authors Franco Marchesini and Giustino Giusti on Tuesday 11th at 11.00 in the Fogazzaro Room. Thanks to their work the Italian gold sector now has access to a database covering international trade in jewels. That is not to say that the ISTAT foreign commercial statistics have so far ignored this leading sector of Made in Italy, but a homogeneous reconstruction of events not comparable in terms of time and statistics, with data organised by country of destination and industrial districts of origin, as well as the availability of non-seasonal data, were all elements that up to now had been missing for experts and operators in this sector.