ROME: Italian jewelry exports fell by 7.5% (or nearly €320 million) in the first eight months of the year, according to an analysis by economist Stefania Trenti of Intesa Sanpaolo’s research department. She said exports of jewelry in precious metals fell slightly less, by 6.5%. It’s not just an Italian trend. Italy, in fact, contained its losses compared with global data.
“According to the analysis of the World Gold Council, global demand for gold jewelry fell at rates faster than 20%,” Trenti said. The reasons are varied, starting with the climate of global uncertainty that pushed gold prices higher, and a generally lower propensity for jewelry purchases. There are also specific factors, like changes in regulations in India, a tightening up on luxury purchases and shifts in consumer taste in China, and military tension in the Middle East.
In Italy, the decline in exports hit all major markets except the U.S. (up 3.7% to nearly €14 million) and the U.K. (up 12.4% to nearly €15 million) and Jordan (up 11.2%, but a very minor market).
“The data from the UAE, an “entry” nation for India and the rest of the Middle East, is meaningful,” Trenti said. “The drop between January and August was 17.5%, or €122 million. Amongst biggest declines were Switzerland and France, where exports fell, respectively, 9.9% and 17%, nations where Made in Italy jewelry is often commissioned by major fashion houses that then direct them to other countries.” She stressed the difference between various Italian districts. “On a regional level, the data only goes put to the first half. Valenza, Arezzo and Vicenza are a few of the areas to register a steeper drop in exports in the second quarter.” Trenti said. Figures continued that trend into 2016. “It’s particularly hard to predict the full year 2017. There are too many economic and geopolitical unknowns.” Wanting to see the glass as half full, it’s best to focus on Italian production, which has over the years moved to the high end, fueled by a strong artisanal skill and tradition dating back a thousand years.
That’s demonstrated by the success of the Jewelry Museum of Vicenza, which opened in December of 2014: more than 400 square meters in the Basilica Palladiana, the result of a partnership between the Fiera di Vicenza and local authorities. In less than two years, the museum, the first of its kind in Italy, had 34,000 visitors and brought renewed attention to the links between the past, present and future of Italian jewelry.
An exhibit at Milan’s Poldi Pezzoli Museum, running through March 20, is called,“The Italian Jewel of the 20th Century.” It shows 150 pieces created between the early 1900s and the 1990s by Buccellati, Bulgari, Chantecler, Damiani, Pomellato and many other houses and jewelry designers or artist taken with jewelry — like Arnaldo and Giò Pomodoro.
