Diamantaires Express Satisfaction at Vicenza Show First

With the opening day jitters past, First has swung into full sales mode. While overall numbers felt slower than yesterday – there were no long lines queuing to get in to the show, and buyers were beginning to fan out into some of the less central halls that had been quiet on day one.

Busy traffic in First halls Photo Credit: AgenziaFotografica LaPresse

The new B1 pavilion was getting a great deal of attention Tuesday. Officially inaugurated at noon with a cocktail party, this hall is the center for uber high-end Italian brands. While the booths in the rest of the show are, for the most part, luxurious but low key, the large, highly designed stalls in B1 pay homage to the extravagance of Baselworld. Roberto Coin, Zydo and Marco Bicego, among others, have all found a natural home here and visitors were eager to get a look at this new location.

Another group of exhibitors enjoying their prime setting were the diamantaires on Diamond Avenue. Walking into hall G, it’s impossible to ignore the massive IDI (Israel Diamond Industry) banner that forms the centerpiece of the pavilion. This is the second year that the small group of diamantaires who exhibit at the show have been gathered in such a prominent spot.

The general reaction from diamantaires was that the show was going “okay.” On only the second day of the show, they were not expecting to do much business but they expressed almost uniform satisfaction with First so far. Fabio Zunini of Newbril, DTC Sightholder Indigem’s selling arm in Italy, said that so far people have only been asking about prices, with orders yet to follow.

Regarding the type of goods that have been attracting buyer’s interest, Zunini noted that it was dependent on buyer's origins. “Europeans prefer VS stones, while those from Russia and other countries prefer VVS or loupe clean goods.” In terms of size, he said that stones of 1 to 1.5 carats seemed to be particularly popular.

Over at Eizenstein Diamonds Ltd., Oded Dayan and Danny Eizenstein reiterated people’s reluctance to commit to buying. Nevertheless, they said that they had already met potential new clients, almost all of them Italian. The main interest, at their booth was focused on 1 to 2 carat stones of VVS1 to VVS2 quality.

 “Yesterday was very slow,” said Sandimon Marketing Associate Alpesh Rathod. “Today more people, mainly small shop holders and small companies, are coming.” However, Rathod said that the lack of buyers did not worry him because Sandimon regards the show as a prime PR opportunity rather than an important sales point.

“We will always be here, not only to make some new contacts but for the prestige of the company,” he said. Visitors to the booth expressed interest either in small goods of between 3 to 15 points or larger goods of 1 carat and up, all D to H color and VS to VVS quality.

IDI Marketing and Trade Events Director Alissa Goren said that the downside to the central position is that it limits the number of companies that can attend the fair. 

First, formerly known as the VicenzaOro Fair, runs until January 20.