Report From Inhorgenta 2006

The German jewelery industry looks outward for continued growth.

By David Keeling -- JCK Online, 6/1/2006 2:00:00 AM

Historically, the German jewelry industry has had an emotional connection to the culture of the German people, whose fascination with jewelry as art is well known. For years, sales were fairly predictable in a consistent market, but exhibitors at Inhorgenta Europe 2006, held Feb. 17–20 in Munich, say significant economic changes over the past few years have altered domestic consumers’ psyches. Germany’s reunification, conversion to the euro, deficit growth, and the subsequent drop in consumer confidence all have contributed to a somewhat lackluster marketplace for jewelry. Fine-jewelry sales in Germany have slumped, but new markets opening in both Eastern Europe and farther abroad have rescued many jewelry firms from the economic angst that serving an exclusively German clientele might have caused them.

One thing that hasn’t yet become a factor in European jewelry sales is the price of precious metals. So says Jürghen Wieneke of Heimerle-Meule, a refiner and producer of precious metal products in Pforzheim, Germany. In fact, he suggested, the media buzz about the rise in precious-metal prices has enhanced awareness and created a heightened desire for ownership that didn’t exist prior to the current leap in prices. Gertrud Gross-Stahl of Platinum Guild International Europe agrees and suggests that platinum is simply becoming more precious as the price rises. Markets for exclusivity are not shrinking, especially in emerging markets such as China, where there is a growing preference for noble materials and excellent craftsmanship. Although many producers see China as a competitive threat, an equal number regard it as an opportunity—an emerging market for fine-quality luxury goods.

Ursula Gnaedinger, of Ursula Gnaedinger Schmuck, Potsdam, Germany, said sales of her jewelry have remained fairly consistent during the economic downturn, which she attributes to both steady exhibition and exposure at international trade shows and careful management for the more than 20 years she’s been in business. She has no plans to expand, likes the size and manageability of her operation, and is content with the geographic shift in her customer base. Neither a trendsetter nor trend follower, she designs and produces aesthetically pleasing pieces in richly contoured 18k yellow gold.

Design trends. There was a gentle shift toward more colors of gold in some of the Inhorgenta exhibitors’ offerings, moving away from the stark white metal with white diamonds that has been so dominant in Germany and elsewhere, including most of North America, in the past. Fancy-color pavé-set diamonds of all available shades were found in both yellow and white gold or platinum, and the use of red or pink gold was a surprise element in a number of pieces. Large, fluid shapes aren’t going away anytime soon, as the range of bracelets, earrings, pendants, and rings appears to be expanding, but overall, the sizes of the pieces have become a bit more modest of late.

Lightweight but pendulous earrings in both yellow and white metal continue to contribute to a general sense that large and luscious in glowing forms will be around for a while.

The trend for color is as evident in Germany as it is in the United States. Large colored gemstones of magnificent cut were spotted in multiple groupings in necklaces, seemingly oblivious to each other’s shape or hue but delightful in their collective incongruity.

In contrast to those styles was a trend toward pieces that are fabricated, heavily hand-worked, connected mechanically, and exhibit an angularity and precision nearly impossible to achieve through simple casting or finishing procedures.

Of course, these handworked methods don’t lend themselves to mass production, but if rarity is to remain a positive attribute, pieces like these should be sought after by consumers jaded by too much cookie-cutter flash.

Author Information

David Keeling is a goldsmith, consumer advocate, and trade critic who operates a custom jewelry studio in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

The Future of Design

In the Design Podium, established firms only slightly overshadow youngsters who are either studying the jewelry arts or are recent graduates of programs and trying to enter the industry by exhibiting their creations within steps of the commercial offerings. The luxury evident in this area isn’t bankrolled by financiers, nor do its images yet grace the back covers of famous fashion magazines. It’s a special sort of luxury that’s appealing to human sensibilities: a combination of available time and a sense of adventure, playfulness, fearlessness, and passion. This is the birthplace of some of the best ideas in the industry.

The students of the Goldschmiedeschule in Pforzheim, Germany, displayed some of their impressive projects that utilize voluminous amounts of metal forged and sculpted into both architectural and organic shapes, angular or soft, rigid or kinetic. A recent assignment required the students to create designs that encompassed the theme “The Dream of Flying.” Each student was to design and create a necklace in which the joints were to be capable of a full 360-degree rotation.

The BrandNew/NewBrand section of the Design Podium featured the works of a number of students and postgrads. It’s a place to discover the origins of trends. On the cusp of commercial success, for example, is Bettina Geistlich, a Swiss woman who was showing her latest work in the BrandNew/NewBrand section. Her pieces (above) featured kinetic elements enclosed within symmetrical shapes, as well as skillfully designed and produced bands and pins that used a combination of fluid shape, rich yellow color, and an evenly overlaid wire wrap as a textural embellishment.

As time and commerce carry these aspiring jewelry artists forward, they are poised to become leaders in developing new concepts that can be further adapted by other members of the trade. The use of alternative, nontraditional materials in fine jewelry is an excellent example of this sort of adaptation, and a trend that appears to be building toward tsunami status.

Sanja Car, representing Scheffel-Schmuck of Munich, says the company has been successful for more than 20 years through exhaustive obsession with design and superb production. Its current line of jewelry features several varieties and colors of hardwoods as the base components, carefully shaped into the various products through the use of CNC (computer numerically controlled) mills.

The line is complemented by fitted embellishments of 18k gold inlays, faceted moonstones, and diamond pavé bezels. Necklaces composed of perfectly round beads of wood are fitted with 18k and diamond bezels and feature integrated clasps designed and produced by Jorge Heinz, a leading German manufacturer of cleverly conceived clasps. According to Car, sales of the new line have been “fantastic.”

Engineered to be modeled for most finger sizes, the firm’s rings are composed of an 18k inner sleeve and a gem-set bezel that hold the wooden form securely by means of a set of flush-mounted screws—the idea is that the wood component would be easily replaced over time should it become overly damaged from wear.

Company principal Axel Scheffel says he feels that Inhorgenta is changing, with some of the bigger players consolidating their efforts toward the Basel fair, where there is higher attendance and a much larger representation of high-end producers to be compared with.

Who might have thought that jewelry made of wood might eventually be elevated to the sort of level that requires exclusive venues for display? Most likely a student of design’s daydream suddenly realized many years later in a marketplace bored with convention.