TradeShows

Applications are being sought for 1999 grants from the JCK Jewelry Industry Fund. The fund was established last year by Reed Elsevier, the parent company of JCK magazine and the JCK International Jewelry Shows. Each year, a total of $400,000 in grants will be awarded.

Grant applications for 1999 will be accepted until Oct. 1. Individuals, groups, or associations whose efforts are devoted to the promotion and benefit of the jewelry industry are eligible. A grant cannot be used to replace or substitute an existing funding source for an ongoing program. Grants are made on an annual basis only.

Applications must be made in writing and must include the following information: purpose of the grant, amount requested, timing of receipt and expenditure of funds, historical budget data indicating the significance of the project as demonstrated by previous financial commitment, measurable benefits expected, and acknowledgment that JCK has the right to reasonable financial analysis and controls to ensure that funds are spent in accordance with the grant request.

Applications should be sent to: The JCK Shows, Att.: Industry Vice President, Reed Exhibition Companies, 383 Main Ave., Norwalk, CT 06851.

Free seminars will be presented at the Gem and Lapidary Dealers Association show in Tucson, Ariz., Feb. 3-10. Seminars will be held in the Promenade Room of the Holiday Inn City Center-Broadway.

Among the presenters will be David Bar-Haim Rutlinger of the Israel Diamond Institute, Ivan Rozo of Constellation Gems, James Marquart of Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America, Thomas Chatham of Chatham Created Gems, gem expert and author Antoinette Matlins, and designers Barbara Westwood and Michael Dyber.

Responding to demand for timely information about its trade shows, GLDA has established a Web site. The site, www.glda.com, provides show information for buyers and exhibitors. It also enables buyers to preregister and buyers and exhibitors to make hotel reservations for the GLDA shows to be held this month in Tucson and in June in Las Vegas. Included on the site are the history of GLDA, press releases issued by the organization, and links to Web sites of the hotels hosting the shows.

INHORGENTA Munchen, a clock, watch, and jewelry trade fair, will be held Feb. 26 to March 1 at the New Munich Trade Fair Center in Munich, Germany. This is the first time that the fair is being held at the new center, which opened last February.

Approximately 1,250 exhibitors and more than 22,000 trade visitors are expected to attend the event. On display will be watches, clocks, fine and costume jewelry, precious stones, and silverware, as well as machinery and tools for watchmaking and jewelry design and cases and shop fittings for storing and presenting products.

From 1999 through 2005, INHORGENTA will be held on the last weekend in February and will run from Friday through Monday. For information, call (49-89) 9 49-01, fax (49-89) 9 49-09; www.messe-muenchen.de.

The exhibition hall for MACEF Spring ’99, being held Feb. 5-8 in Milan, Italy, is being revamped to achieve greater efficiency and improved traffic flow, according to show staff.

Improvements to the exhibition center will extend over three years, 1999-2001. Among the changes will be upgraded sanitary facilities and air-conditioning systems. To facilitate construction, halls 4/A, 5/1, 5/2, 6/A, 6/1, and 6/2 will not be available for the 1999 and 2000 shows, and halls 2/3, 2/4, 7/1, 7/2, 7/3, and 7/4 will not be available in 2000 and 2001.

MACEF will retain its nine-sector format and color coding of exhibit areas. The new layout will allow show officials to allocate areas for special events in advance.

The Forum of Indian Gemmologists for Scientific Studies will host the 27th International Gemmological Conference (IGC). The conference will take place Sept. 27-Oct. 2 in Goa, India. Attendance is by invitation only.

Dr. Jayshree Panjikar has been elected executive secretary of the board for IGC ’99. For information, contact the Forum of Indian Gemmologists for Scientific Studies, 29 Gurukul Chambers, 187-189 Mumbadevi Rd., Bombay 400 002 India; (91-22) 342 0039.

The Royal Thai Government’s Department of Export Promotion has launched an interactive Internet site that allows potential buyers at Thailand’s trade fairs and exhibitions to communicate directly with producers and exporters.

The Web site can be accessed at www.thaitradefair.com.