Jewelry trade fairs GemGenève and JA New York have officially canceled their fall shows due to the ongoing spread of COVID-19 and its impacts on travel, indoor environments, and social interactions.

These two shows are the latest in an ever-unspooling string of jewelry fairs to cancel or reschedule major 2020 events. The fall Jewelers International Showcase (JIS) shows, scheduled to take place in October in Miami Beach, Fla., and November in San Diego, have both been canceled.

JA New York had been scheduled for Oct. 25–27, and organizer Emerald Exhibitions said in a prepared statement, “We have remained hopeful that we would be able to successfully and safely stage our fall event. Unfortunately, ongoing concerns surrounding the pandemic, including, but not limited to travel restrictions imposed by state and local authorities, the continual rise of infection numbers across the country and internationally, and restrictions on large gatherings, have made it impossible for us to produce this edition of JA New York.”

The GemGenève show, which had been planned for Nov. 5–8 in Geneva, released a similar statement. Show cofounder Ronny Totah said, “The current pandemic, travel restrictions, and increased sanitary precautions make it impossible for GemGenève to be the interactive experience that we intend it to be.” GemGenève will be reimbursing all exhibitors who planned to show at the November fair, and Totah noted that current exhibitors will also be able to easily secure their attendance at the 2021 show.

“It is with this adaptability in mind that we will continue to strengthen our community of jewelry lovers, by sharing our passion and joy in exchanging ideas in whatever way we can,” he added. “The GemGenève team remains optimistic to moving forward after the pandemic and will continue to work toward planning our 2021 show.”

(Image via @gemgeneve)

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Emili Vesilind

JCK Senior Editor