The doors of the sixth edition of GemGèneve are opening, the event dedicated to vintage and design jewels, to new talents, to surprising gems, but also to meetings and exhibitions. Born almost as a bet from the ashes of Baselworld on the initiative of two jewelers from Geneva, Ronny Totah Thomas Faerber, GemGèneve managed to establish itself and even overcome the pandemic period unscathed. Indeed, in recent years it has even doubled with an autumn edition. This year (11-14 May), among other things, it moves to Pavilion 1 of the Palexpo on 13,000 square meters of exhibition space. The Parisian design agency Autre Idée, which has been collaborating with the organizers since 2021, has opted for an installation based on the theme of plants and organic life for the spring edition.
There are about 190 exhibitors from 20 countries. About a quarter come from the United States, followed by Switzerland, Hong Kong and Germany, but also Israel, Belgium, Thailand, India and France, followed by companies from the United Kingdom, Italy, the United United Arab, Sri Lanka and Singapore, and last but not least Russia, Poland, Austria, Japan, Spain and China.
As we welcome more dealers to GemGenève for this edition, we’ve also given careful thought to exhibition traffic. The challenge is to preserve the balance between our DNA – passing on our passion to emerging designers and schools, a diverse cultural programme, and the desire to remain a human-sized event – and the quality of exhibitors and merchandise on display, whilst making sure the visitor experience is as streamlined as possible.
Ronny Totah
Of the exhibitors, 48 are taking part in GemGeneve for the sixth time, while another 20 are making their debut. Newcomers include names such as Berçot (France), Tom Munsteiner, Heinz Meyer, Emil Weiss Opals (Germany) and JS Fearnley (USA). Sim Gems (Hong Kong), Hari Krishna Exports (India), Futurgem (Italy), Ultraco (Switzerland), Topaze Impériale (Austria), KGK Gems Limited (Thailand). Other innovations concern the emerging talents and new designers area, curated by Nadège Totah. In this area, the fine jewelry of the Belgian designer Fred Fa will debut, refined and a bit mysterious, who makes all his sketches, technical drawings and gouache jewelry designs by hand. In the same area there will be Serendipity Jewelry, the fruit of one of the emerging talents of the November 2022 edition, but this time in the New Designers category, as well as the talented Austy Lee Art Jewelery from Hong Kong: she creates bold, psychedelic, sculptural and complex pieces . The Designer Vivarium will always be curated by the jewelry history Vivienne Becker.
