Does the world need another jewelry show?
“That’s a very, very good question,” Richard Steeve Giraud, a French real estate investor and jewelry collector, said by phone recently from his London home.
Mr. Giraud, 62, founder and chief executive of Art Vendôme, plans to debut in Paris from January 31 to February 3. He said the title of the fair was intended to link the art of jewelry to the Place Vendôme. Located in the French capital, Place Vendôme has been a center of high jewelery since the 1800s.
The purpose of the sale, he said, was to fill a void. “The only jewelry show today is a business-to-business, professional-oriented jewelry show,” he said. While a handful of jewelers used to exhibit at art and antiques events like the European Fine Art Fair (known as TEFAF) or the now-canceled Masterpieces Show, jewelry fairs open to the public have faded from view.
Mr. Giro said exhibitors had already been signed up for the show, but declined to identify specific exhibitors. He is planning 80 booths for heritage houses, antiques dealers, international designers and contemporary artists, and another 20 window spaces for new makers, who will be selected by an advisory committee and participate at a discounted price. The cost was not disclosed.
The event is scheduled to take place at the Grand Palais, a temporary venue on the Champ de Mars near the Eiffel Tower that is being used while the Grand Palais is being renovated before it will host some of the 2024 Olympic Games.
“For me, the idea of a fair is a bit like a Frieze” art fair, offering a range of styles and prices for people who might not know if or why they like jewelry, Mr. Giroux said.
’ . Today, if you don’t collect something, you’re a little outdated or old-school.”
Maria Doulton, editor-in-chief of The Jewelry Editor, wrote in an email that the relevance and success of Art Vendôme rests in part on the success of brands like Cartier, Bulgari and Chanel. The addition of big names like Chanel, as well as interesting and great brands. A curated mix of small brand names and independent artist jewelers.
“However, the success or failure of the show will be whether the organizers and brands can attract enough public interest in buying jewelry.”
Ms Doulton noted that the Paris Antiques Biennale was the last major luxury consumer show to attract jewelers, but by the time it closed in 2021, most jewelers had stopped participating. As luxury brands transform into what she describes as independent entertainment and lifestyle purveyors, “I doubt that these types of brands are interested in the old model of attracting customers at jewelry shows,” she writes.
Mr. Giro’s own love of jewelry and collecting began at a very young age. “It’s my passion, it’s been like this since I was 16, 17 years old.”
“I collect everything I like – I would say, I like it,” he added. “My favorite period is the Belle Epoque, because you have the technology and you have the madness that I like: you know, moving butterflies and stuff like that.”
“I started out in design,” he says, but rather than buying gemstones and design jewelry, “I’d be better off buying a vintage Cartier or a signed brand because the value will change over time.” up, and you don’t lose your money.”
