November Industry Events Canceled, Moved Online

New York—The last two jewelry events of 2020 have gone the way so many others have this year due to coronavirus: one has been canceled and the other is going virtual.

GemGenève organizer Gemexpo SA announced it has canceled the November 2020 show, noting in a statement that current travel restrictions and increased health and safety precautions make it “impossible for GemGenève to be the interactive experience that we intend it to be.”

It was slated for Nov. 1 to 4 at Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland, after being moved up by four days to accomodate buyers and exhibitors who also wanted to attend Jewellery & Gem World Hong Kong.

“As with all unexpected situations, we must make use of our creativity in order to find a way to overcome these challenges,” GemGenève co-founder Ronny Totah said. “GemGenève is currently exploring various directions in order come out stronger.”

Organizers said they would reimburse all exhibitors that had committed and give them a chance to secure their spot at the 2021 show.

Informa Markets Jewellery also announced its Jewellery & Gem World Hong Kong will pivot to an online format this year through the launch of Jewellery & Gem Digital World.

Previously called the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair and held in two venues, the Jewellery & Gem World Hong Kong show was pushed back to November to accommodate planning for necessary safety measures during the pandemic and moved into one venue this year.

The show will return to its physical form in September 2021, according to Informa Markets Jewellery.

“Our overriding priority has always been to provide our stakeholders with a safe, secure and the highest-quality sourcing experience possible, which is simply not feasible given the current circumstances,” said David Bondi, senior vice president of Informa Markets in Asia.

“New challenges, however, afforded us new opportunities to work for creative solutions that will bring our community together in a new way, Jewellery & Gem Digital World.”

The digital event is slated for Oct. 27-29 and will include digital product meeting catalogs, personalized showroom technology and more.

It will also be preceded by other new online initiatives from the show organizer, such as an Asian jewelry industry webinar series and an online gemstone education program.

The winners of Informa’s JNA Awards also will be announced in a virtual presentation on the first day of Jewellery & Gem Digital World.

The news from