Francéclat launches new rendez-vous for jewellery and fine jewellery industry

To coincide with Paris Fashion Week, Francéclat, the professional committee for jewellery, watchmaking and fine jewellery, inaugurated “Emergence, le Rendez-vous” on Friday. Staged alongside the Première Classe trade fair in the Tuileries Garden, the industry gathering brought together 24 companies for an event designed to fill a gap identified within the sector.

“The initial aim was to design a creative platform to spotlight jewellery and fine jewellery in Paris and internationally,” explained Priscilla Jokhoo, director of the Emergence support programme for small businesses in the sector.

Well-versed in this kind of initiative after eleven years at the French Womenswear Federation (FFPAPF) and co-founding the Traffic trade fair with WSN, owner of Who’s Next and Première Classe, the director said she was surprised to discover the absence of such events for the jewellery and fine jewellery sector.

This reality appears to be driving brands to settle for exhibiting at trade fairs aimed at adjacent markets.

“When we point out that they attend trade fairs that aren’t necessarily aligned with their positioning, the brands reply, ‘We do it by default’, ‘It’s the only option’, and it is precisely this that the new event seeks to address.”

It is an event that showcases exhibitors from the very entrance, with carefully curated staging. In a long, softly lit aisle, all the brands are immediately visible along a corridor that gently tapers from stand to stand. Part of the line-up focuses on fashion jewellery, featuring Anicet, Anna Shelley, Gas Bijoux, Hugo Kreit, Lucas Bauer, Mara Paris, Mezzaluna and Mineralosophie.

Sixteen brands make up the fine jewellery section, including 5 Octobre, Atelier Molinari, Bot, Copin, D1928, Lydia Courteille and Maison Marcelle. They are joined by Marie Mas, Marie-Alexandrine Yvernault, Matteo Mascheroni Joaillerie, Mazarin, Meteor and Rouvenat. Not to mention Sylvia Toledano, The Black Alchemy and Vever.

“We have therefore co-designed the format with brands and buyers to accommodate their operational constraints,” explained Jokhoo, who hopes this will help overcome the lack of recognition for a sector which, whilst fashion is struggling, is itself enjoying strong growth.

“There is history, heritage, the aura of Place Vendôme… yet also the sense of being treated as poor relations, when we have every reason to be proud.”

“Emergence”, which is also the name of the magazine created to counter this invisibility, is likewise an opportunity for Francéclat to publish a map of the various events, presentations, showrooms and dinners across the jewellery, watchmaking and fine jewellery sectors. The initiative is accessible via the professional committee’s portal, funded by the sector through a dedicated levy.

The event, which notably welcomed a visit from MP and former minister Olivia Grégoire, runs until October 5. Also expected are representatives of the roughly 7,000 traditional watchmakers, jewellers and fine jewellers, a key outlet for a sector comprising around 15,000 businesses and generating 70,000 jobs and €15 million in turnover.