The pandemic has led to the rediscovery of the value of trade fairs, in all sectors and around the world. Those who, before Covid, had begun to have doubts about their role had to change their mind, even in jewelry, as demonstrated by Couture, an exclusive event that was held in Las Vegas at the beginning of June, after two years of absence. «I anticipated the pleasure of returning to face-to-face meetings and dialogue without digital mediation with clients and colleagues – explains Carlo Traglio, president of Vhernier -. But the liveliness I saw this year in Las Vegas and the desire to leave with a different spirit was a wonderful surprise ».
Vhernier arrived at the fair with five months of growing sales in all the countries where it is present and in particular in the United States: “I will never cease to amaze myself, I believe, by the ability of Americans to quickly emerge from a crisis, to let themselves be shoulders the negative events and to start over with equal if not greater energy », says Traglio, who is also Vhernier’s creative director. Some difficulties remain, from the price increases of raw materials, including gold, to the geopolitical uncertainties, in Europe and Asia-Pacific, but Traglio is convinced that jewelry has shown that it can face any crisis. “During the pandemic we reviewed the processes and internal organization and started the generational change – underlines the president of Vhernier -. But we were also able to concentrate on the creative part, starting from our usual strengths ». In pret-à-porter jewelery, Vhernier stands out for its design and unusual use of materials, in high jewelery (unique pieces with a value that can exceed one million euros) the maison has made itself known for the originality of the stones and their possible combinations and soon a new collection of 60-70 pieces will be ready. «In the first half of the year, e-commerce grew by 30% compared to 2021, well above our expectations. I believe that the boost also came from more accessible collections, which are the evolution of Vhernier’s distinctive shapes and colors – concludes Traglio -. On the site you can buy a selection of the most emblematic creations, such as the Abbraccio and Pirouette rings, reworkings of our classics, or the new Mon Jeu bracelets. We feared, I think like everyone else, overlapping with the physical channels of retail and wholesale and we feared that our jewels were not made for online sales. We were wrong: over 75% of the turnover generated by e-commerce comes from totally new customers, who are approaching Vhernier for the first time ».