Vicenza 15/09/05 – Figures for export during the first 5 months of 2005 showed an increase of 12.8% over the same period in 2004, at the same time posting growth in value in proportion to the number of pieces sold. It was up to Orogemma to confirm or contradict this trend. The final figures speak clearly – despite an imperceptible drop in foreign operators (-0.44%, equivalent to 19 units) and a slightly large one in Italian operators (3.41%), developed business volume was lively enough. Talking numbers: during the 6 days of the event the turnstiles in Via dell’Oreficeria let in 14,887 operators, of whom 10,632 Italian and 4,262 foreigners from 109 countries. Significant increases were recorded from central-eastern Europe while in the Euro-zone Portugal and Spain were well-represented, with a slight drop for France and Germany. Very good participation by the Media: 103 Italian journalists from 16 provinces representing a total of 11 television companies, 16 daily newspapers, 44 magazines, 3 press agencies and 4 e-magazines. The foreign press sent 73 accredited journalists from 21 countries totalling 61 newspapers and magazines. Truly important web-related figures, posting 472,000 visits to the vicenzaoro.org site from 1 to 15 September, 106,000 to the leformedelgioiello.it site and 233,000 during the same period to orogemma.vicenzafiera.it. Mention must be made of visitor and operator appreciation for the convention programme, showing itself to be perfectly calibrated to the needs of the sector. From the Vicenza Fair Trend Lab dedicated to jewelry trends to the DTC workshop on visual merchandising, from the convention organised by the Vicenza Fair and Milan Polytechnic on design and production right through to the appointment with the International Gemological Institute of Antwerp, the convention rooms at the Vicenza Fair recorded standing room only whatever the occasion. Finally the presence of QVC must be signalled, the world’s most important television network specialising in tele-sales, which, in collaboration with the Fair met up with 67 companies in the gold jewelry sector and 17 in that of silverware, for the selection of new products to insert into its initiative for the 1st half-year of 2006 and on the QVC Live Show scheduled during Vicenzaoro2 2006.