Inaugural edition of the Middle East’s premier fine jewellery and gems exhibition welcomes thousands of luxury aficionados at Dubai World Trade Centre

Dubai, UAE, November 16, 2017:  Jewellery trade professionals and private gold, gem and diamond buyers have descended on the inaugural edition of VOD Dubai International Jewellery Show, prompting organisers to forecast bountiful sales at the first outing of the Middle East’s largest trade and consumer jewellery industry mega event.

Featuring the most impressive curation of luxury gems and jewellery collections Dubai and the wider region have ever seen at a jewellery industry event, more than 500 local and international brands are gathered at Dubai World Trade Centre for VOD Dubai International Jewellery Show, which is organised by DV Global Link, a joint-venture between DWTC and Italian Exhibition Group (IEG).

A specially-sectorised layout spanning more than 200,000 square feet of indoor exhibition space has proven attractive to buyers, with members of the public joining 400 premium and hosted buyers on the event’s opening day alone. An impressive number of celebrity meet-and-greets, luxury trend seminars and more are also entertaining crowds.

“VOD Dubai International Jewellery Show has proven a tremendous success in its first 24 hours,” said Corrado Facco, Vice Chairman of DV Global Link and Managing Director of IEG. “The quality of jewellery in both the trade and consumers sections of the show is truly beautiful and there has been a very healthy flow of on-site transactions during the first day – from bulk purchases of precious stones to individual purchases. We anticipate increasingly strong sales as the show moves into the weekend when the majority of our consumer audience will visit the show.” 

Her Excellency Dr. Maitha bint Salem Al Shamsi, Minister of State and UAE Cabinet Member; Ambassador Liborio Stellino, Italian Embassy, Abu Dhabi; Valentina Setta, Consulate General for the Italian Consulate in Dubai; Gianpaolo Bruno, the Italian Trade Commissioner; Mansoor Al Thani, Chairman of DV Global Link; and Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice President, Exhibitions & Events Management, DWTC all echoed the landmark Italy-UAE collaboration at a VIP opening. 

Other notable attendees included Tamjid Abdullah, Deputy Director of Jawahara; Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman of Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC); Franco Bosoni, Director of Commodities at DMCC; Jacob Abrian, Founder and CEO of Arab Fashion Council, as well as Rubel Antonio, Chairman & CFO of AFW.

Promising four-days of fashion-filled events and entertainment to keep luxury-lovers on their feet, the ‘Fashion Tableau Vivant’ catwalk - the result of a partnership with AFW - kicked off the action-packed VOD Dubai International Jewellery Show schedule. 

Famous for its hand-knitted fashion and celebrity dolls, Mua Mua Dolls expanded its regional horizons with statement knits, over-sized jumpers and embellished kaftans adorned with delectable jewels from one of the UAE’s most popular gold and jewellery retailers, Malabar Jewels, and statement caricatures of Karl Lagerfeld and Anna Wintour. 

Not to be outdone, the second catwalk of the day, Extreme Sophistication, showed off some of VOD Dubai International Jewellery Show’s most glamourous gold creations, which took to the runway in front of a front-row of Dubai’s most stylish socialites. With five 15-minute catwalks scheduled on the first day of the show, jewellery designers included Micheletto, Maria De Toni, T. Ristori and Chiampesan Jewels from Italy, as well as the UAE’s Itan Jewels.

The Fashion Talks proved to be one of the show’s biggest consumer draws, with Dubai One TV presenter and YouTube sensation Aishwarya Ajit taking to the stage with editor-in-chief of Masala, Lekha Menon. The pair discussed their love of gold jewellery, and how important the trend is to the global industry. The social media star then took time out from her hectic schedule to wow fans and followers with a half-an-hour meet and greet that drew in the millennial crowd. 

VOD Dubai International Jewellery Show is open to both retail and trade visitors. The show is open 2pm-10pm from November 16 and 18 2017, and 3pm-10pm on November 17 2017. Entry is free.