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ENLIGHTENED™ – Swarovski Elements Launches Gem Visions 2010 China Special
ENLIGHTENED™ – Swarovski Elements is delighted to announce a special GEM VISIONS project and publication dedicated to China. This homage to the creativity of Chinese designers illustrates the boundless inspiration that stems from this dynamic, very beautiful country and culture. Leading Chinese and Hong Kong jewellery designers were invited to interpret the four Gem Visions 2010 jewellery trends and relate their designs to equivalent vibrant Chinese cities. The publication pays tribute to one of the world’s oldest civilisations and to a culture set to have ongoing global influence.
Working with leading experts, GEM VISIONS unites exclusive, in-depth research with socio-cultural megatrends and design directions to place gemstones in the context of the fast-changing global society. ENLIGHTENED™ – Swarovski Elements then uses its expertise and state-of-the-art technologies to develop fashion-forward genuine gemstone and created stone innovations that reflect the GEM VISIONS defined trend directions.
The GEM VISIONS 2010 China Special was launched at major fairs in Shenzhen (September 13 – 17), and Hong Kong (September 23 – 27). International initiatives will vary according to region.
CHINA, A UNIQUE AND EXCITING ENVIRONMENT FOR THE LUXURY MARKET
The global economic situation has redefined luxury and the jewellery industry is reaching back to a core value, which GEM VISIONS defines as the return of the jewel to one of its traditional roles as a store of wealth, the jewel as a future heirloom, a safe haven in times of turmoil..
China, as a dynamic market infused with creative energy, is a society with a growing level of connoisseurship. A new generation perceives design as a powerful vehicle of self expression, reflected in some 400 schools that offer design courses. China continues to embrace tradition, and its society still aspires to luxury as a measure of prestige, status and wealth. The country at once strengthens its national identity while simultaneously absorbing external influences and interpreting them in a highly original way. The result is the emergence of a fast-evolving, discerning and educated consumer that values heritage and authenticity combined with a distinct modernity. While jewellery traditions in China are traditionally linked to ritual, today, brand awareness is increasing and individual expressions of creativity are flourishing, including the European notion of the jewel as “art”.
THE GEM VISIONS CHINA SPECIAL PROJECT
With the creation of GEM VISIONS China Special, ENLIGHTENED™ – Swarovski Elements offers foreign and local buyers a window in the unique nature of the Chinese market by illustrating the depth of potential of Chinese jewellery manufacturers in both design and production. It is also offered as a service to our own clients by providing exposure to potential foreign buyers. The project is a timely extension of the regular GEM VISIONS international edition, widely recognised within the fine jewellery industry as an invaluable tool that illustrates trend directions and serves as a practical guide to the innovative strengths of ENLIGHTENED™ – Swarovski Elements. ENLIGHTENED™ – Swarovski Elements also views GEM VISIONS as an opportunity to profile some of the company’s most outstanding innovative customers.
FOUR TRENDS; FOUR DYNAMIC CHINESE CITIES
GEM VISIONS China Special highlights four future jewellery trend directions matched with four amazing cities: FALSE NUDITY – NANJING a less is more, pale veil of beauty is linked to NANJING, China’s ancient capital. OVERSIZED GAME – BEIJING exudes excess, stylisation of nature and exaggerated forms. PURE CHAOS – SHANGHAI expresses new aesthetics for 2010, the abundance of free-fall style-oriented romanticism akin to Shanghai. DIVINE CHIMERAS – HONG KONG is a new, magical, mystical direction to the age-old spirituality that is a fusion of East and West, ancient and modern.
