press release - Amberif

Gdansk, 9 March 2015
press release | AMBERIF 2015
22. International Fair of Amber, Jewellery and Gemstones
The 22nd International Fair of Amber, Jewellery and Gemstones AMBERIF 2015 will host over 470 exhibitors
representing 17 countries. Buyers from more than 50 countries are expected to visit Gdansk. The fair is dedicated
mostly to the owners of jewellery stores, warehouses and art galleries, and as such it cannot be attended by nonprofessionals.
Amber is the Highlight
The AMBERIF Fair was established and developed with the support from the local goldsmiths and amber craftsmen.
Today, AMBERIF is the world’s most important amber exhibition and the biggest jewellery industry trade show in
Central and Eastern Europe. It showcases products from well-known Polish and international jewellery brands. It
hosts the premieres of spring collections for the coming season. And, last but not least, this is where new jewellery
design trends and concepts are born. More than 470 exhibitors from 17 countries (Belgium, Brazil, Ethiopia, Spain,
Holland, India, Japan, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Romania, Thailand, Turkey, Great Britain, Italy, United States of
America and Poland) will present their products at this year’s fair. 'We will get to see amber found in various regions
of the world, such as Dominican amber, Sumatran amber and Ethiopian amber, yet Baltic amber will be, as always,
the highlight. Its most beautiful representations will be displayed paired with the finest jewellery materials. Amber
jewellery branded ‘Made in Poland’ is designed and crafted by our goldsmiths to adorn women on all continents,’
says AMBERIF Fair Director Ewa Rachon. The Amber Lab run by amber experts and specialists, and equipped with
new instruments purchased by the International Amber Association, will be there to help verify the authenticity of
the amber raw material.
Looking for Inspiration? Fashion and Art Trends
By tradition, the Trend Book 2015+ by Professor Slawomir Fijalkowski will have its premiere at Amberif. The Trend
Book offers a review of current trends and themes in jewellery and design. The Designers’ Gallery organised in
cooperation with the Goldsmithing Artists' Association will be yet another source of creative inspiration. This year, it
will host 80 artists presenting cutting edge and unique jewellery.
The important feature of the Amberif Fair will be a special presentation of amber jewellery collections and products
held as part of the programme for promotion of the jewellery and amber industry under the Innovative Economy
Operational Programme and run under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy (25 March, 3pm).
The AMBER LOOK trends & styles Amber and Fashion Gala is always the anxiously awaited artistic event on the
Amberif Fair schedule. This time, Poland’s leading fashion and jewellery designers will show their collections in a very
special setting provided by the Gdansk Shakespeare Theatre (Friday, 27 March). The famous designer, Michal
Starost, is the Gala Artistic Director.
Creator of Amber Nightingale as Competition Patron
Some prestigious competitions form an integral part of the Amberif Fair, including:
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The Bogdan Mirowski Mercurius Gedanensis jewellery competition for fair exhibitors, named for the first
time this year after the late Sopot-based outstanding jewellery artist, creator of the Amber Nightingale
Award and amber enthusiast, who died in 2014. The winner receives a Grand Prix Award in the form of a
statuette funded by the Minister of Economy;
Amberif Design Award, a design competition with the guiding theme of ‘Mimesis’ open to all jewellery
makers. The international jury, upon appraisal of 112 works coming from 18 countries, awarded the Main
Prize established by the President of the City of Gdansk to Marta Rzanek from Lodz. All the awarded works
will be exhibited at the fair after the competition;
Amber Handicraft, a competition for goldsmiths, from new entrants to skilled craftsmen, organised by the
Pomeranian Chamber of Crafts for Small and Medium Enterprises, and the MTG SA Gdansk International
Fair.
How to Tell the Difference between Pearls?
The Fair will be complemented with workshops, sessions and shows of educational and promotional nature, such as:
• Conference to commemorate the 30. Anniversary of the Paleoentomological Section of the Polish
Entomological Society on the research of archaic wildlife forms present in amber inclusions (organised by the
Museum of Amber Inclusions, University of Gdansk)
• Gemmological Seminar featuring Peter Panis from Antwerp who will explain how to tell the difference
between a natural pearl and a cultured pearl, or a freshwater pearl and a saltwater pearl, and Dorota
Wroblewska representing the Internet portal sofisti.pl who will advise on how to sell jewellery as a product
using the mass media (organised by the Association of Jewellery Experts)
• Amber Seminar featuring eminent scientists from Great Britain, Italy, Germany and Poland who will inform
about the archaeological, geological and chemical study of amber (organised by the Museum of Earth
Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Gdansk University of Technology and the International
Amber Association).
Amber Gdansk
It comes as no surprise that the fair will offer plenty of accompanying events, since it will take place in Gdansk, the
World’s Capital of Amber. The Museum of Amber will host two interesting exhibitions. One of them being Amber
Biennale, a new project implemented by the Academy of Fine Arts of Gdansk, will present a contemporary approach
to amber adopted by well-known European artists who have accepted the invitation to give artistic expression
through amber. Another event is the Amber. Around the World exhibition of jewellery made by the leading Polish
visual artists and designers from Baltic amber, Dominican amber, and Sumatran amber, organised by the collector
Janusz Fudala in cooperation with the Goldsmithing Artists' Association. The International Amber Association which
has moved to new premises at Warzywnicza Street in the Old Town of Gdansk looks forward to welcoming visitors to
the exhibition of works by the associated artists.
AMBERIF 2015
25/26/27 March, 10am–6pm | 28 March, 10am–5pm | www.amberif.pl
AmberExpo | 11 Zaglowa St, Gdansk
MEDIA CONTACT:
Amberif Project Director: Ewa Rachon - [email protected] | Tel. +48 58 55 49 134
Ewa Szpiek - [email protected] | Tel. +48 58 55 49 318