(PRESS RELEASE) VICENZA — The passion for vintage watches and jewelry is returning to Vicenza (Italy), where collectors and lovers of jewelry icons and timeless wristwatches will be gathering from 20th to 23rd January for the fourth edition of VO VINTAGE. The show organized by Italian Exhibition Group is a unique moment of encounter in the national panorama of sector events, not only to purchase unique and valuable pieces, but also to negotiate with the best dealers and keep up to date with experts on sector topics and trends.
Extended to four days compared to previous editions and open to the public, the event will be held in the foyer on the first floor of the Expo Centre at the same time as Vicenzaoro January and T.Gold (20th – 24th January). An authentic point of reference for watch lovers and the various generations of collectors who, over the weekend (Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd January), will be able to discover techniques, trends and curiosities thanks to a packed program of events, seminars, interviews and training moments with opinion leaders and experts, top dealers, associations, brands and influencers.
The Names at the Fourth Edition of VO Vintage
The vintage watch and jewelry lounge will be exhibiting a selection of 35 brands. The best watches dealers will exhibit in attendance, including Stefano Mazzariol’sVintage Watches, Elvio Piva’s Tempus, Roberto Verde’s Goldfingers and Vintage Watches and Cars by Andrea Foffi, who is also returning to Vicenza as a collector with the second part of the “Magister Speedmaster Exhibition” dedicated to the most famous Omega watches from his private collection (the first was at Vicenzaoro September 2022).
Representing vintage jewelry will be names such as Art Deco’ Bijoux, Montegrandi Gioielli, Micol, Gioielleria Faelutti and I Santi Medici. The Watch Passion association, which groups together and promotes the best watch dealers, will also be present with a selection of 10 exhibitors.
The Collector Identikit and New Trends
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The characteristics of a collector of timepieces will be discussed on Saturday 21st January with Jacopo Spangaro, organizer of the auction-event The One and owner of Orologeria Spangaro (based in the Italian city of Udine), Antonio Follari and Giancarlo Befera, collectors and members of L’Orologio Club, moderated by Dody Giussani, Editor-in-Chief of L’Orologio magazine.
A discussion on the “Latest trends in the international high-end market” will then follow with Stefano Mazzariol, founder and CEO of Vintage Watches, Elvio Piva, founder and CEO of Tempus Padova, and Roberto Verde, president of the Watch Passion association, in a meeting moderated by Michele Mengoli and Jacopo Giudici, respectively founder and Editor-in-Chief and publisher of Watch Insanity.
Bruno Bergamaschi (aka Giorgione), one of the best-known watchmaking experts in Italy, founder of Watchouse and Vicenzaoro ambassador of watchmaking passion and culture, will be among the protagonists of the meeting on Sunday 22nd January entitled “Defending the passion from counterfeiting and theft”, together with Mario Peserico, president of Assorologi, and Lorenzo Lucchinelli , founder of Ipsum – Identity for luxury goods.
Italian Watch Spotter will feature collections from the 1990s and 2000s and contemporary designs that evoke vintage. Saturday 21st January will be the turn of a talk by Franco Armentano, founder of DHM, Fabio Bertini, manager of F.lli Pisa in Milan, and Michele Corvo, owner of Corvo & C and GMT Italia.
As for technical training, Sunday 22nd January will see the return of the popular masterclass held by Professor Ugo Pancani from the Geneva-based FHH – Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie and member of the GPHG Academy.
Online Boutique and Influencers: Space for Young Collectors
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VO VINTAGE increasingly involves the younger generations of collectors. On Saturday 21st January, the talk “Collecting out of the box” organized by Andrea Casalegno, watch lover, consultant and the name behind IamCasa on Instagram, will feature three young influencers. The discussion on how collecting has changed and about the growing role of social networks will involve Alessandro Fanciulli, collector and hunter of fine pieces (on Instagram @mr. a), Joël Laplace , collector and assistant director at the Zenith Heritage Department (@jojolamontre on social networks), and Lorenzo Maillard, collector and content specialist at Watches and Culture, the FHH’s cultural hub.
Sunday 22nd January will be the turn of “Vintage Game Changers”, with another key voice who has changed the rules of the game in the field of collecting: Jasper Lijfering, owner and CEO of Amsterdam Vintage Watches, one of the most prestigious luxury vintage watch boutiques, with an online offer of high-end pieces for collectors from all over the world.
The full VO Vintage program is online here.
For B2B, The Contemporary Watchmaking Supply Chain In The New “Time” Community
From 20th to 24th January, the new “TIME” community will also be staged in Vicenza for the first time. As part of Vicenzaoro’s B2B format, it targets professional traders and aims to represent the entire contemporary watch supply chain with around fifty Italian and international brands and micro-brands, start-ups and established companies dealing in components, accessories, instruments and after-sale services. The program of talks organized by Watch Insanity will see some of its protagonists telling their stories.
Among the meetings for traders, on Friday 20th January, Locman will hold the event entitled “Italian watchmaking and its secrets”. Italy has played a significant role in the history of watchmaking as one of the key countries in a veritable technological revolution triggered by the Benedictine rule of “ora et labora” through which monks alternated work hours with prayer hours. Professor Ugo Pancani (FHH – Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva and member of the GPHG Academy) will trace its origins.
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Focus On Italian Exhibition Group
Italian Exhibition Group S.p.A., a joint stock company listed on Euronext Milan, a regulated market organized and managed by Borsa Italiana S.p.A., has, with its facilities in Rimini and Vicenza, achieved national leadership over the years in the organization of trade shows and conferences. The development of activities abroad – also through joint-ventures with global or local organizers, in the United States, United Arab Emirates, China, Mexico, Germany, Singapore, Brazil, for example – now sees the company positioned among the top European operators in the sector.
