AMBERIF 2009 will host almost 500 exhibitors from nine countries (including Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Turkey and the United Kingdom), who will be seen by some 6,000 registered trade visitors from more than 40 countries throughout the world.

Amberif is the biggest amber exhibition in the world and the leading jewellery show in Central and Eastern Europe. It is not only the number of exhibitors, but also the surprisingly broad diversity of design, innovative forms and a unique approach to amber, gold, silver and other materials make Amberif a true trend-setter in amber jewellery.

As in its previous editions, Amberif will be organised around thematic sectors. Hall 5 will exhibit silver and gold jewellery with amber on the ground floor, while the mezzanine will have the information stands of trade chambers, associations, museums and schools, as well as an exhibition of the winning entries in the competitions accompanying the Fair. As always, the Designers’ Gallery, where artists present their unique works, is bound to be an eye-catcher. It is certainly worth visiting, both to experience jewellery art and to see where the trends are heading. Jewellery with amber will also be on display in Hall 4. Hall 3 will showcase mainly gold and silver jewellery, but will also have exhibitors with platinum jewellery, clocks and watches, as well as diamonds and other gemstones. The Fair will be rounded out with the Technical Pavilion with a broad range of products for jewellery manufacturers: tools, machines, semi-finished products and materials.

This year AMBERIF’s special guest will be Barbara Westwood, the famous American jewellery designer, who intends to make her own designer jewellery collection especially for the Fair, out of amber nuggets donated by the members of the International Amber Association. Amber, which is so different from classic hard gemstones, is a completely new material for Ms Westwood so we can expect surprising results. Having such a celebrated designer among us is an opportunity for an inspiring meeting and for the exchange of experience in how we perceive both the world of jewellery and Baltic amber’s place in the imagination of artists throughout the world. Her exhibition will be on display among the other artists’ at the Designers’ Gallery.

The accompanying competitions are an important element of the Amberif Show. The first of these competitions is the Amberif Design Award, held in February, this year under the banner of POP-AMBER. This is a very special competition, as it is a conceptual contest, based on the one hand on jewellery design and on the other on associations, aesthetic and philosophical concepts. This is the only such amber competition; therefore, it is well worth seeing the winning entries and contemplating their meaning and place in contemporary art. Amberif’s other competitions include the Mercurius Gedanensis design competition, Amber Handicraft, and the Amber Sphere, awarded by the students of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Łódź for the best jewellery design.

Every year, Amberif is accompanied by a series of seminars on a wide array of issues which are important for jewellery and amber experts and enthusiasts. The Gemmological Seminar will be organised by the Association of Jewellery Experts (SRJ) in collaboration with the HRD Diamond High Council of Antwerp, the Art Historians’ session will be dedicated to Polish goldsmithing, while the Seminar on Baltic Amber will be prepared by the International Amber Association in partnership with the Museum of the Earth of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) in Warsaw.

Amberif, as always, will feature painting, graphic art, ceramics and photography exhibitions, as well as art events. The evening meetings between exhibitors and trade visitors are always both great fun and active leisure. We would like to take the opportunity to invite you to the evening preview of the jewellery by renowned Chinese sculptress Lu Pin at the Ambermoda Gallery in Sopot. She is widely known for her design of the Frederic Chopin monument in Shanghai, but she also makes small jewellery pieces in silk.

The Grand Amber and Fashion Gala always attracts special attention. The event showcases fashion and jewellery designed especially for Amberif. At the Gala, jewellery and fashion designers present the results of their partnerships, which are often surprising and frequently lead to a certain added value and further collaboration between the artists. Many of their designs are a true haute couture of amber fashion, as most of the pieces are made exclusively for this show. In them, the keen eye of the jewellery expert will notice inspirations for future trends and commercially developed collections.

The jewellery showcased at Amberif is chiefly made of Baltic amber. However, the diverse approach of the exhibitors to this rewarding material results in a very wide array of design styles from companies and individual designers, which provides a review of all the current styles in fashion and jewellery. For years now, we have been seeing continuous development in both design and technology, and the use of materials which once would never have come in combination, such as amber with diamonds. Many of the designs the exhibitors have premièred here have now become high-end jewellery. Come to visit Amberif and Gdańsk, the World Capital of Amber, where you can experience amber’s unique charm and magic. Feel free to go to our website at www.amberif.pl, where you will find the Fair’s up-to-date agenda, information to help you find accommodation, photographs of jewellery by selected exhibitors and last year’s competition winners.

Media Contact:

Michał Kosior

michal.kosior@gmail.com 

mobile +48 609 09 09 35

http://www.amberif.pl