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RAPAPORT... The 57th annual International Jewellery London (IJL) will take place from September 2 to 5 at Earls Court London with more exhibitors than in previous years, according to the organizers. This year, IJL created a Watch Trail to highlight watch brands and feature jewelry companies with watch lines such as Storm, Since 1853 (Torgoen Swiss and Revue Thommen), Festina, Bering Time Ltd., Erhard Junghans and BQ Watches (Rolex, Cartier, Breitling, Omega and Patek Phillipe). Peter Carmichael, the business development director of Since 1853, said, ''We will be exhibiting at least five watch brands never seen before and when this is combined with the launch of the excellent new Watch Trail, it promises to be a fantastic show.'' IJL's Design Gallery and Designer Brands sections created intimate settings for buyers and retailers to conduct business. Dinny Hall will showcase for the first time at IJL 2012, joining Amara, Rachel Galley, Sarah Jordan, Deakin & Francis, Andrew Geoghegan and Babette Wasserman. (Check out show section highlights.) The Bright Young Gems and KickStart stands at IJL host a selection of upcoming designers. Val Trotter, the director of Pebbles, said, ''We are particularly impressed with this year’s KickStarters. Every single designer selected has shown not only fantastic creativity and skill but also, and importantly, a great commercial awareness,'' Trotter said. ''IJL and other events where we meet the people behind the jewelry are so important for retailers like us who don’t stock big mainstream brands; our customers really appreciate the fact that we can tell the story of the designer – it makes the purchase so much more personal and therefore more meaningful,'' she said. Another new feature, the ''Platinum Experience,'' hosted by Platinum Guild International (PGI), will showcase the heritage of platinum in an interactive way that tells the story of how the metal is used. The adjoining Platinum Trail will host numerous platinum jewelry designers and manufacturers. The International Palladium Board (IPD), a new exhibitor to the show, will present a seminar on the future of palladium with special guest, designer Stephen Webster, and IPB's chairman, Brad Mills. Claire Adler will host the session. Adler said, ''We're at the early stages of palladium's journey in fine jewelry and I think this seminar will introduce it as the contemporary precious metal of the future.'' IJL scheduled three seminar tracks, ''Industry Insights,'' ''Successful Retailing'' and the ''Inspiration Theatre,'' which is sponsored by the Silver Promotion Service. Presenters include Martin Rapaport, the chairman of the Rapaport Group, who will address key factors affecting the diamond industry and Callum Watt (aka Maketh-The-Man,) who will discuss the future of blogging. Brand and retail experts conducting learning sessions included Jayant Raniga, a brand manager for PureJewels and Clare Rayner, The Retail Champion. Numerous experts will host seminars on other topics too, such as sustainability, gemstone treatments, gold, sales and marketing and more. (Search all seminars.) IJL's director, Sam Willoughby said, ''The show is already seen as an essential buying event in the calendar for top retailers and buyers, across London, the U.K. and internationally. Amazing designers and brands choose IJL as the time to launch their new collections and it provides an optimum opportunity to source with the busy Christmas period approaching, but also with 2013 in mind.''
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