It shows the eagerness of the English trade at all levels to get into the American market. This is by far the biggest participation of the UK trade in any American fair at any time.
There are many well-known names from the home fair circuits showing, with a lot of them Olympia regulars. Just a random sample from the 70 are Albert Amor, Charles Plante, Chris Beetles, Christine Bridge, Gregg Baker, Hancocks, Koopman, Mark J. West, Patrick Sandberg, Wakelin & Linfield and Hallidays.
But there are a good number of dealers not familiar from British fairs who obviously also see the potential of standing in the United States.
There is a smattering of dealers from the Continent but nowhere near the scale of the British contingent.
There are some very noteworthy American dealers showing, names familiar from upmarket American fairs. These include Daphne Alazraki, Vandekar, Geoffrey Diner and Kentshire Galleries.
The fair is organised by three Florida jewellery dealers Scott Diament, Robert Samuels and Kris Charamonde and they have lured in so many dealers with remarkably low stand rates – a substantial stand costs $8000.
The fair will be vetted, but it is clear that there is going to be a great range of quality on offer, from the lower-middle to the very top, not unlike Olympia.
The fair will certainly not compare in glamour and prestige with Palm Beach Classic, but it will be interesting to see if there is a market for the middle range in this rich area.
I know the English dealers are taking their very best stock so we will just have to wait and see if their sojourn in the sun is a success. The feeling is that even if it is not, they will have not lost a great deal of money.
Admission is $15.
Olympia in the sun – why trade heads for Florida
HOT on the heels of the upmarket, well-established Palm Beach Classic, the brand new Palm Beach Jewellery and Antique Show will be launched from February 13 to 17 at the same venue, the new Palm Beach Convention Center. The event is fully booked with a hefty 225 dealers but the astonishing fact is that no fewer than 70 of these are from the UK.
