There's also the unavoidable question doing the rounds: How’s business? With that said, the Sydney Fair has always been about more than what happens on the show floor.
It’s a gathering point for the broader Australian jewellery industry – a place to do business, certainly, but also to exchange ideas, celebrate milestones, discover new products and services and, perhaps most importantly, reconnect with the people who make up the trade.
That broader sense of community was evident with the return of The Big Night Out, which gave around 260 members of the broader jewellery trade a chance to let their hair down at L’Aqua at the Cockle Bay Wharf.
This time around, sailing the seas gave way to an ABBA tribute band. Expertise Events managing director Gary Fitz-Roy said that, coming in hot after a rousing debut, the organisers had stuck with their guns – shaking up the entertainment factor with a clear focus on keeping the event affordable for participants.
“After how popular last year’s event was, we always knew that some people were going to say that this year was better, while others would say it was worse. The key thing was that we wanted to do something different and keep building on the idea of what the Big Night Out can be,” he told Jeweller.
“We made some small changes on the periphery based on the feedback from last year. I think overall the consistent feedback after both events is that the jewellery industry needs an event like this.
“People have come forward with all sorts of great ideas for future events, which we love, but we think the biggest focus needs to be on keeping the event affordable and accessible.”
After an evening of dancing and networking, the focus shifted back to the trade – and one of the fair’s most popular attractions continued.
In three short years, the Mystery Box Bench Challenge has evolved from a creative initiative designed to develop the future of the trade into one of the International Jewellery Fair’s must-see events.
Coming to the competition from Matthew Ely Jewellery, Jessica Ward emerged victorious, collecting more than $2,000 worth of prizes designed to further her developing career in the jewellery industry.
She was joined by Mathias Simon in second place and Finn Macoolyn-Lindsay in third. TAFE NSW head teacher of jewellery design Gina Kind said it was excellent to see the broader industry embrace the growing tradition.
“Working under pressure is the reality of working in this industry, and in this competition we are witnessing the future of the jewellery industry. Everyone needs to be able to not only make decisions for themselves, but also support those around them,” she said.
As the winner of the 2026 Mystery Box Bench Challenge, Jessica Ward joins previous winners Brielle Prince of Meg Maskell Fine Jewellery (2025) and Solomon Gates of Saffo Jewellery (2024).
Let’s get down to business
Walking the floor of the Sydney Fair, you quickly realise that if you’re looking for a specific opinion on the state of the market – no matter what it is – you’ll find it somewhere.
Over the past five years, supplier feedback has never been so clearly split into two lanes. Equal numbers of exhibitors reported that opening day was frantic and full of ordering, while the second day was slow and dragged. Conversely, many suppliers reported a lack of traction on the opening day followed by an aggressive rebound.
It was remarkable how polar opposite much of the feedback was. Yet, amid those differing experiences, some consistent themes emerged.
And one of the clearest was the continued appetite for colour. Exhibiting at the International Jewellery Fair for the first time, the Australian Diamond Trading Company (ADTC) was led by Jay Ivany, who said colour gemstones were a big hit.
“The first day was slow for us, but Sunday was good. We had much stronger conversations and generated more serious leads, which was pleasing,” Ivany said.
“People definitely loved looking at our colour gemstones, which is something we've only started offering over the past year or so. I think the interest we’ve had in these stones has been a reflection of the broader market.”
A short walk away, the same appetite was evident at SAMS Group. Steve der Bedrossian said buyers received new additions to the Sapphire Dreams catalogue extremely well.
“It’s been a great fair; we’re really happy. Both Saturday and Sunday were very busy,” he said.
“People have really responded well to our new releases in Sapphire Dreams; they’ve been popular. They just love the designs, which is what we want to hear because a lot of work goes into putting everything together.”
Colour was also making itself felt in another distinctly Australian form. Paterson Fine Jewellery is in the midst of something of a rebrand, and David Paterson said opal was proving to be a particularly strong performer.
“Opal is just huge at the moment; I really think it’s become a must-have for retailers. The days of it being thought of as a ‘tourist stone’ are long gone. Many retailers feel that they just have to have some kind of opal offering,” he said.
“That’s something that certainly makes us happy because it’s such a beautiful stone. Its popularity has gone through the roof, and people want to learn more about it – and it’s good to be able to provide that with either in-store training or by meeting face-to-face in Sydney like this.”
Rock n Roll
With colour clearly one of the weekend's recurring themes, it was fitting that the conversation continued with a little friendly competition. At Gerrim, the team hosted an exciting giveaway for the Queen of Colour – an 18-carat yellow gold ring featuring four carats of lab-created diamonds and 2.5 carats of lab-created sapphire.
The lucky winner was Larry van Balkom from St Ives Jewellers in New South Wales. Gerri Maunder said that, alongside the interest in colour, there was significant demand for lab-created diamonds.
“We've had a really good fair, much better than I think we expected. We know the market is tough for retailers right now,” she said.
“Everyone always loves something fresh, and we’ve been very happy with the reception to our new collections. We’ve had terrific feedback on our lab-created diamond collection in particular, which I think is unlike anything else on the market. It’s manufactured in our signature style.”
A similar story emerged at Duraflex Group Australia, where Phil Edwards said Labs by DGA was a clear hit with the crowd.
“Overall it’s been an excellent fair. We’re very happy with the foot traffic and the business that we’ve done. In terms of sentiment, I don’t think anyone hides from the fact that it’s a tough market for retailers at the moment, but it’s been a productive fair, and we’re always happy to be on the show floor meeting with everyone face-to-face,” he said.
“Lab-created diamonds have certainly been a clear strength for us. All the feedback we’ve heard is that they're in huge demand among consumers.”
Edwards also reported that Ania Hae continues to impress as an unassuming ‘sleeper’ brand that resonates well with consumers. Equal praise went to WOLF, as retailers continue to find value in offering a logical connective product to luxury watches.
Smooth sailing
If the show floor provided plenty of evidence of what consumers are buying today, it also offered a glimpse of how retailers will operate tomorrow.
The Duraflex stand offered a reminder that we operate in an increasingly digital marketplace – offering live demonstrations of Be.My.Jewel, a new custom-made jewellery platform, and talking with members about the upcoming launch of a new resources portal.
“One clear highlight for us has been the launch of our new business-to-business platform, which is going to provide our retail partners with better access than ever before. It officially launches in September,” Edwards added.
“We’re very conscious of the fact that for our retail partners, integration onto a B2B platform has to be very smooth. If it doesn’t click from the start, they just won’t use it. Our new platform has absolutely everything on it – marketing, catalogues, best-seller lists, price lists, images, ordering and tracking details, data files, marketing support – it’s all there.
“It’s a complete portal that links us together. The more transparency and information available between our retail partners and us, the stronger and more efficient the relationship will be, and that’s what this platform is all about.”
That emphasis on technology was echoed elsewhere in the hall, particularly in the Tech Village, where Retail Edge Consultants used the Sydney Fair to demonstrate the next generation of its retail technology. Leon van Megen said the event was a highlight of the year.
“It gives Retail Edge and our partners at the Tech Village the chance to reconnect with the retailers we work alongside every day and show them, face to face, where our business is heading. The conversations we had at the show reaffirmed why we do what we do,” he explained.
“We used Sydney to unveil our new prototype cloud-based CRM, a unified inbox that brings all customer communication into a single view, with smart calendar and reminder tools and live bi-directional syncing to the Edge. The response from our retailers was outstanding, pointing to a real shift in how they manage client relationships.
"Alongside the CRM, we demonstrated the next release of the Edge, made up of 54 enhancements and fixes landing in September/October, as well as the latest evolution of Edge Pulse, our global analytics platform. Together they give independent jewellers a level of insight and capability that has not existed in this market before.”
Also featured at The Village was Zeller, offering integrated payment and business banking solutions, and Podium, which centralises all business communications, from SMS to webchat and reviews, into a single inbox.
Further along the technology trail, another first-time exhibitor was making its presence felt. Ryan Abdullah and the team at CaratIQ arrived after striking a partnership with Nationwide Jewellers, bringing their software to the show floor for the first time.
“It was a great show for us, and we’ve really enjoyed joining the community on the show floor. We’ve had nothing but great feedback about our software – many people described it as a breath of fresh air,” he said.
“In particular, people were very interested in all of the AI integration, and particularly the ability to transcribe invoices with a camera – saving them hours of work each week. The main thing we’ve been told is that our software is very easy to use, which is great.”
Memory lane
For all the talk of what's new, some of the most compelling moments on the show floor came from businesses reflecting on how far they have already travelled. Who doesn’t love an anniversary celebration?
BECKS has reached 50 years of trading as a proudly South Australian company, and CEO Gavin Baird said that the trip to Sydney was a critical part of the milestone celebration.
"The event was an opportunity to launch our 2026 new product designs, which this year also included a special Jubilee retail range that was designed based on the three incredible commemorative hero pieces we had on display,” he said.
"We also utilised this year's IJF to launch our new Tantalux range, which is really proving to be a game changer and has already received an enormous amount of interest."
"We are proud to support the Sydney Fair and the events taking place around it; it’s really the big show for the industry suppliers. It will always be our launch pad into the remainder of the year and a great opportunity to connect with our customers as we move into our peak period and wedding season."
Designa Accessories also celebrated an anniversary, the local distributor for brands including Guess, Timex, Rosefield, Aston Martin, and Maxum. Manager Ivan Meys said the anniversary was summarised with a simple theme - time well kept.
“It’s always good fun to celebrate an anniversary and, with some new faces, tell our story for the first time,” he said.
“This year is all about ‘40 Years of Time Well Kept’ for us, and we’re keeping our focus on what our customers want, which is pretty simple – bringing excellent products to market at great value prices and making sure that we've got compelling marketing campaigns that are going to help drive conversion."
Elsewhere, Lachlan Renshaw and the team at Centrestone Jewellery Insurance were celebrating their own milestone.
“It’s been a fantastic weekend. We’ve been coming to Sydney for 10 years now, and I would say that this has been our best fair yet,” he said.
“That’s based on the volume of people we’ve spoken to and the quality of the leads. We’ve had the chance to meet a lot of new jewellers and had great conversations.
“Jewellers Block is going terrific. It's really given us another string in our bow. It’s been really successful, and I think it’s clear that it was something that was really needed in the jewellery industry. We’re still offering the only product that’s direct to the jeweller; we don’t go through brokers, and that continues to resonate strongly.”
And perhaps that is the best way to read this year’s International Jewellery Fair. No single story emerged from the aisles.
Some exhibitors were flat-out from the opening bell; others found their momentum later. Some talked about colour; others about lab-created diamonds and branded jewellery. Technology was everywhere, from new platforms and systems to AI-powered tools, while established businesses were using the fair to mark significant milestones.
What connected all of those conversations was the value of being there. In an industry where so much business can now be conducted digitally, the show floor continues to offer something that a screen cannot: the chance to put a product into someone’s hands, demonstrate a new system, talk through a new collection, discover an unexpected opportunity and, perhaps most importantly, just catch up.
Indeed, one thing was clear: the Australian jewellery industry still sees value in coming together.
Looking back on a busy 2026 sydney Fair