This is possibly, in large part, due to the presence of the industry’s three buying groups – Nationwide Jewellers, Showcase Jewellers, and the Independent Jewellers Collective – which together represent more than 600 independent jewellery stores.
This year’s event in Darling Harbour was another big one for Nationwide Jewellers. The weekend began with a spirited pre-game address to a packed crowd of members, keen to hear insights on the road ahead. General manager Glen Pocklington said the weekend communicated a clear theme to members.
“I think we had around 150 people or so in our area for the kickoff session. This year, our running theme has been all about the ‘next generation’ of the jewellery business,” he said.
“We’ve spent time talking to all of our members about who the next generation of their business is. Will it be staff members or family? Or someone else who will come in and take the reins? It’s not just about keeping your business going, but the industry itself.
“We’ve been laying that groundwork for a while now, and it complements our messages about the next line of tools, technology, websites and interactive digital tools that will shape the way that customers engage with their staff and their business. It’s all about getting minds ticking over and planning for the future.”
Sticking with new tools and technology were the live demonstrations of CaratIQ, a new partnership for the buying group. CaratIQ is an AI-based operating system for jewellery stores. Under this agreement, Nationwide members can use CaratIQ to access group resources, including the Repair Price Book and the Retail Management Report.
Education and member experiences also formed an important part of Nationwide’s plans, with several new opportunities already on the horizon.
Across August and September next year, members will embark on a voyage spanning two continents, first travelling to Botswana to see the source of a significant portion of the world’s diamond supply first-hand before heading to Antwerp to see how rough diamonds are transformed into jewellery’s most culturally significant stone.
Nationwide has also confirmed that, in May 2028, the group will host members on a tour of Turkey and Greece. Against that backdrop, however, the immediate trading environment remains a key consideration for members. Pocklington said that while every business faces a unique set of challenges, he was pleased to report that overall most members expressed optimism about the year ahead.
“I think most of the business owners we’ve spoken to feel like they’re just humming along at the moment. They’re not massively up or down; they’re just motoring along. Lower sales volume is common, but with gold prices, the average sale value is higher,” he explained.
“Other than that, I think most of our members come to the Sydney Fair looking forward to learning something new. There’s been a lot of positivity from our members, which is very pleasing.”
The emphasis on supporting the next generation extends beyond technology and business strategy, with the group also continuing to invest in the skills and career development of those entering the trade.
The buying group also announced the winner of this year’s Apprentice of the Year award – and this time around the competition was fierce.
Open to first- through fourth-year jewellery apprentices, this year’s competition challenged entrants to create a piece of jewellery expressing the theme ‘Love has many facets’.
The winner was Sandy Nguyen from Acacia Jewellers in New South Wales, who took home the Nathan Cameron Perpetual Trophy, a $5,000 prize to spend on tools to further her career, and a $500 voucher for Bolton Gems. The Promising Talent Award went to Reuben Kelly from Kings Hall Jewellers in New South Wales.
Moving forward together
The Independent Jewellers Collective entered the International Jewellery Fair fresh from its conference, the Retailer Partner Experience, which was hosted in Sydney across 20-21 August.
IJC used the Sydney Fair to take the pulse of its membership, with conversations ranging from current trading conditions to the practical support independent jewellers need to navigate them. CEO Joshua Zarb said both the conference and the Sydney Fair were productive for the buying group.
“We’ve been busy doing what we always do – spending valuable time speaking with our members about how their businesses are going and finding out what, if anything, we can do to support them – and of course, meeting with new people for the first time,” he explained.
“The sentiment from members is always interesting because everyone is in a slightly different stage of their journey. Just from those conversations, I would say that ‘off-the-shelf’ retail isn’t hugely buoyant at the moment, but that’s why we’ve spent so much time in recent years working on our custom design resources for members.”
The focus on custom design reflects a broader strategy at IJC as the group continues to develop tools intended to help individual jewellers build on their own strengths.
Among those resources is the ‘Collective Gems’ app, which was launched at the Australian Jewellery Fair in Adelaide earlier this year. At the time, Zarb said that his group has invested more than $300,000 in improving custom-made jewellery services for members over the past three years.
With that said, the value of any buying group ultimately goes beyond the individual resources and services it provides.
“I often like to tell people that being a member of a buying group is like being connected with a group of people by a bungee cord," Zarb said.
"You’ll always have a few people at the front, running at full speed, and a few people in the middle who are just going with the flow, and a few people at the back who might be struggling to keep up.
"The point is, everyone is connected by that cord, and the group's momentum keeps everyone moving in the right direction.”
Bridging the generational gap
That idea of collective momentum was echoed by Showcase Jewellers and its approach in August, with education, collaboration, and generational support again emerging as key themes.
Likewise, Showcase Jewellers hosted a conference and its annual general meeting ahead of the Sydney Fair. Chair Catherine Pevy Trewartha said the conference, with around 90 members, was one of the most energetic and positive in recent memory.
“We hosted a marketing expo for the members, which was extremely well received. I’m sure the experience is the same among members of the other two groups; it’s just an area of business where most independent jewellers feel that they need the most support,” she said.
“I think this year, our members at the show are feeling a lot more confident about their businesses moving forward. I can speak for Showcase when I say that I feel we have much more clarity around what support our members feel they need, and we will be working very hard to ensure it is available to them."
For Showcase, one of the clearest areas where that support is being put into practice is in connecting different generations of jewellers and encouraging the exchange of knowledge between them.
A focus for the group remains ‘bridging the gap’ generationally between established jewellers and those new to the trade. Showcase is doing this with two distinct groups: the Wisdom Society, which emphasises skill retention among industry veterans, and the Next Generation, a group of emerging business owners.
Pevy Trewartha said both groups continued to complement each other well, as those new to the trade have an opportunity to learn from those who have ‘seen it all before’, while older business owners can stay abreast of emerging technology, trends, and tools from the more digitally savvy younger crowd.
“It’s not a secret that it’s been a challenging year for the broader jewellery industry, with things like lab-created diamond pricing, gold and other precious metals pricing, and then just the general cost of keeping the doors always seem to increase. But that’s the reason why you become a part of a group like Showcase, because you have people that you can call and talk things through,” she said.
“I think people on average definitely feel very happy about their businesses heading towards the end of the year, Christmas, and New Year’s. Many of our members have been reworking their business models more towards custom design, remakes, remodelling, repairs, and other general workshop activities, which has helped them stand out from the competition and forge a stronger connection with the community around their business.”
While the three groups approach their memberships in different ways, a common thread running through the Sydney Fair was the importance of adaptation – whether through technology, custom design, education, or simply the ability to draw on the experience of fellow jewellers.
Amid a rapidly changing retail environment, that sense of connection may prove just as valuable as any individual tool, product or strategy.
The International Jewellery Fair was hosted at the International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Sydney’s Darling Harbour from 22-24 August.
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