Whose Gold Glitters Best?
They say that it can bring you success, change the course of history, accomplish one’s positive social image, and even cure neurosis. History knows that intrigues were always carried out around necklaces, beads, or diadems. Of course, only after people understood that stones can be used not only for getting fire and sharpening arrows. Precious talismans have also been featured in fiction. Superstitious sailors, to avoid a conflict with elements, carried an emerald with them as a symbol of the earth. Artists believed that multicolored tourmaline would help them preserve freshness and eternity of their paints. This list of functions people attribute to gems and precious metals is far from complete. Analyzing people’s love for them, psychologists have suggested contradictory theories, from gemstones being an element of human consciousness to their ability to compensate for social depression.
At the Fourth International Jeweler Expo Ukraine specialized exhibition organized by the Kyiv International Contract Fair joint stock company, 120 enterprises from Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and Poland presented virtually everything: decorations from the times when our grandmothers were young (massive bracelets and heavy brooches) along with earrings shaped as cannabis leaves or pendants decorated with punk symbols. Answering naive questions on what is in fashion now and whether this notion can be referred to jewelry at all, the producers got off with saying that everything that you like is in fashion. However, the exposition itself proved that still there are certain tendencies like, for example, eclecticism. Organizers recall that at one of the world biggest jewelry contest a quite eclectic, to put it mildly, necklace made of glass beads with a big diamond in the center won first prize. Of course, there was nothing of the kind at the Kyiv exhibition; however, in many cases costume jewelry was combined with precious stones. It was also obvious that the time of jewels imitating floral motifs has passed; now they are replaced with geometric figures, mostly asymmetrical.
Executive Director of the Pectoral Enterprise Serhiy Pliushch says that at present domestic jewelry can surpass the imported only in terms of quality. Turkish gold is vivid evidence that imported goods often do not meet standards. Sometimes, having bought a decoration with an original design, a customer returns it to the store after a few months or even weeks. The reason is that the decoration is frail or sometimes even the hallmark is false.
Such things happen very rarely with Ukrainian jewelry. Our problem is that Ukrainian jewelers, historically renowned for their skills, now have no access to modern technologies. “Our enterprises are fighting to survive and pay their taxes instead of developing and implementing new technologies. The excise for jewelry alone amounts to 55%,” Mr. Pliushch complains.
Simultaneously, while earlier there were only big factories in the jewelry business, now small enterprises are becoming more and more active. Competition is growing, though most popular goods are pectoral crosses and wedding rings. Obviously, the enterprises are affected with the correlation between the statistics on the level of poverty and demand for jewelry. On the other hand, this stimulates them to release their creative potential and experiment: relatively cheap jewelry made of silver and semi-precious metals now look like true masterpieces. This is what the jewelers get their prizes for. For instance by tradition a contest for the best decoration is held within the framework of the Jeweler Expo exhibition. Among the nominations are religious and philosophical themes, decorations in old techniques, XXI century decorations, ones for the interior and even for men. This year the exhibition also hosted a virtuoso jewelers’ contest.
