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In the frame of the 28th INTERGEM held from October 5th till 8th 2012 in Idar-Oberstein, COLLECTION meet with the General Manager Mr. Kai-Uwe Hille and had an exclusive Q&A highlighting the growing role of the show as an international platform.
You have been managing the organization of INTERGEM for 10 years now. What is the biggest challenge you face with every edition?
Well, there are several challenges which have to be dealt with every year: How do we manage to offer the best mix of established and proven features on the one hand and novelties on the other to our exhibitors. How do we increase the INTERGEM’s attraction for our visitors. And how do we reach a well-balanced ratio of economic efficiency and success for all parties involved.
What is the important addition to the show in the latest edition? And have you been satisfied from the results and why?
Idar-Oberstein, as the INTERGEM’s location, is one of the most traditional gemstone métropoles of the world. Our entire region is internationally renowned for its expertise and the INTERGEM, as a trade fair with selected exhibitors and highly qualified trade visitors, has to live up to the expectations every single year. For this year’s edition we had specifically focused on our trade visitors. Our approach was a professionalized and personalized mailing to receive as much response as possible. Reactions were highly positive. Actually, what we wanted to accomplish is that the INTERGEM is representational visited by trade professionals. I think we have reached our goals.
Intergem offers high quality gems to a selective clientele of jewelers. Where are the biggest markets of Intergem exhibitors and have you noticed any change in the consumers’ behavior in the last few years?
The most important market according to our exhibitors is Asia and its relevance is continuously growing. The importance can easily be identified by watching the increasing demand from Asian regions. The change is mostly attributed to a regional shifting in the market. But quality of course still takes the number one spot in the high-priced segments.
You are heading towards a new show edition in 2013. If you had the financial support you need, what is that you would do to develop the show on the international level?
Here in Idar-Oberstein we can rely on a unique and one of a kind concentration of know-how. Our local companies have evolved into traditional businesses and are skilled with a maximum level of knowledge and experience. Idar-Oberstein is the home of the German Diamond and Gemstone Laboratories as a competence center with the German Gemological Association and the German Association for Gemstone and Jewellery Evaluation, as well as many other major facilities. So if you are looking for the best and most individual solutions concerning either trading or processing gemstones, or cutting and engraving techniques, then you are guaranteed to find at least one of the world’s specialists in Idar-Oberstein or at the INTERGEM. The INTERGEM is not only an event of manageable size, but the exhibition with the premium level of quality. That’s what makes the INTERGEM exceptional, this is our unique selling proposition and it is our business to internationally advertise it over and over and over again.
If you want to invite the Middle East professionals to the next Intergem in few words, what would you say?
In contrast to other events we do not focus on size but on the quality of our exhibition. We concentrate on specialists and artists which set benchmarks in the industry. We do this by tradition and it has proven successful. Whoever visits the INTERGEM is sure to find the finest and most significant exhibitors and offerings at an exhibition of manageable size and without the usual stress. And he or she will definitely come upon one of the world’s best solutions for his or her questions and needs.
