Made In Italy Jewelry And A Precious New Alloy Debut At Oroarezzo

While the world braced for impacts from U.S.-imposed tariffs, the international Oroarezzo jewelry fair presented its 44^th edition from May 10 to May 14^th in Arezzo, Italy. With 84 percent of exhibitors coming from Italy and visitors hailing from 100 countries. Oroarezzo’s subtitle, “Shaping Jewelry Ideas,” seems justified. Despite 2025’s record-high gold prices and economic uncertainties, Oroarezzo highlighted how Italian jewelry designers and makers are responding to current challenges with the ingenuity and artisanal savoir-faire that has animated Made in Italy jewelry since Etruscan antiquity (700 B.C.) Oroarezzo 2025, staged by the Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) at Arezzo’s Fiere e Congressi convention center, also featured a bustling Tech hall. Buzzing with latest generation manufacturing equipment and various time-saving technological tools, Oroarezzo’s Tech Hall attracted designers and jewelry artisans en masee. While the four-day show saw foreign attendance increase by 9% this year over last, about 400 buyers from 60 countries were hosted through a partnership with the Italian Trade Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

New Modern Electrum™ Alloy Shines Bright

One of Oroarezzo’s most internationally relevant highlights involved the debut of a Made in Italy precious metal alloy. Named Modern Electrum™, this material is luxurious-looking, hypoallergenic, highly resistant to oxidization, and it costs less per ounce than gold. Only time will tell if Modern Electrum™, developed by Alessi Domenico S. p. A. in collaboration with the Legor Group S.p. A. and Diamonds de Canada, re-shapes luxury jewelry, yet it does hold the potential to set new trends and gain market share. The result of research and development by Legor Group, an Italian company specializing in metals science and production, Modern Electrum™ was presented to this writer by Alice Alessi, part of the fourth generation leading Alessi Domenico.

As Alessi related while presenting various chains made of Modern Electrum™, “This precious alloy is designed as a 21^st century reinterpretation of electrum, the naturally occurring gold and silver alloy that Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans used to create their fine jewels.” Comprised of gold, silver, platinum, rhodium and palladium, plus non-precious metals, Modern Electrum™ is free of nickel and copper. Its precious metals are all certified as 100 per cent sustainably sourced by the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC). Alessi elaborated, “Non-precious metals used in Modern Electrum™ are 100% recycled, guaranteeing a completely sustainable and traceable composition for every component.” Equally important, she added, “Modern Electrum™ delivers high performance during production processes and is an excellent alloy in terms of its mechanical properties.” In other words, it’s easy to work with.

“Whereas gold lends ductility and its rare radiance, silver contributes malleability and brilliance,” Alessi continued, “Palladium lends elasticity and oxidation resistance to Modern Electrum™.” What’s more, she added, “To maximize aesthetic appeal and ensure greater durability by increasing resistance to wear and oxidation, Legor Group created two electroplating cycles for Modern Electrum™. These allow jewels to be created with either white or yellow finishes.” (The Lands Collection from Diamonds de Canada features diamonds set in Modern Electrum™.)

Sustainable Bona Fides

According to Legor Group president Massimo Polieri, “These unique electroplating cycles utilizeonly precious metals, are completely free of nickel, cobalt and cyanides and are REACH compliant.” This last fact is important to sustainable-minded jewelry lovers and the retailers who serve them, for products or substances designated as REACH compliant meet the European Union (EU) Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) requirements. Consumers might also be interested to know that the E.U.’s REACH regulations, established in 2006, are designed to protect humans and the environment from potentially harmful chemicals. REACH compliance ensures that chemicals are properly registered, evaluated for risks, authorized for specific uses, and restricted if deemed too dangerous.

Any discussion of Oroarezzo would be incomplete without noting that the United States is the second largest market for Arezzo and Italian gold and jewelry exports. While U.S. retail buyer attendance at Oroarezzo 2025 rose by 30 percent as compared to 2024, it was intriguing to observe which exhibitors drew the most buyers and designers from around the world.

Electroform Trend Alert

Made in Italy jewelry brands and manufacturers such as Arezzo-based Giordini s.r.l. FEMAR s.r.l. and UNOAERRE S.p.A presented electroformed (hollow) gold designs that attracted retail buyers and media from around the globe. As Giordana Giordini detailed, “Electroforming is a complex procedure that requires numerous steps and the use of the latest generation machinery. This production technique,” she continued, “is the only one that allows for the creation of voluminous, articulated shapes in gold or sterling silver that embody sculptural plasticity.” In the case of electroformed earrings, for example, their lightweight, hollow forms make them kinetically attractive, and comfortable to wear for hours on end.

While Giordini is too discreet to say so, another major selling point of electroformed jewels is that they look luxurious while costing significantly less than solid gold or solid sterling silver pieces. These important details may account for why some designers traveled thousands of miles to Oroarezzo. As New York-based goldsmith and designer Barry Verragio, founder and CEO of Verragio Fine Jewelry explained, “I came to Oroarezzo for the first time to form strategic partnerships with experts in innovative fabrication techniques like electroforming. For almost three decades, Verragio has been producing engagement rings, wedding bands and diverse fine jewelry collections for a design-driven, gold-savvy, sophisticated demographic. “Our customers understand very well the composition of 18-karat gold,” Verragio observed. “Constant emphasis in the news on rising gold prices has only reinforced the value of fine jewelry in their minds. Electroformed gold jewelry,” Verragio ventured, “allows us to create bold pieces that are still comfortable and wearable. We’re not positioning ourselves on price,” he stressed. Rather, with electroformed jewelry, it is Italian artisanal excellence “and a look that we are pursuing. We’re always looking for ways to create unique styles and bring the best craftsmanship to our clients,” Verragio related.

In the realm of traditional high luxury jewelry, Benoi, a new brand on exhibit at Oroarezzo which launched at the Vicenzaoro show in January 2025, made a strong impression with one-of-a-kind statement pieces set with richly hued emeralds and diamonds. From dazzling diamond collars set with emeralds to circular blue titanium earrings twinkling with diamonds to flexible ceramic and diamond bracelets, Benoi offered a glamorous range of refined, red carpet-worthy jewels.

Other creations exhibited at Oroarezzo that satisfy today’s lifestyles, tastes and consumer demands included flexible and expandable 14-karat and 18-karat gold rings, bracelets and necklaces from various brands. Several brands this writer spoke with including Giordini, noted how ergonomic jewels such as these are easy to put on and remove as their flexibility eliminates clasps. What’s more, they accommodate human bodies as they expand in response to temperature and health conditions.

For those who prefer maximalism, however, 18-karat gold cuffs from Femar come in massive, smooth and gleaming, 18-karat gold forms that look like armorial adornments from a super-stylish tribe. (Femar won one of the categories in Oroarezzo’s Première Made in Italy design competition for one of its exquisite cuffs.) Another Femar jewel of note consisted of a bold, 18-karat gold bangle that had been laser-cut with a Greek key motif, also known as the “meander” or “fret” pattern.” This dates back to around 10,000 BC and has been used in jewelry and other art forms, since then. Featuring continuous, interlocking lines, the popular motif symbolizes infinity, the eternal nature of life, unity and bonds of loyalty.

Living up to Oroarezzo’s subtitle, “Shaping Jewelry Ideas,” the Tech Hall featured the Italian company Vidam Robots, which demonstrated its computerized, wheeled delivery robot that’s fitted with trays. The robot that this writer observed can be used in manufacturing facilities to transport jewels, tools and more to artisans during various stages of production. Say for example that every two hours, an artisan produces 20 bracelets that are ready for polishing. Instead of walking the jewels to the other end of the factory to the polishing station and using up valuable time, the artisan places the bracelets in the robot’s trays, and programs the robot to deliver them to the polisher. According to Vidam representatives, the robot can cover 20 kilometers, or 12.4274 miles, a day.

Tying the whole Oroarezzo program together were various ceremonies, panel discussions and talks that featured industry leaders. For example, on Oroarezzo’s opening day, Minister Matteo Piantedosi received a position paper created by various industry associations that highlighted urgent issues like security, regulatory streamlining, training, generational transition, and internationalization—all vital for continued success. The opening day also featured two major economic panels. The first, organized with Club degli Orafi Italia and Intesa Sanpaolo, addressed hot topics including tariff barriers, sustainability, and supply chain dynamics. The second, promoted by ICE and Yoodata, focused on opportunities for Italian jewelry in European markets. Italian jewelry in the Asian market was also covered with a dedicated session on Vietnamese jewelry demand, followed by Federpreziosi Confcommercio’s Retail Observatory.

As Oroarezzo’s art director and President of the Première Design Competition jury Beppe Angiolini mused in his essay about the fair’s theme, The Mirror of Time, “Time is a constantly changing reflection and the jewel becomes its witness…jewels can “reflect” not only light, but also emotions, personality, and style. Jewels are not only precious objects but also custodians of memory. Each reflection is a fragment of life.” Encountering the myriad bejeweled treasures at Oroarezzo, one saw, touched and enjoyed the eternal creative power of great jewelry and the designers, artisans and manufacturers who create it.