V Gold Silver Time 2004 Fair

The fifth, jubilee Fair of Jewellery and Watches - GOLD SILVER TIME was held from 1 - 3 October 2004 at the Warsaw Expo XXI Centre in Warsaw. 205 exhibitors from four countries presented their offer on the space of 3,500 net m², which included gold and silver jewellery products, amber jewellery, pearls, precious stones, jewellery machines and tools, elements of shop equipment. Among the number of exhibitors there were the most important jewellery companies, such as Ambermoda, Apart, Corundum, DUK, Perpol De Tian, Szuchman Gold, S&A Amber Jewellery, Yes Jewellery. As each year, nearly 60 artists presented their latest jewellery collections in the Gallery of Designers. Traditionally, joint shows of artistic craftsmen could be admired at the group presentations of the National Goldsmith and Jewellery Commission of the Polish Craft Association and the Polish Chamber of Amber Commerce.

Maria Kaczyńska, wife of the Mayor of Warsaw and Teresa Gajewska from the foundation "Porozumienie bez barier" of Jolanta Kwaniewska are opening the fairs Gold Silver Time 2004

Each year the Fair gains an increasing esteem among foreign jewellers. This is an effect of consistent cooperation in this respect with organizers of large jewellery events in Europe, such as Inhorgenta Europe in Munich, Juwelir Expo in Russia or Jeweller Expo in Kiev. This year at the Fair we could admire the wide offer of a renowned jewellery company from Russia - Russkie Samotsvety, which already found its representative in Poland. The importance the Russian company attaches to the Polish market was proven by the visit of its CEO - Sergey Wladimirovich Dokuchajev, who is also the President of the Management Board of the large Russian 'Lanta-bank' and a member of the Committee of the Russian Federation Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Precious Metals and Stones.

But Gold Silver Time is first of all a true festivity of Polish jewellers. Here the most important companies, designers, artistic craftsmen, goldsmiths and votaries of the goldsmithing art can show their latest collections. This is a forum of experience exchange and a place to decide the most significant competitions in the Polish jewellery and horology industry. This year, for the fourth time in the history of the Fair, the Award of the Minister of Economy and Labour for the Best Products of the Fair was granted. This year's winner was the Górecki Jewellery Company from Dębica, which was granted this prestigious distinction by the Award Chapter for introducing and reviving the splendour of jewellery and goldsmith products and for promoting new solutions in the line of classical jewellery, with particular consideration of promoting coral as an ornamental stone. The winner received the Statuette from the hands of Ms Danuta Hubner, an honorary guest of the Fair.

Commissioner Danuta Hubner hands the award of the Minister of Economy and Labour to Zbigniew Górecki; Stefan Duk in the central part of the photo

Also for the fourth time, the winners were selected of the National Competition of Artistic Jewellery "Presentations", which was held under the Honorary Patronage of Jolanta Kwaśniewska. The jury chaired by Jacek Byczewski decided to grant the I Prize in the amount of PLN 7,000, founded by the International Fair Centre, to Jan Suchodolski for a set of five brooches made from silver and steel. The second and third prizes were granted respectively to Maryla Dubiel (PLN 3,000) and Paweł Kaczyński (1kg of silver STFZ and 1kg of striped flint). Moreover, the works of the following persons were distinguished: Jan Wiszniewski, Iwona Grabowska, Magdalena Dolata, Paweł Kaczyński and Filip Jackowski.

The statuette "For the most interesting stand at the fairs" was founded by the National Amber Chamber for Amber Way C.o. of Bożena Kamińska from Wejherowo.

Daniel Orłowski, jewellery designer, the winner of the contest Prezentacje 2003 with a model presenting his artistic vision.

"Inspirations" - the exhibition of jewellery and photography of Marcin Tymiński

Fragment of the presentation of jewellery of the Swiss company quadrat

For the third time the "Gold and Silver in Handicraft" competition was held, increasingly popular and prestigious in the circles of Polish artistic craftsmen, and similarly to the Presentations competition held under the auspices of Mrs President. The winners this year were: in the junior category, Anna David from Częstochowa for "A set of jewellery: earrings and hairpins", who received the prize of semi-finished silver materials of PLN 1,000 founded by 'Metaloplastyka' J. Macur (second prize went to Szymon Hirsz from Gdynia for "A sweet casket for an eighteen-year-old", and third to Ewelina Sośniak from Częstochowa for three pairs of shoe earrings); whereas in the senior category the winner was Krzysztof Gubała from Kraków for a necklace, awarded with silver of PLN 2,000 by the Apart company (second place went to Robert Ulański for a "Three Hearts" pendant, and third to Karol Kowalski for a "Dream" engagement ring).

Each year new specialist initiatives are created at the Gold Silver Time Fair. This year, the National Goldsmith and Jewellery Commission of the Polish Craft Association, in the search of different forms of integration of the goldsmith circles and cultivation of their tradition, established the St Eligius Medal for the Goldsmith of the Year, which for the first time was granted at the Gold Silver Time 2004 Fair. The Medal of 32 mm in diameter and ca. 1 ounce of gold in weight was made by the Jerzy Macur studio, and its co-founder was the Association of Jewellery Exhibitors. Candidacies to the competition (one each) could be submitted by the crafts chambers and specialist gilds. The winner was selected by the Chapter in the panel of a representative of the Ministry of Culture and Art, the President of the Polish Craft Association, the Visual Arts Studio and the National Goldsmith and Jewellery Commission of the Polish Craft Association. The Chapter decided that the title of the Goldsmith of 2004 should go to Edmund Różanek from Gdańsk. The medal granting ceremony was held at the jubilee Evening of the Exhibitors in the Flyers Club at the Grant Theatre.

Edmund Różanek from the Pomorska Chamber of Craftsmanship for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises - the Goldsmith of Year 2004 - was granted the St. Eligiusz Medal

The Gold Silver Time Fair is not only a commercial event, but also social and cultural. This year, fans of ornamental arts could admire the exhibition of the "Collection of Jan Matejko Jewellery and Watches" and the painting "Poisoning of Queen Bona" from the collection of the National Museum in Kraków. It would be impossible to organise the event without the generous founders: Bank BPH from Kraków and STU ERGO HESTIA from Sopot. Generally, according to our statistics, the exhibition was attended by a thousand people representing the exhibitors and 5 thousand visitors. Among the guests, the Fair was honoured with the presence of Danuta Hubner, the EU Commissioner, who on 3 October 2004 paid us an official visit. The coverage from the exhibition was also broadcast by TVP 3 and Radio Wawa. Information about the exhibition was published in the Rzeczpospolita daily and in the special supplement for this occasion, and also in Gazeta Stołeczna.

Commissioner Danuta Huebner and Custodian of the Exhibition Ms. Marta Kłak – Ambrożkiewicz watch the picture "Otrucie Królowej Bony"

Except for official visiting of the Fair and participating in the ceremony of granting the Award of the Minister of Economy and Labour, Ms Danuta Hubner met the representatives of the jewellery and watch-making circles and with the women managing Polish jewellery companies. Both meetings were unprecedented in the history of Polish jewellery, and the main arguments raised by the industry representatives were submitted to the Department of Foreign Investment and Export Promotion at the Ministry of Economy and Labour.

Commissioner Danuta Hubner at our fairs in 2004 ...

...talking to Magdalena and Tadeusz Kwiatkiewicz from Yes


...with Zbigniew Strzelczyk and Bożena Kamińska at the stand of Amber Way


...with Professor Barbara Kosmowska – Ceranowicz during the presentation of the Colours of Amber Exhibition"


...with Eugeniusz Galimski and Andrzej Bielak in the Gallery of Designers


...talking to Alicja Zarada from Apart and Stefan Duk

The exhibition of the Colour of Amber by Krystyna Leciejewicz was also widely visited. This was another exhibition from the cycle of chamber presentations of amber from the collection of the Warsaw Collection of Amber at the Museum of Earth of the Polish Academy of Science according to the concept of Prof. Barbara Kosmowska - Ceranowicz. The aim of the selection of amber chunks made by the two ladies was to show the colour range of the primary variations (light yellow and white, which have not lost their freshness protected for at least 40 million years by deep deposits) and secondary variations (beautifully dyed or covered with a layer of weathered amber).

Specialist seminars and presentations have become a tradition of the Fair. This year's agenda was reach in this kind of proposals. One of the most popular ones was the jewellery workshop of the 'Practical theory of success with the slogan: Success = Sale + Profit, organised by the International Fair Centre, the Visual Arts Studio and the Association of Jewellery Exhibitors. For the second time already, the specialist seminar was organised by the P.A.T. Bugała company, which this year was devoted to engraving machines used in jewellery branch. Also cooperation between Gold Silver Time and Inhorgenta Europe from Munich was continued. The two-year experience was summed up at the Forum of Polish-German Cooperation, where also the most nearest joint projects of promotion of Polish jewellery and horology industry in Germany were presented: the National Stand of Polish Jewellers at Inhorgenta Europe 2005 (25 - 28 February 2005, Munich) and the National Stand of the Polish Craft at the International Craft Fair IHM 2005 (10 - 16 March 2005).