Hungarian jewelry in the import-competition

(taken from HVG Hungary issue 24 December 2005)

 

The Hungarian gold and silversmith are trying to stay on the full market by making jewelry from noble material with unique gems. Their biggest competitors  are the cheap quality, dozen-jewelry imports.

 

A jumping chamois shaped bracelet was ordered for Christmas at the Splendor’s workshop (Budakeszi), which is known for it’s unique, designed jewelries. The molding is easy for the workshop’s young goldsmiths, who already made a shell shaped, bristol stone key cellular phone-jewelry, unladen with black pearls. “I used to say to my customers, that here there are not selections, but endless opportunities” says pridefully Dániel Nagy, who has built this workshop with his wife, from a money he had won 4 years ago at a juvenile tender. The 29 year old goldsmith won the Tahiti Pearltrophy competition’s domestic round also in November with his 3 million forint valued Tajték (Foam) named pearl necklace. The judges think that he has a very good chance at the international competition also, which will be held next year in autumn. His young colleagues can only dream of successes like this.

 

The goldsmith profession is about to extinct in Hungary, since the mass products from import had entered the market in the deregulation after the political transformation. In spite, from the Budapest Service- and Handicraft Industrial Professional Training School 80 goldsmith finishes every year. Since they don’t have any fund, they don’t have the opportunity to practice their profession independently. Just for a making of an simple wedding ring it takes 1,5-2 million forint to buy the machine, for a well-equipped workshop around 10 million forint is needed. No wonder there are less than 100 shops whom sell unique merchandise, while the estimated yearly 30-40 billion forint domestic jewelry-business is operated by two thousand retailers. In the last two years the request grew for the interest for the unique pieces. “Today there are more who would like to wear a jewelry which isn’t owned by anybody else.” told to HVG Péter Molnár goldsmith, who works in his own workshop for 20 or so merchants. His opinion is that every woman deserves two sets of jewelry “one for the weekdays, and one occasional.” So far the Hungarian conditions are well illustrated by the fact that the best selling jewelry is, according to an importer, David Beckham’s earring copy from Turkey for only few hundred forint, silver instead of platinum, artificial stone instead of diamond.

 

Wholesalers by the end of October have imported 18 ton namely 4.2 million piece silver and gold jewelry this year, 6.2 ton from Italy – according to the Precious Metal Verifier and Assay Office. (From the whole world’s jewelry processing 850 tone yearly 450 ton is processed in Italy from fine gold.) Intensively growing is the Turkish import – till October 3,4 ton -, which is still poorer than the Italian job, but it’s quality is getting better, according to the experts. The more and more trendy rocky jewelry is processed in Thailand for starvation wages in huge hangars – at least that’s how the domestic goldsmiths explain their cheapness. The Hungarian manufacturers are not trying to put on a competition with them, or with the Italian companies, whom reach the top of their manufacturing capacity, that’s why they can have unbeatable prices. The small workshops specialized in gem stone jewelry which demand a lot of fancy work, hoping that the customer is willing to pay the uniqueness and fashion. “ A brilliant or a ruby stone ring can’t be measured on the scale by it’s weight.” says Krisztina Fischer the commercial director of the Parti Kereskedelmi és Szolgáltató Kft., which is a family business and it’s dealing with small standard model producing beside the import. Obviously not only the today so famous tourmaline stone costs a lot, like in the ring designed by Parti for 78 000 forint, but the design also. Just like in the half million price of the Fű (Grass) fancy named white gold jewelry line’s necklace, in which there are so many brilliants that it is impossible to count it.

 

Even the little workshops are importing the material, like the chain clip, but they even use ready mass necklaces for their designed jewelry. “For an unique necklet the substantive part is not the chain. It wouldn’t even be economic to deal with it, when the machines are making the different calibers of wire in endless rows.” gave away a secret kept behind the scenes Dániel Nagy, who also keeps a mass of import silver necklaces and earrings in his shop. And what concerns about the precious metal used for jewelry making, the goldsmith workshops usually get the broken gold from the pawnshops. At the specialized companies this will be colored – the dirt will be taken out of them with acid – and after alloyed with different type of material. In Hungary still the most famous is the 14 carat yellow gold, alloyed with copper and pure silver. Not many flicker with the white gold, which is easy to be mistaken with the silver. “However the white gold is the best material to make a durable, inheritable jewelry from. It is so hard, that during the making it takes ages to abrade a millimeter from a white gold ring.” told Dániel Nagy. Paradoxically the platinum is three times expensive than the gold, and the glamour of it that it is easy to be mistaken by a common mad with the silver or with the white gold. “However if somebody buys platinum form that point he enters the club, and he can identify it on others.” claims Miklós Varga, the newest doyen of the of the platinum specialists.

 

Invariably in Hungary most jewelry lovers choose the silver, generality the ones that come from Turkey and Israel, which is cheap enough to be changed to a new model with the change of fashion. The domestic workshops made only 200 000 piece silver jewelry, no wonder, because it’s impossible to charge the live work, which is around 10 000 forint, on a single silver ring. Even the Azték shop-chain, which is specialized to silver, begun domestic procedure one and a half year ago. “We wanted to expand the Hungarian silver-offer, because the shop’s shelves are full from the weak quality, imported Thai and Turkish jewelries. explained the change Katalin Tóth, the joint owner of Azték Kereskedelmi Kft. From that matter the rustic type rings, necklaces, and other silver baubles with the typical Mexican motives earlier came not only from Mexico, but some were imported from Italy. A few months now by way of experiment they sell gold jewelry too, in one of their shops. Several of their customer namely draw their attention that the Aztecan actually wore only golden jewelry. In the decision helped obviously the new member of the owner group, in 2003 (Tamás Király, former band member, and a father of singer Linda Király.)

 

It is not the best time to enter the golden jewelry business, cause the world market price of the gold is intensively growing. Although apparently, thanks to the full market, the sales prices can’t be raised, to regain the price of the raw material. Whilst on the world market the price of the precious metal / gram from the January 2520 forint it raised to 3750 forint, in the downtown shops invariably the price of a golden necklace is measured around 4 000 forint. Although the price raise makes life harder to unique jewelry maker goldsmiths too, they are still hoping if this process still continues, people will stop “buying gold by the gram , like the potatoes.”

 

Even today there are some artist whom name gives extra value to the merchandise. Lajos Bartha with his non-figurative shapes, Miklós Varga with the gold, platinum and opal material in a wire weave made with laser technique. “When the big jewelry came into fashion, I have tried to figure out a technique, which allows to make a flashy object from less material.” exposes his patent’s obligate origin. Even this technique is copied from silver. “There is no unique model which I show to a Turkish manufacturer and he asks how many of it I need and when.” pictures an importer the balance of forces on the market .