Vicenza, 16/09/04 – The final balance of 11000 Italian operators and 4500 foreigners from 120 countries boils down to a result which reflects the 2003 fair in numerical terms and confirms the pulling power of Vicenza Fair for the precious goods sector on an international scale. As far as the volume of business for Italian firms was concerned, the indications from Vicenzaoro1 in January and Vicenzaoro2 in June were reaffirmed: there is a broad gap between companies which are more reactive to market needs and those, whether it is because of their product type or the size of their organization, which are more sensitive to foreign competition. The previsions of the vigil were respected in broad terms and brought to light an easing off in the fall of orders from abroad. After starting the year under the cloud of sizeable new drops (-17.6% in the first two-months) Italy's gold ware exports went on to record a gradual redimensioning of the decline compared with the corresponding period in 2003, with accumulated falls of -7.2% in the first quarter of 2004 and -5.8% over the four months. The gap narrowed even further in May (-0.7%) allowing the balance sheets for the first five months of the year to close with a reduction in the negative trend to -4.6%. And now it seems that this signs of braking in the downswing emerging from the export figures for the first five months of 2004 has really materialized here at Orogemma. The attendance figures for foreign operators at the fair were also in line with ISTAT (Italian statistics bureau) data. ISTAT had in fact reported a recovery in the European Union markets: and in was Spain which came in at the top of the classification for Orogemma with 10.6%, followed by Germany (8.5%), Greece (7.4%) and France (5.9%). There was also a good attendance from US operators who numbered 5.8% of the total from abroad. Also of note was the media coverage of the event thanks to the presence at the fair of 53 foreign journalists from 20 countries and 77 Italians representing 25 titles in addition to 14 national and foreign TV stations. Finally, the new "Shapes of Jewelry" Pavilion, unanimously appreciated for the concept and quality of its layout and emboldened by the presence of 239 exhibitors, confirmed the soundness of the idea of a space dedicated specifically to research and innovation in the precious goods sector. And thanks to the feedback received from the exhibitors a great 2005 outing can be expected.