Print this page In the wake of Brexit, UK independent jewellery brands are reconsidering the benefits of exhibiting their wares at shows across the English Channel. Some smaller players are already being caught out by customs bills and differing hallmarking requirements. London-based fine jeweller Tomasz Donocik reports that French customs agents arrived and issued on-the-spot fines to exhibitors without the correct paperwork at a Paris show earlier this year.
The penalties, amounting to 10 per cent of the value of jewellery on display, were issued to exhibitors who lacked an ATA carnet — an international customs and temporary export-import document that works like a passport for goods. Donocik was exhibiting at Goldrush, a wholesale jewellery show that takes place during the twice-yearly Paris Fashion Week. Other parallel events, such as NouvelleBox and Melee The Show — which comes to Paris from New York — have mushroomed, drawing in international jewellers seeking to benefit from the increased international buyer footfall to the city.
It did not take long for news of the appearance of French customs officials at shows to reach Paul Alger, international business director at the UK Fashion and Textile Association. He is always on the ground in Paris during trade shows and fashion weeks, and has assisted both UK jewellers and apparel brands that have encountered problems with post-Brexit trading arrangements. "This is not straightforward for non-French companies," he exp.
