b'HE CHANGE-UPLAS VEGAS 2019: TBY BRECKEN BRANSTRATORI ts a time of sea change in the jewelry trade show world.Attendance continues to decline amid slimmer profit margins, the growing expense for both exhibitors and buyers, competition from e-commerce, and the decline in the number of physical jewelry stores.But one major battleground for the industrys biggest trade show organizersLas Vegas market weekis undergoing big changes in 2019 that will show whether theyre doing enough to stay relevant to the jewelers and manufacturers who once attended the same run of shows every year, without a second thought. The landscape in Las Vegas this year has a markedly different feel, with the jewelry industrys largest trade show in North America, JCK Las Vegas, heading back to the Sands Expo and Convention Center, where it held court from 1992-2010. This will place JCK once again in proximity to Emerald Expositions high-end Couture show at Wynn Las Vegas, pleasing buyers who like to attend both shows but were put off by the long ride back and forth when JCK was at Mandalay Bay.The Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), meanwhile, will play host to three co-locating shows that are marketing together as The Collective. AGTA GemFair Las Vegas has parted ways with JCK Las Vegas to take up residence alongside Emerald Expositions Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show, as well as a new Emerald show called Premier.Premier is being positioned as a lower cost, design-focused alternative to both Couture and JCKs Las Vegas and Luxu-ry shows. But it brings with it the question of how the jewelry sector will respond to yet another trade show.Yes, its an industry in flux, and Las Vegas 2019 will prove telling when it comes to gauging the future look, feel and structure of trade shows in the jewelry industry. JCK: RETURNING HOMEReed Exhibitions Senior Vice President Yancy Weinrich tells National Jeweler that JCKs move in 2011 to Mandalay Bay was customer driven. So, not surprisingly, JCK Las Vegass return to the Sands newly renovated space in 2019 was driven by the shows customers once again. What changed? JCK customers over at Mandalay Bay started missing the after-show-hours amenities, like restaurants and shops, which are on the north end of the Strip by the Sands, says Weinrich. Above: A shot fromThe Sands also invested heavily in upgrading its tired, old the 2018 Couturefacility, not only giving the space a facelift but also reimagining jewelry trade show. At left: The Sandsit to allow for better traffic flow and setting up new sound and Expo, where JCK lighting technology. Las Vegas willFor attendees and exhibitors at JCK Las Vegas, who might feel relocate this year.disoriented at first, theres more good news. Many aspects of the show, which hosts more than 2,000 exhibitors, will stay the same despite the move. JCK Las Vegas will still have a Plumb Club Pavilion and a sepa-rate Luxury area, for example. And coming along with JCK Las Vegas and Luxury to the Sands will be Reed Exhibitions cash-and-carry jewelry trade show, JIS Exchange. NATIONAL JEWELER 7'