One of Europe's Largest and Most Important Crafts Trade Fairs Brings The World's Leading Designers of Hand Crafted Goods to Tuscany

New York, April 10, 2002 - Renowned Uruguayan-born watch designer and founder of Watchcraft®, Eduardo Milieris, has been invited to premier his unique line of timepieces at this year's 66th International Handcrafts Trade Fair in Florence, Italy. The invitation comes from a special technical committee with Artex, The Center of Artistic and Traditional Handicrafts of Tuscany, one of the trade fair's sponsoring organizations. The event, which is the most important European crafts fair in the sector, takes place April 20 - May 1 and is being held at the stately Florentine fortress, Fortezza da Basso.

Last year's event featured 700 participants, of which 240 were from 70 different countries outside of Italy. Visitors numbered 190,000, with 12,000 economic operators present, making it one of the largest annual tourism and trade events in Tuscany. In addition to Artex, the event is being organized and sponsored by Firenze Expo, the Region Tuscany; APET, the sector trade associations; and Unioncamere Toscana.

Among the various pavilions making up the 66th International Handcrafts Trade Fair is the Cavaniglia Pavilion where Visioni will be held. This special show within a show will feature the work of 100 of the most innovative Italian and foreign artisans. Watchcraft® founder and designer Eduardo Milieris is among this select group chosen for their use of materials, design and quality of craftsmanship, among other criteria.

Since moving to New York City and establishing his Watchcraft® studios in Queens, Eduardo Milieris has been carving out a niche in the competitive watch making industry by bringing to market beautifully hand-crafted timepieces that feature bold design, distinctive finishes and unique appeal. The Watchcraft line is sold throughout North America in over 400 private galleries, museum shops and crafts boutiques.

The nine designs under the Watchcraft® banner are Minstrel (3 different styles), Cloister, Full Moon (2 different styles) Florence, named after the city that has been a home to artisans since the Renaissance and where the International Handcrafts Trade Fair is taking place, Gates of Time and Montevideo, named after the city in which Milieris was born and made his first timepieces.

This group of watches features distressed, oxidized and patterned copper, brass, sterling silver and metal alloys, with hand-painted dials. Milieris also creates a collection of watches under the “Signature Collection” rubric. These are truly elegant, timeless creations fashioned out of sterling silver and titanium.

Eduardo Milieris' watches have been seen on “Sex In The City” and worn by the stars of TV's “100 Centre Street,” “Third Watch” and “All My Children.” Only about 1000 of each design is produced making each that much more distinct and distinctive. The watches retail for between $250 - $400, although a “late model” Watchcraft® watch, which is no longer produced, recently fetched $1,750 in an Internet auction.

To learn more about the 66th International Handcrafts Trade Fair in Florence, Italy, visit www.firenze-expo.it.