British jewellery needs plenty more of the Beaverbrooks attitude

So often when you attend a talk or seminar at the trade shows, or even at after-dinner speeches, there is mention of how the industry needs to pull together, support new talent, and revitalise itself from within. It is therefore encouraging to witness a growing number of initiatives, with IJL’s kickstarter, growing apprenticeship capacity and education with Holts and Birmingham City University, among others.

But what stood out to me this week was Beaverbrooks’ decision to support Paul Spurgeon’s ‘Cornerstone Project’, which supports disadvantaged young people in South Africa to learn jewellery making skills.

The ‘Sponsor A Goldsmith’, or SAG, scheme is wholly in the spirit of nurturing talent beneficently, and let’s hope some of it can be brought home to the UK. In reality, it takes for large businesses to throw their weight behind schemes such as this – and make a fuss about it – before a tide of investment in the industry’s future will rise.

If talk of ‘revitalisation’ should amount to something more than lip service, then vision, action, and cold hard cash are what is required of businesses throughout the British jewellery fraternity. Only this way can it ensure that it does not lose its mantle for world-class quality and creativity.