BAJ announces Alighieri competition winners

The British Academy of Jewellery (BAJ) has announced the winners of its design competition in collaboration with London-based jewellery brand Alighieri.  The competition’s brief challenged students to design pieces inspired by the opening lines of Dante Alighieri’s epic poem, The Divine Comedy.  According to Alighieri, the quality of submissions was…

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Le Vian launches geo-fencing tech

Le Vian has announced it is introducing an “innovative” geo-fencing technology this September, which will work to attract footfall to its independent jewellery retail partners. The geo-fencing technology will target Le Vian collectors when they are within a specific radius of a participating independent store by sending them a pop-up…

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Mandatory face coverings spark ‘modest’ uplift in footfall

Footfall across all UK retail destinations saw a “modest” uplift last week, with footfall up by 2.8% against the week prior. According to Springboard, this may have been boosted by the mandatory use of face coverings in shops, after footfall was up by 4.4% the weekend the rule was introduced. …

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Women’s Jewellery Network closes permanently

The Women’s Jewellery Network (WJN) has confirmed its immediate closure after founder Victoria McKay announced her decision to step down.  It comes as McKay said she was unable to dedicate the time needed to run the network, with other board members unable to take over the role due to other…

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Chippenham jeweller launches jewellery kit 

Tamara Eggleston, a Chippenham-based jeweller, has announced the launch of a home jewellery making kit in a bid to boost business after lockdown saw her workshop close. In addition, Eggleston has launched the initiative after many of the shops she sold through also had to close following the pandemic.  Eggeleston,…

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Sotheby’s sales fall despite online boost 

Sotheby’s has welcomed a year of “resilience”, despite year-to-date sales only reaching $2.5bn (£1.92bn), down from $3.3bn (£2.53bn) the year prior. In place of half-year results, the auction house released results from 1 January to 31 July in order to accommodate rescheduled spring sales. Despite the overall decline in sales,…

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Diamcor cuts costs as average prices rise

Diamcor has announced it will continue efforts to implement short-term operational changes and cost reduction efforts at its Krone-Endora at Venetia mine in South Africa. The mine project has been temporarily halted due to local lockdown measures, and in light of the closure, Diamcor will continue to reduce, defer, and…

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Loans boost announced for independent retailers

More coronavirus support loans are to be made available to independent retailers following a change to state aid rules. Changes to the rules mean that more small businesses can now benefit from loans of up to £5 million under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). Previously businesses which were…

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How to stop cash flow being a big issue for small businesses 

Cash flow is something that we see day in, day out as an issue for small businesses and sole traders. There’s no getting away from the fact that it is a real dampener on your Business, if not catastrophic. It needs to be addressed quickly.   What can cause cash flow…

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Gem Diamonds sales rise in H1

Gem Diamonds has announced that it generated $29.4m (£22.3m) in its half-year results, after 16 diamonds sold for more than $1m (£760,000) each. This marked a rise against the 12 diamonds that sold for $26.6m (£20.2m) collectively in the first half of 2019.  During the period, the average price of…

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