24ct diamond ring auctioned for £1.86m by Bonhams

A step-cut diamond, weighing 24.31 carats, has been sold for £1.86m at Bonhams Fine Jewellery Sale in London. The D colour, internally flawless and Type IIa, diamond was the subject of “fierce bidding” in the saleroom, online, on the phones and eventually sold to a telephone bidder, exceeding its pre-sale…

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Christie’s posts auction sales of $490m in 2018

Global auction house Christie’s has announced its jewellery auction sales this year totalled $492.4m (£389m). Christie’s also revealed that $7.8m (£6.1m) of that was achieved through online auctions. The most notable sale of the year was the Winston Pink Legacy – an 18.96 carat fancy pink diamond that was sold…

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Art Jewellery – Why the distinction?

“These are wearable sculptures which engage with our thought-process, with our emotions. The value is not about whether it has diamonds or rubies, but about the fact that it’s done by an artist and that it carries a story.” Since she was a child, Cipriani has always had a passion…

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Former Pandora boss joins Fossil Group’s executive leadership team

Former Pandora chief merchandising officer Beth Moeri has joined the Fossil Group’s  executive leadership team as executive vice president of portfolio brands. She will be responsible for the management of group’s portfolio of licensed brands for watches and jewellery, including Armani Exchange, Emporio Armani, Diesel, Kate Spade New York, Michael…

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The rise of fancy coloured diamonds

One in every 10,000 diamonds produced possesses natural colour. For this reason alone, fancy coloured diamonds have long been cherished for their beauty and rare form, retaining value and making prized and valuable jewels within the diamond industry. Over the past 14 years, fancy coloured diamonds (typically blue and pink…

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Selling advice: Why are you prejudging your customers?

Two customers come into Johnson Jewellers. One we’ll call Frank, who is dressed in a suit and tie, and the other is Ben who is about 30 and came in after work in a t-shirt and jeans. Ben sees the salesman, approaching Frank first. Ben then leaves the store because…

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Designer Simon Harrison launches new jewellery brand

Designer Simon Harrison has launched his own brand named Simon Harrison Jewellery. London-based designer Harrison launched his first business in the 1980s designing and manufacturing accessories for fashion brands including Vivienne Westwood, Ted Baker, Paul Smith and Karen Millen. However he has now decided to launch his own brand with…

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Voice on the High Street – Dower & Hall

Tell me about the history of Dower & Hall? My wife, Diane Hall, and I established Dower & Hall in 1990. After meeting at Middlesex University while studying jewellery design, I opened my studio in 1987 and Diane joined me after working as an in-house jewellery designer at various labels.…

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Voice on the Highstreet: Brooklands Jewellers

How did Brooklands Jewellers get started? Myself, and my two business partners, Stewart Baldwin and Dave Jarvis have had a workshop running as a manufacture and repair business above the shop since 2001. We decided to move to the downstairs part of the property in 2011. We refurbished the tired…

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Lowe & Sons reopening – A grand return

“It’s part of the local heritage, and when we closed down I was getting phone calls from Australia, America and France, from clients whose families have been dealing with us for over 100 years,” says Kevin Parry, the newly reinstated part-time manager of the recently reopened Lowe & Sons jewellery…

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