Gemfields Singapore Emerald auction generates $24.8m

Gemfields has announced the results of an auction of higher quality rough emeralds held in Singapore from 14 – 17 November 2018, with revenues totalling $28.4m (£22m). The emeralds were extracted by Kagem Mining in Zambia, which is 75% owned by Gemfields and 25% by the Industrial Development Corporation of…

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Company Q&A: Pranda UK

Tell us a bit about the history of Pranda Pranda UK is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pranda Jewelry and was established in Thailand over 40 years ago. It specialises in manufacturing gold and silver gem set jewellery along with high end fashion jewellery. The UK subsidiary is effectively the…

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Why seeing and touching remains important

The emergence of JewelStreet which has, by all accounts, had outstanding success in recent months. It has raised further capital through crowdfunding to add to its initial start-up grant from its local council. It’s an interesting new addition to the retail jewellery scene and one which has got me thinking…

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Capitalising on the festive season

You have to agree that December is the easiest moth to close sales. Customers are so eager to buy, almost anyone could sell to them – and that’s the problem. Sales assistants are not motivated and too often do not try to use creative sales techniques to increase their sales.…

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Sotheby’s sells ‘most expensive watch’ at auction in 2018

Sotheby’s Geneva has sold ‘The Asprey’ for CHF 3,915,000 (£3m), making it the most expensive watch auctioned this year. The timepiece was manufactured in 1952, and according to the group was the “star lot of an exceptional selection of world-class vintage wristwatches”. The auction attracted over 900 bidders from 54…

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Raw Pearls celebrates diamond and pearl range success with exclusive offer

Raw Pearls is celebrating the success of its new diamond and pearl range by launching an upcoming exclusive offer for its customers to mark the occasion. The group will be offering its customers a 10% discount on any order from its diamond and pearl collection, which will run from the…

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Saying ‘Yes’ to platinum

Platinum has been successfully marketed as the ultimate precious metal and has proved relatively resilient to recent financial turmoil. Volume in the platinum market is very much driven by the bridal market and it has fared slightly better than gold and silver. Platinum is firmly established as the luxury option…

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Goldsmiths’ Company Charity to fund new Cambridge research in precious metals

The Goldsmiths’ Company Charity is to support three new PhD studentships at Cambridge University in order to advance research in precious metals and help develop new technical expertise. The Goldsmiths’ Company programme in precious metals research, which will be based at Cambridge’s Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, will build…

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What makes a professional salesperson?

Salespeople must learn to connect to their customer’s emotions. It has everything to do with the salesperson’s attitude and less to do with their product knowledge and experience. If you have read previous articles of mine in Jewellery Focus such as ‘It’s Your Attitude That Sells’ and ‘Hire by the…

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How to handle the Black Friday frenzy

Building on ‘bargain passion’ and ‘brawl-mart’ from last year, what does 2015 have in store for us? Here we explore where retailers can focus their final preparations, as well as how to make the most of the post-event forensics that follow. Black Friday approaches creating a fair amount of trepidation…

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