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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Avoiding that post-Christmas attitude

Your customers were enthusiastic over the Christmas period and therefore it was easy for you to be, too. Now it’s a week later and you’re standing around looking for a customer. When you finally get one through the door, it’s not quite such an easy sell. So what’s the problem?…

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Beaverbrooks operating profit increases to £13.7m

Operating profit before discretionary payments at Beaverbrooks the Jewellers increased to £13.7m during the 53 weeks ended 3 March 2018, its newly published accounts reveal. The company’s annual report and financial statements showed a £1.4m operating profit increase from £12.3m to £13.7m in the 2017/18 period. Annual turnover also increased…

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Strong double-digit growth for gold and platinum in October hallmarking

Hallmarking increased by an average of 1.6% in October 2018 compared with the same period the previous year, according to figures compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office. This was supported by double-digit growth in gold, increasing by 60,849 to 509,390 hallmarked pieces, and platinum, rising by 4,593 to 28,652 items…

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Winston Pink Legacy sold for £38.5m at Christie’s Geneva

The Winston Pink Legacy diamond has been sold for €44,423,358 (£38.5m) at Christie’s November Luxury auction in Geneva. Registered bidders from 51 countries, across six continents, participated in the ‘Magnificent Jewels’ sale. The Winston Pink legacy, the largest and fancy vivid pink diamond ever offered at auction by Christie’s, realised…

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Voice on the High Street – Harriet Kelsall Bespoke Jewellery

Give us some background about Harriet Kelsall Bespoke Jewellery Harriet Kelsall Bespoke Jewellery began in 1998, but moved into its first studio in the North Hertfordshire village of Weston in 2000. In 2004, after a period of growth, the company moved into its newly converted Tudor barn in Halls Green,…

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Selling Advice: Tune up your salespeople in time for Christmas

Golden selling opportunities are missed during the holiday season because it is too easy to sell. In fact, how much actual selling will you see? Not much because in December, some store owners think all they need are warm bodies to take care of the traffic. “Get those part timers”…

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