London Diamond Bourse announces ‘revitalised’ management board

Diamond trading association London Diamond Bourse has appointmented new staff to its council of management and its executive committee. The council of management appointments include: Katherine Chappell – Chappell has worked in the gemstone business for over 20 years. She emigrated to Canada as a child in 1965, settling in…

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Rising Middle East tension forces World Diamond Congress to cancel

The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) have announced that due to rising tension in the Middle East, the World Diamond Congress has been cancelled. The 38th World Diamond Congress due to be held in Tel Aviv, Israel, from 19 to 21 June…

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Alrosa auctions 101 special-sized diamonds for $14.8m

The United Selling Organization (USO) of Alrosa has sold 101 special size rough diamonds with the total weight of 1751.1 carats. Total sales revenue for diamonds amounted to $14.8m (£10.9m). The diamond mining company invited 86 companies from the main world’s diamond trading hubs, including Hong Kong, Belgium, Israel, India…

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Voice on the High Street – Comfort Station

What is the backstory of the company? I first started Comfort Station back in 2000 just after having left the Ruskin School of Art in Oxford as a part-time way of funding my art practice. I started selling pieces I’d made at Portobello Market, five mins away from where I’d…

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Augmented reality – What can it do for jewellery?

“Other retail industries are thinking about technological innovation in completely different ways,” says Jonathan Chippindale, CEO and co-founder of Holition, an augmented reality solutions and software provider, with concern, “and I worry that the jewellery industry isn’t waking up to this.” A recent survey of 1,000 shoppers, conducted by e-commerce…

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NAJ to teach jewellers how to sell more jewellery

The National Association of Jewellers is hosting its 10th JET Business Network Congress event, focusing on the theme of ‘how to sell more jewellery’. The theme was chosen by the retailers who are finding it increasingly difficult to sell jewellery in a market sector challenged by: falling high street footfall,…

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Demi-fine jewellery – The best of both worlds?

“Lots of people want to invest in something that is going to last a lifetime but not break the bank, and that is where we fall in,” says Christie Wollenberg, co-founder of demi-fine jewellery brand Otiumberg. Fine jewellery, costume jewellery and fashion jewellery are all widely accepted categories of the…

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Israeli Diamond Institute appoints Aviel Elia new MD

The board of directors of the Israel Diamond Institute (IDI) has appointed Aviel Elia as its new managing director. Elia will replace Eli Avidar, who joined IDI in 2007 and successfully served in this position, with a brief hiatus, until now. Elia, an attorney, has served as legal adviser and…

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Retail salaries rise as April sees vacancies increase

Advertised salaries in the retail sector saw a 1.7% increase last month, according to the latest data from job site CV-Library. Advertised jobs rose by 29% year-on-year, however application rates dropped by 13.1% when compared with data from April 2017. Pay rates in retail fell by 6% year-on-year. CV-Library suggests…

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43,000 retailers in ‘financial distress’

Nearly 43,000 retailers ended the first quarter of the year in a state of ‘significant’ financial distress, according to research from insolvency firm Begbies Traynor. Its ‘Red Flag Alert’ research for Q1 2018, which monitors the financial health of UK companies, found the number of firms in the category was…

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