De Beers to sell Elizabeth Bay mine

Namdeb, a 50/50 partnership between diamond giant De Beers Group and the Namibian government, has announced it is seeking a buyer for its Elizabeth Bay mine in Namibia. The mine, which was commissioned in 1991 and is located near the town of Lüderitz, employs around 160 people and produced around…

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Breitling removes ‘sexist’ ads after backlash

Watchmaker Breitling has removed ads featuring women wearing ‘skimpy outfits’ after receiving complaints from customers. Some of the adverts portrayed “subservient women” acting as ground support for male pilots flying airplanes. The group also came under fire from customers for putting on a display a female mannequin sitting on a…

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Timex Group UK further expands its portfolio with Kenneth Cole Watches

Timex Group UK has further expanded its watch brand portfolio with the introduction of Kenneth Cole watches. The 35-year-old New York fashion brands’ designs are inspired by the city it was founded in. Duncan Harris, Timex sales and marketing director, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with TWB Investments…

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Retail footfall takes a hit with Scotland showing sharpest decline

Footfall in January decreased by 1.6% year-on-year, showing a deeper decrease than the rate seen for January 2017, according to new figures. New British Retail Consortium (BRC) data showed a drop in footfall across all UK regions, with the sharpest decline being seen in Scotland (4.6 %). Despite footfall falling…

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Photo Images – £160,000

Presenting for sale a well-established and unique business specialising in personalised engraved jewellery. Established in 1985, Photo Images are the inventors of the Photo-Images® Digital and Enamelite™ Personal Jewellery ranges. They use state-of- the-art imaging technology to produce high detailed engravings and full colour image reproduction of your favourite photographs…

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A fond farewell to Patrick and Vivian Fuller

This month brought the news that WB The Creative Jewellery Group, which owns Domino, Gecko and Weston Beamor, has been sold to the Heimerle + Meule Group by owners Patrick and Vivian Fuller. I have met Patrick many times since becoming editor of Jewellery Focus and what always struck me…

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Nuclear physicist turned jeweller

Guenther Wurmbauer, 36, originally from Austria, spent five years studying at university before becoming a nuclear physicist. When his job took him to the west of Scotland in 2010, his wife Jareeya struggled to find work and so decided to sell jewellery online. Sourcing products in the Far East, the…

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Beaverbrooks’ CEO promoted to the board of directors

Beaverbrooks CEO, Anna Blackburn, has become the second ever non-family member to be promoted to the board of the company, taking on the new role of managing director. Blackburn joined the 99-year-old family jewellers as a graduate trainee in 1998, and after working her way up within the business, accepted…

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Goldsmiths unveils refurbished Jersey showroom

High street jeweller Goldsmiths has revealed its newly refurbished Jersey showroom, following a £50,000 investment. Located on the island’s capital of St. Helier, the store has been re-opened with a new shop-fit. The showroom itself has been situated on the corner of Queen Street for almost 20 years, and lies…

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Picchiotti: 50 years of style

Picchiotti was born in Valenza, a quiet town enveloped in the lush and fragrant vine-covered hills of Piedmont and renowned for its meticulous hand-craftsmanship of precious gem-set jewelry, into a family of pharmacists. His lack of enthusiasm and aptitude for the family profession prompted Giuseppe’s father to ask the director…

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