High street footfall rises in December for first time in five years

UK high streets saw a 0.8% year-on-year rise in footfall in December as retailers managed to draw in last-minute shoppers. The latest monthly Footfall and Vacancies Monitor from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Springboard found the increase in high street footfall – the first December rise for five years…

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H Moser & Cie creates £880,000 watch made from cheese

H Moser & Cie has created a new watch made from Swiss cheese in opposition to new rules governing the label ‘Swiss-Made’. The ‘Swiss Mad Watch’ – which the company describes as “symbolic, irreverent, and 100% Swiss” – has been created as a satirical comment to the revised legislation that…

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Hallmarking falls sharply in December amid weak full-year results

The total number of hallmarked items nose-dived in December by 15.7%, a decrease of 145,007 pieces when compared with December 2015. Figures released by the four UK assay offices – compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office – found there was a total of 781,200 articles hallmarked during the month, down…

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UK jewellery and watch sales help Richemont return to growth

Richemont has reported a 5% increase in total sales in the third quarter (Q3) of its financial year, boosted by strong jewellery and watch sales in the UK. The Swiss luxury goods group – owner of jewellery and watch brands such as Cartier, A. Lange & Sohne, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron…

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Signet sales fall 4.6% over festive holiday season

Signet Jewelers, the parent company of UK-based H Samuel and Ernest Jones, has reported a fall in sales over the festive holiday period. For the nine weeks ending 31 December 2016 the company reported that same-store sales had decreased 4.6% compared with an increase of 5.1% in the nine-week period…

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Asprey reports jump in jewellery and watch sales

Luxury goods retailer and jewellery designer Asprey has reported a jump in retail sales in the first three quarters of the financial year. Asprey has seen “strong momentum” in the period from 1 April 2016 to 31 December 2016, with the company’s retail channel reporting a year-to-date increase of 65%…

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Staff threatened with handgun in jewellery store raid

Members of staff have been threatened with a handgun during a raid at a luxury watch store in Buckhurst Hill, Essex. Police were called yesterday (Tuesday, 10 January) at around 5:30pm to Luxe Watches on Queens Road after a member of staff was threatened by two men and was forced…

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Last-minute Christmas rush boosts retail sales in December

UK retail sales continued to grow in December after consumers left their shopping until the final week before Christmas. The latest British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG Retail Sales Monitor found UK retail sales increased 1% on a like-for-like basis from December 2015, when they had increased 0.1% from the…

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Pound falls on Theresa May’s Brexit comments

The value of the pound has fallen to its lowest point in two months following Prime Minister Theresa May’s announcement that the UK would seek a “hard Brexit”. Sterling fell by about 1% on average, with the pound being 1.06% against the dollar at $1.21 this morning. In an interview…

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Period jewellery soars 80% in value over past decade

Period and designer jewellery has grown more in value than the housing market, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The research revealed the most rare and sought-after pieces of vintage jewellery have soared in value by more than 80% during the past 10 years. It…

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