Graff Diamonds unveils world’s largest heart-shaped diamond

Graff Diamonds has unveiled the largest D colour, flawless, heart-shaped diamond in the world, weighing 118.78 carats. Named the Graff Venus, the stone has been graded a D colour, flawless type IIA with excellent polish, excellent symmetry and no fluorescence – the highest accolade a diamond can achieve. The Gradd…

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Diamond dealers jailed for laundering £53m to crime gangs

A London-based couple who ran a diamond trading business from their home in East Finchley have been jailed for laundering more than £53m for organised crime gangs. Danny Koort, 52, and Jeanette Rosen, 48, were convicted for money laundering at the Old Bailey after a joint investigation by the National…

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Heated discussion at Hatton Garden BID open forum

A heated discussion took place last night (27 October) as members of the jewellery industry attended an open forum to discuss the future of Hatton Garden. The forum was organised by the Hatton Garden Business Improvement District (BID) to discuss its investment plan and address concerns over the future of…

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Hancocks London named Mayfair’s ‘Best Independent Jeweller’

Luxury jewellery store Hancocks London has been named the ‘Best Independent Jeweller’ in Mayfair. The Mayfair Awards – run by The Mayfair Magazine – is now in its fifth year and aims to celebrate local businesses that are committed to “excellent as the best in their field”. Hancocks, which beat…

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Retail employment falls 3% in third quarter of 2016

Retail employment fell 3% in the third quarter of the year when compared with the same period in 2015, according to new data released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The fall in employment, which represented the third consecutive quarter for falls in employment, came as the number of retail…

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Deakin & Francis launches new LED skull cufflinks ahead of Halloween

Birmingham-based jewellery manufacturer Deakin & Francis has announced the launch of a new set of LED skull cufflinks ahead of the Halloween weekend. In a choice of finishes – including rose gold satin and smooth black matte – the British brand has created a part of skull head designs, which…

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Petra diamond production up 30% as diamond market ‘holds firm’

Mining firm Petra Diamonds has reported a 30% increase in diamond production in its latest trading update for the first quarter of the 2016-2017 financial year. The company’s production increased to 1,097,523 carats – up from 842,796 carats in the same period last year. Petra said this was due to…

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COMPANY Q&A: Gemmics

Gemmics specialises in the professional design and production of ceramic jewels, drawing on the inspiration from China’s 5,000 years of ceramic culture. The company uses a unique technique of microcrystalline zirconium nano-technology to increase the strength of the ceramics to a level equal to diamonds, making this traditional fragile much…

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Cornwall jeweller ‘robbed for £250,000’ worth of gold jewellery

Police are appealing for witnesses after a jeweller was broken into and the owner claimed up to £250,000 worth of product was taken from his store in St Ives, Cornwall. The burglary at Kudos jewellery store in Fore Street happened between 3:15am and 3:30am on Tuesday 18 October, when entry…

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Birmingham Assay Office CEO to step down next year

The Birmingham Assay Office (BAO) has announced that its CEO and assay master, Stella Layton, is to leave the role at the end of March 2017. The BAO also announced that Doug Henry, an experienced managing director who has been responsible for several of the organisation’s key projects over the…

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