Birmingham Assay Office launches historical Assay Archives online

The Birmingham Assay Office has launched its Assay Archives online, showcasing its historical silver, coin and library collections to the wider public.  After receiving a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund – which enabled the assay office to transfer paper records of its museum collection online – the public can…

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Hallmarking up 3.1% in May

The total number of hallmarked articles in May grew by 3.1% compared with the same time last year, according to new figures released from all four of the UK’s assay offices.  According to the data, which was compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office, there was a total of 770,075 articles…

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Armed robbers take “hugely valuable haul” from Altrincham jewellers

Police are appealing for witnesses after four men – armed with metal bars and bats – raided a jewellery shop in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, making off with a “hugely valuable haul”.  The raid, which took place on Wednesday, June 10, at 12:20pm, occurred at David M Robinson jewellers on Railway…

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Gem-A members call for emergency EGM

Members of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A) are calling for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to question the board.  The online petition says that there has been concerns raised that the charity trustees are not fulfilling the charity’s “aims and objectives”, and that the charity is not being…

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Queen’s Club sponsor Rado releases tennis-inspired timepiece

Watch brand Rado has announced the release of a new limited edition watch – the HyperChrome Match Point.  The release follows Rado’s announcement that it is returning to Queen’s Club for the fourth consecutive year as the official timekeeper of the Aegon Championship – one of the world’s most prestigious…

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Who are we supposed to believe when the figures are so discrepant?

I don’t know about you, but, being a journalist, I don’t like being forced to have a stab in the dark where really important information is concerned. You wouldn’t guess your profit, you don’t guess how much you’ve sold this month.  Can someone tell me, then, how it can be…

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Zara Phillips to launch horse-inspired jewellery line

The Queen’s granddaughter, Zara Phillips, is set to launch her own line of jewellery inspired by her love of horses.  The accomplished equestrian, who won a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics, and the wife of England rugby captain Mike Tindall, is launching the The Zara Phillips Collection – a…

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Weston Beamor launches ‘Staffordshire Hoard’ collection

Birmingham casting house and CAD specialist Weston Beamor has released a collection of jewellery based on ‘The Staffordshire Hoard’.  The Hoard is a collection of over 4,000 Anglo-Saxon treasure objects in gold and silver which was found in a field near Lichfield, Staffordshire, in 2009. The pieces are now jointly…

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Consumer spending up 4.2%, says Barclaycard

Consumer spending in the UK rose 4.2% in May amid falling prices combined with greater confidence.  According to the latest monthly spend data analysis by Barclaycard, falling prices in supermarkets helped families boost spending on ‘nonessential’ items, which grew by 6.2% over the period. Barclaycard said that by spending less…

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Richemont invites LVMH and Kering to create new online store

The chairman and CEO of Richemont, Johann Rupert, has invited LVMH and Kering to create a new online luxury retail store to compete with Amazon.  Speaking at the Financial Times Business of Luxury event in Monte Carlo, Rupert said that he had spoken to Bernard Arnault CEO at LVMH, which…

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