Early Easter drives retail sales up in March

Like-for-Like retail sales in the UK increased by 3.2% from March last year, driven by an early Easter weekend.  This is according to the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor which found on a total basis sales were up 4.7%, against a 0.3% fall in March. Adjusted for the BRC-Nielsen Shop Price…

Read More »

Rapaport Melee Diamond Index down as polished sales continue decline

Rapaport sold over 135,000cts of polished diamonds for $28.9m (£19.7m) in Q1, as its Melee Diamond index for small diamonds decreased by 4% to 124.50.  This is according to Rapaport’s Melee Index (RMI), which was down 9.5% year-on-year from 137.60 in March 2014 Rapaport said polished diamond prices continued to…

Read More »

CCTV of Hatton Garden raid released

CCTV images have been released showing a gang of robbers who executed the Hatton Garden burglary over the Easter weekend, stealing millions of pounds worth of jewellery.  The images show three men using a side door situated in Greville Street, and then making their way to and from the Hatton…

Read More »

Platinum jewellery market set for 2015 growth

Demand for platinum jewellery is set to grow by 2.3% in 2015, driven by the “explosive” growth in the Indian and US markets.  This is according to the Platinum Guild International’s (PGI) second annual Retail Barometer which surveyed over 400 jewellery retail companies with some 40,000 retail outlets in the…

Read More »

London Diamond Bourse ‘greatly concerned’ by Hatton Garden robbery

The London Diamond Bourse (LDB) has said it is “greatly concerned” by the Hatton Garden jewellery raid which took place over the Easter weekend.  In the statement Victoria McKay, chief operating officer at LDB expressed particular concern about the “incorrect information” being reported in the media. LDB said that it…

Read More »

Bonhams proclaims 2015 as ‘year of the coloured gemstones’

Coloured gemstones, such as rubies, sapphires and emeralds are this year’s must-have gems, according to Bonhams.  The auction house said that this demand was thanks to their being sported by A-list celebrities such as the Duchess of Cambridge, Beyonce, Naomi Watts, Rosamund Pike and Mila Kunis. Jean Ghika, head of…

Read More »

NAG and BJA respond to Hatton Garden raid

Michael Rawlinson, chief executive officer of the National Association of Goldsmiths (NAG) has released a response following the recent raid in Hatton Garden.  The response, which was released on behalf of NAG and the British Jewellers Association (BJA), follows the recent robbery in Hatton Garden where raiders took, according to…

Read More »

IJL 2015 Kickstarter line-up revealed

International Jewellery London (IJL) has today announced the winners for its annual KickStart Bursary Programme.  The 10 winning designers, who were voted for via social media and the IJL website, will now be given a free stand and the opportunity to exhibit their products in the Design Gallery at IJL…

Read More »

Drakes Jewellers shortlisted for business award

Drakes Jewellers in Plymouth has been shortlisted for the Medium-Sized Business of the Year Award in the 2015 Herald Business Awards.  Drakes, which was last year awarded the Business of the Year award at Plymouth’s City and Waterfront Awards 2014, was added to the shortlist by an experienced judging panel.…

Read More »

Trollbeads UK appoints new managing director

Trollbeads, the Danish-based jewellery brand, has announced the appointment of Pamela Aujla as managing director of Trollbeads UK with immediate effect.  Aujla joins Trollbeads UK from Six3.tv where she was chief operating officer. She was previously global brand director for Danish toy producer, Lego, and trading director at what is…

Read More »