One in ten consumers considering smartwatch purchase

One in 10 consumers (10%) is considering buying a smartwatch in 2015, according to the Barclaycard Consumer Spending Report for Q1 of this year.  The figures suggest several million smartwatch sales could take place throughout the UK this year, yet demand could outstrip supply as only 28 million are expected…

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Gemporia unveils exclusive collection in House of Fraser

Online retailer Gemporia is launching its first high street product with retail stalwart House of Fraser. The previously online-only jewellery brand will be available in 20 stores from next week as part of a first-phase roll-out into House of Fraser. Gemporia will eventually be housed in 42 stores, including the flagship…

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Bystander catches armed raiders on camera

Two armed thieves who tried to raid the Uncle Jewellers and Pawnbrokers on Chapel Street, Wigan have been caught on a phone camera by a member of the public.  The robbery took place at the jewellers just before 1:30pm on Saturday, April 11, when two offenders pulled up outside the…

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LDB to offer support to those affected by Hatton Garden Raid

The London Diamond Bourse (LDB) has today announced it will act as centralised point of contact for members of the trade affected by the recent robbery in Hatton Garden.  The LDB said that it is concerned that there is no “coordinated effort” to manage the situation outside the consumer press…

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18ct gold grows 12% in Q1 hallmarking figures

The total number of articles hallmarked fell across all categories except platinum in March, according to figures compiled from all four UK assay offices, however 18ct gold stole a march for the Q1 period, taking up some of the slack.  After a strong February – hallmarking figures were 7.9% up…

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UK inflation rate remains at zero

The UK’s inflation rate remained at zero in March, according to new figures released today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), this represents the lowest rate of inflation since records began in 1989 as a fall in clothing prices and a rise…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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