Five new firms achieve RJC certification

The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) has announced the certification of five new firms on its roster: Blue Peacock Diamonds, Chester International LLC, Hope Belgium N. V., Karp Impex NV and Munic Gems NV. Blue Peacock Diamonds’ certification was achieved according to the new Code of Practices against its diamond trading…

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Goldsmiths to open store in Westfield Bradford

Jewellery retailer Goldsmiths is one of four companies to announce it will open a store in the under-development shopping centre, The Broadway Bradford.  Goldsmiths, along with opticians Vision Express, fashion retailer Khaadi and Asian food outlet Yangtze, have announced that they will be opening stores in the shopping centre, which…

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Taking Ownership

[intro]The Intellectual Property Act 2014 may help those designs that are registered, but TOM DAVIS finds out retailers have a duty to protect the large wealth of jewellery designers who have limited protection for their unregistered designs.[/intro] On October 1 the new Intellectual Property (IP) Act 2014 was introduced in…

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Changing shopping habits continue to drive down footfall, says BRC

Footfall in November was down 2.4% on the same time last year, down on the 0.8% fall in October and below the three-month average of a 1.4% decline.  This is according to the latest BRC Springboard Footfall Monitor, in which footfall on high streets was down 4% compared to last…

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Small Business Saturday boosts local spending

Consumers across the UK helped support Small Business Saturday on December 6, with 16.5 million people shopping in small independent businesses on the day.  This support from shoppers represents a 20% increase in footfall on last year, with 2.7 million more shoppers when compared to the UK’s first Small Business…

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Drakes announces opening of new store

Jewellery retailer Drakes Jewellers has officially announced the opening of its new store in Drakes Circus Shopping Centre, Plymouth.  The shopping centre, which officially opened on December 3, is situated on the top of the shopping centre is split into two distinctive sections – a multi-brand section and a diamond…

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Gemfields reports record-sales at £27m ruby auction

Gemfields has announced the results of its recent  higher quality rough ruby auction, which saw an average realised price of $689 (£440) and total sales of $43.3m 27.6m – the highest value achieved at a Gemfields auction.  The auction, hosted in Singapore from 3 to 8 of December, saw 62,936…

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Panama Diamond Exchange and Fiera di Vicena announce partnership

Fiera di Vicena, the Italian jewellery trade fair organiser, and the Panama Diamond Exchange (PDE), have partnered to organise events to help promote the trade in gemstones and jewellery in Latin America.  The announcement follows the signing of a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ (MOU) on Friday, December 5, which outlined the…

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Britain’s Shop Vacancy Rate remains at 13.3% in November

Britain’s shop vacancy rate has remained at 13.3% in November, according to The Local Data Company.  Analysis of vacancy rates by occupation type shows that Shop vacancy in November is 13.3% (0.0%), Leisure vacancy was 7.8% (0.0%), and All (Retail & Leisure) vacancy rate was 11.8% (0.0%). Matthew Hopkinson, director…

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Catherine Jones of Cambridge launches new US watch brand in UK

Jewellery retailer Catherine Jones of Cambridge has launched the ‘Animal Watch’ by new US watch brand 3thirty3, and is only one of two stores worldwide to stock the watch.  The watch, which features a leather strap, stainless steel case and water resistance, will raise money for the International Anti-Poaching Foundation…

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