The luxury goods market is buoyant – it’s time to stop blaming the economy

When luxury goods giant LVMH announces that handbags and belts at £1000+ a piece are doing better than watches and jewellery, you have to ask what is going on. The West, in its entirety, has become obsessed with the notion that economic weakness is to blame for poor sales in…

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Fairtrade gold offering increased by leading casting houses

Britain’s leading casting houses have upped their offering of Fairtrade gold with the announcement that they will now include it in their catalogues.  Jewellers can now buy everything from sheet, wire, casting grain, tube to chain from Cooksongold, Cred, Vipa Designs and Weston Beamor who are all offering some or…

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LVMH enjoys 3% rise in H1 jewellery and watch revenue

Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH),  recorded revenue of €14 billion in the first half of 2014, an increase of 3%, with its jewellery and watches category matching 3% growth. Organic revenue growth for the whole group was 5% compared with the same period in 2013, and in a statement LVMH described “resilience”…

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Gemfields and Gübelin Gem Lab unveils more disclosure for gemstone reports

Gemfields and Gübelin Gem Lab have announced the introduction of a ‘next generation’ disclosure on laboratory-issued gemstone certificates.  This new approach will increase the transparency on gemstone reports, giving dealers the right to waive their anonymity when submitting a stone for laboratory testing. Traditionally, gemstone certificates have been issued without…

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Fairtrade silver launch for Weston Beamor at IJL

Birmingham casting house Weston Beamor has announced it will use International Jewellery London (IJL) as a launch pad for a new range of services using Fairtrade silver.  The company was an early adopter of Fairtrade gold and is one of just five businesses in the UK to have ‘master licensee’…

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Gem-A appoints Vivien Johnston as new ethics manager

The Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A) has appointed luxury ethical retailer and chair of the Jewellery Ethics Committee (JECUK), Vivien Johnston, as its new ethics and CSR manager.  The news follows the latest, ethics-focused World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) congress in Moscow with Gem-A taking the lead on corporate social…

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UK retailers set to celebrate Trollbeads Day

Danish charm bead jewellery brand Trollbeads has announced the first of an annual global celebration named ‘Trollbeads Day’.  The celebration will take place on Friday, August 1, 2014 and will involve retailers from across the UK. A statement from Trollbeads said: “A celebration of Trollbeads stories from fans all over…

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Retail sales rebound solidly in July, says CBI

Retail sales volumes grew solidly in the year to July, rebounding from a disappointing performance a month earlier, according to the latest Monthly Distributive Trades Survey from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Retailers expect sales volumes to grow at an even stronger pace next month and stocks in relation…

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18 months is a swift turnaround to conjoin the two associations

Amongst the more sceptical jewellers out there, for a decade the subject of the trade associations merging has drawn sarcasm and mirth in equal measure. But in a candid interview with newly elected NAG chairman, Andrew Hinds, I discovered how closely the two bodies appear to be co-operating. One of the aims…

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The merging trade bodies: a conversation with Andrew Hinds

A conversation with newly-appointed NAG chairman Andrew Hinds, about the future of the British Jewellers’ Association and the National Association of Goldsmiths. Interview by Michael Northcott. Now that you are chairman, what is the outlook for the amalgamation of the two bodies? Over the course of the remainder of this…

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