Retail sales fall 0.5% in May

British retail sales fell in May for the first time since January, despite strong sales of replica football shirts ahead of the World Cup, official data has shown. Figures by the Office of National Statistics have shown that retail sales in May dropped 0.5% compared with the previous month, retail…

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Tendence 2014 to showcase up-and-coming talent

International consumer-goods event, Tendence, will unveil its new Talents Carat display in August, giving 21 up-and-coming designers their very own display. The Talents Carat display will see the 21 up-and-coming talents, from nine different countries, exhibit their first jewellery creations to an international public consisting of buyers, manufacturers and trend…

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Gemfields success at inaugural ruby auction

Gemfields has generated total revenue of $33.5 million at its first rough ruby and corundum auction held in Singapore. The auction, which was held in Singapore from June 12 to 17, saw over 2.03 million carats of ruby and corundum placed on offer, of which 1.82 million carats were sold,…

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Henryka announce winners of amber design contest

Silver and amber jewellery retailer, Henryka, has revealed three winners of their amber design competition with Hereford College of Arts (HCA). The Hereford-based business hosted a jewellery design competition with HCA and the winning three student’s designs are set to be put into production for sale in store. Students were…

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Graff to showcase rare gemstones and diamonds at Paris event

Graff Diamonds is set to showcase its collection, featuring extremely rare diamonds and gemstones, at this year’s La Biennale Des Antiquaires in Paris. Graff will showcase both emerald and sapphire pieces in their collection, including a ‘dramatic’ necklace with richly coloured clusters of sapphire beads entwined with Pavѐ diamond leaves…

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Birmingham first year jewellery student selected for Argos range

A first-year jewellery student at Birmingham City University (BCU) has been chosen by Argos to produce an exclusive jewellery collection. Ruth Hallows, aged 32 from Darlington, County Durham, beat off competition from 48 other students from the School of Jewellery, part of BCU, with her ‘Pearl Swirl’ collection. She said:…

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BJA seminars aim to prepare craftspeople for business

The British Jewellers Association (BJA) is to host a series of seminars for craftspeople who want to become businesspeople. The day-long seminars, which are entitled ‘Marketing your Business’ and ‘Selling Successfully’, have been designed as a pair for maximum impact and will be initially staged in both London and Birmingham…

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IJL KickStarter, Kristjan Eyjolfsson wins People’s Choice award

IJL KickStarter, Kristjan Eyjolfsson, has been unanimously voted by the industry as the winner of the KickStart ‘People’s Choice’ award. Eyjolfsson’s fine jewellery is inspired by the energy of his London surroundings along with his Nordic heritage, crafted using sustainably-sourced gold, silver, platinum and precious gems. His work is often…

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Holts Academy announces retailer training in partnership with Brown & Newirth

Holts Academy has revealed that it is partnering with jewellery brand Brown & Newirth to offer retailer training services through its Professional Retail Development Programme (PRDP). The programme was launched earlier this yeah with the stated aim of “delivering affordable, flexible and specialist training for jewellery retailers”. Lee Lucas, CEO…

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Cartier smash-and-grab at Regent Street Mappin & Webb

Detectives are appealing for information and witnesses after more than £80,000 worth of Cartier watches were stolen from a the Regent Street Mappin & Webb store. The robbery took place at about 1740hrs on Thursday, 12 June, and police are hunting for three suspects. In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said…

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