Editor’s Blog
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Nov- 2014 -25 November
Jewellery’s cross-border popularity is an irrefutable reason to get online
It’s very easy to imagine that starting an online version of a jewellers – if you haven’t already – is an insurmountable task. The attendant strategy, costs, development time and ongoing maintenance workload can look like an effort that would outweigh the reward. That is unless you have seen the…
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Oct- 2014 -31 October
Getting exposure for the designer-maker with Goldsmiths Company
This week the Goldsmiths Company announced the creation of a new online platform that puts customers directly in touch with designer makers. The Goldsmiths’ Directory supersedes the company’s ‘Who’s Who in Gold and Silver’ website, which launched in 2002, and showcases the work of over 350 UK-based jewellers and silversmiths.…
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22 October
Why only reserve the click-and-collect frenzy for Christmas?
A report from The Times this week said that click-and-collect services were likely to account for £3bn worth of retail sales over the coming festive period, and that it would result in as many as three additional trips by consumers onto the high street, providing more opportunities for retailers to…
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10 October
It’s amazing that it’s taken until now for a proper IP Act
The ideas economy sounds like something nebulous and ‘sound-bitey’ that people like to say because they’ve read it or heard it somewhere. But concept of the saleability of ideas, inventions, designs of any kind, is not a new one. We’ve had a patenting system since 1624 and indeed the British…
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7 October
Cleaning up the pawnbroker’s image
There’s no denying that the pawnbroking industry carries a stigma. For many, it conjures the image of individuals or families facing desperate time – pawning jewellery to make ends meet would be regarded by most as a last resort. It is no coincidence that pawnbrokers do not have pride of place…
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Sep- 2014 -30 September
The Argyll Arcade robbery is a stark reminder that security is key
It was rather disturbing to see in the mainstream news this week that Glasgow’s iconic Argyll Arcade – populated with a string of quality jewellers – had been targeted by armed men wielding axes. It was worse to discover that their haul totalled some £250,000 worth of watches. Images circulating…
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23 September
Shame on the other multiples for not standing with F Hinds
Outside of the trade associations (which are often referred to pejoratively inside Westminster as ‘special interest’ groups), there are only a few other ways an industry can lobby for itself, and one is for the biggest players to start shouting. That is why it is almost beyond comprehension that F Hinds…
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16 September
Apple Watch could be a big hitter – traditional brands beware
A year ago Jewellery Focus ran a piece on smartwatches, wondering aloud whether they would destroy the mid-market for wristwatches. It was entirely conjecture, of course, because it was in response to Samsung’s launch of its ‘Galaxy Gear’ devices – the first time any tech company had launched such a product with…
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9 September
Don’t argue with the data…just wait for your slice
It is beginning to feel more like a job as a leader-writer for the Financial Times than a jewellery trade magazine, but there is just so much positive news out there it cannot go without comment. Yesterday the Birmingham Assay Office release the all-office hallmarking figures, showing a year-on-year rise yet again,…
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2 September
Smiles at a trade show? Must be something in the water
Genuinely upbeat. That is how I would describe the atmosphere at International Jewellery London, which finishes its first re-launched iteration at London’s Olympia today. It was clear to see that business was being done – whenever I dropped by any of the stands to ask how people’s show had been…
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