Economy

Jewellers named in London Stock Exchange’s 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain

Six jewellery companies have been named in the London Stock Exchange’s annual 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain report. Allum & Sidaway, David Christopher Jewellers, In-Time Watch and Jewellery Reports, Monica Vinader, Pragnell Jewellers and Watchfinder were all named in the fifth edition of the report, which focuses on the fastest…

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Global consumer demand for jewellery hits new record high of $82bn

Global consumer demand for diamond jewellery hit a new all-time high in 2017, climbing to US$82bn (£60.7bn), according to industry insight data published by De Beers Group. The US was the main driver for the overall 2% growth for the fourth consecutive year, where positive macroeconomics and strong consumer confidence…

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Online retail jumps 19% in April

UK online retail sales went from strength to strength in April, up 18.8% year-on-year (YoY) according to the latest figures. The IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index showed it was the highest YoY increase since November 2016, despite the dampening effect of Easter falling in March this year. There was a…

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World Gold Council releases 30-year outlook on gold industry

The World Gold Council has launched a one-off essay collection titled ‘Gold 2048’, which analyses how the gold market is set to evolve over the next 30 years. Contributions from authors such as George Magnus, senior economist, Rick Lacaille, global chief investment officer of State Street Global Advisors, and Michelle…

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Fancy colour diamond prices show stability

The Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF) has reported that fancy colour diamond prices showed stability in most categories in Q1 2018. The Fancy Color Diamond Index (FCDI) indicated an overall rise of 0.1% in Q1 2018 for fancy color diamonds across all sizes and saturations. Continuing their trend from 2017,…

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43,000 retailers in ‘financial distress’

Nearly 43,000 retailers ended the first quarter of the year in a state of ‘significant’ financial distress, according to research from insolvency firm Begbies Traynor. Its ‘Red Flag Alert’ research for Q1 2018, which monitors the financial health of UK companies, found the number of firms in the category was…

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Gold demand in 2018 gets off to quiet start as investment slows

Gold demand had a soft start to 2018, reaching 973 tonnes (t), the lowest first quarter since 2008, according to the World Gold Council Q! 2018 trends report. This was largely caused by a fall in investment demand for gold bars and gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs), as a subdued gold…

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Hallmarking figures drop by 8.5% for March

Hallmarking fell by an average of 8.5% in March 2018 compared with the same period the previous year, according to figures compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office. The average volume of all precious metals fell this month. Palladium pieces hallmarked fell considerably by 36% to 5,475 compared with 8,593 the…

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Diamond prices slow in March after events ‘impacted on confidence’

Diamond prices stabilised in March, but sentiment softened after a positive start to the year, says Rapaport. The international diamond network, said dealers were “disappointed with the Hong Kong diamond show and a major bank fraud involving two Indian jewellery companies impacted on confidence”. The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI) for…

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Surprise 12% jump in gold hallmarking in February

The number of gold jewellery articles hallmarked in February this year was up by 12% compared with the 2017, according to figures compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office. The high-value category saw numbers increase from 280,283 to 313,532, an increase of over 33,000 articles, providing a boon for the jewellery…

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