Current Affairs

Nov- 2012 -

8 November

Jewellery Focus Staff

Hallmarking figures for October show year-on-year rise

October’s hallmarking numbers showed a positive increase of 5.8 per cent in comparison to the same period in 2011.

Oct- 2012 -

29 October

Jewellery Focus Staff

Birmingham Assay Office in the running for two industry awards

The largest assay office in the world has been nominated for two British Jewellery Association Membership awards.

4 October

Jewellery Focus Staff

Police raid Hatton Garden premises for stolen goods

Several Hatton Garden jewellery retailers were raided by Camden Police yesterday, on suspicion of handling stolen goods.

3 October

Jewellery Focus Staff

Artisanal mining standard recognised by RJC

The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) has announced that the producer requirements in Part A of the Fairtrade and Fairmined Standard are now officially recognised as a ‘Responsible Mining Standard’ under the RJC Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard for precious metals.

Sep- 2012 -

26 September

Jewellery Focus Staff

Record fine handed to Russian watch seller in ‘grey import’ case

An online watch seller in Russia has been ordered to pay three million rubles (£59,300) to Swatch Group brand Longines for selling watches that were improperly imported into the country.

20 September

Jewellery Focus Staff

RJC, LBMA and CFS announce cross-recognition agreement

In a joint press release, the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and the EICC-GeSI Conflict Free Smelter programme (CFS) announced an agreement of mutual cross-recognition of gold refiner audits.

4 September

Jewellery Focus Staff

Abu Hamza’s son jailed for his hand in armed robbery

Two armed robbers, including the son of radical Islamic cleric Abu Hamza, who carried out a raid in a Norfolk jewellery store in January have been jailed.

Aug- 2012 -

31 August

Jewellery Focus Staff

Government to support SME apprenticeships following jeweller’s review

The Government has responded positively to a report looking into ways of encouraging small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) to take on more apprentices.

30 August

Jewellery Focus Staff

RJC recognises release of SEC’s Dodd-Frank rule

The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) has recognised the release of the final rule for Dodd-Frank Section 1502 on conflict minerals and encourages the use of RJC chain-of-custody certification for gold sourcing.

28 August

Jewellery Focus Staff

SEC’s passing of ‘conflict’ mineral rule could impact the trade

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States has voted to implement the ‘conflict’ minerals provision of an act that requires companies to determine and disclose if they use minerals that benefit armed groups in central Africa.