News

PM Theresa May seeks snap election on 8 June

Prime Minister Theresa May today made an unscheduled announcement calling for a General Election on 8 June.Speaking outside 10 Downing Street on Tuesday morning, May said Britain needed “certainty, stability and strong leadership following the EU referendum.” She added that “the country is coming together but Westminster is not.” May…

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Easter weekend sees footfall rise for UK high street

Major high streets saw an increase in footfall over the Easter weekend. According to Springboard, there was a 1.2% year-on-year rise in footfall across the country between Friday and Sunday. London’s West End saw a 6.8% surge of footfall over the Easter holiday. The number of in-store purchases also saw an…

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Hallmarking down from 2016

Hallmarking has shown a year-on-year decrease for the first quarter of 2017. Figures released by the four UK assay offices, and compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office, showed that there was a total of 1,921,716 articles hallmarked in the first quarter of 2017, an 11.9% drop from 2016. Comparing the…

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Diamond prices pick up after ‘disappointing’ first quarter

The diamond market was “significantly” weaker in the first quarter of the year when compared with previous figures, according to Rapaport. The report noted that retailers were “cautiously replacing their inventory”. It said that, although March had seen an improvement in prices, the Easter holidays had led to a slowing…

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Gold sales increase by a fifth at UK Royal Mint

The UK Royal Mint’s gold sales have jumped by 20% in the first three months of the year, according to information obtained by Bloomberg. The email sent to Bloomberg said that after month-on-month declines in the first two months of 2017, March gold sales had jumped by 263% in volume…

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Lighting specialists Parify to launch in US

Parify, which specialises in retail display and lighting for jewellers, has announced plans to expand into the US. Co-owners Andy Twigg and Scot Walker, founded the business back in 2013 when they discovered a gap in the market for LED lighting. The company has seen “impressive growth” over the past…

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Apple sues Swatch over ‘Tick Different’ slogan

Apple’s legal team has lodged a complaint with the Swiss Federal Administrative Court to sue Swatch over the use of the slogan ‘Tick Different’ in its recent ad campaign. Claiming the phrase capitalises on Apple’s ‘Think Different’ ads, the technology giant filed its complaint against the watchmaker last week. Swatch…

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BRC: Retail sales growth hits six-year low

UK retail sales have decreased 1% on a like-for-like basis, a report by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has revealed.  The latest BRC – KPMG Retail Sales Monitor – covering the five weeks from 26 February to 1 April – found total retail sales fell by 0.2% in March, compounded…

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Thief jailed after threatening retail staff with pitch fork

A thief who threatened staff and stole from two Essex stores, including a jewellery retailer, has been jailed. Connor Sexton targeted two shops in Halstead in March within three days. On 7 March he asked to view a ring in John Winter Drake Jeweller, but when the owner brought out a tray…

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Goldsmiths’ Fair 2017 announces exhibitors

The Goldsmiths’ Company has revealed the 126 exhibitors that will be taking part in the 35th edition of Goldsmiths’ Fair later this year. The fair will include 92 jewellers and 34 silversmiths, as well as 10 graduates who will be making their debut at the event. The designer-makers will be…

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