News
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Mar- 2016 -16 March
Online retail sales up 18% in February
Online retail sales in the UK were up 18% in February when compared with the same month last year, according to IMRG Capgemini eRetail Sales Index. The growth, which saw £18.9bn spent during the month, represented an increase on the 8% rise in online sales in February 2015 and was…
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16 March
BUDGET: Business rates relief “doubled permanently”
Business rates relief for small businesses will “more than double” during the next budget period. The Chancellor, George Osborne, announced that he was raising the threshold to £15,000 for the lower rate (up from £6,000) and to £51,000 got the higher band (up from £18,000). He said the measures would mean…
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16 March
‘Jewellers thriving’ as net closure of retail stores falls 50% in 2015
Jewellers are said to be among the list of retail categories managing to thrive as the net closure of retail stores dropped by 50% in 2015. A PwC analysis compiled by the Local Data Company found despite the rate of openings remaining constant at 13 per day in 2015, the…
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15 March
Hallmarking edges up in February as number of gold articles jump
The total number of hallmarked items rose by 0.8% in February, an increase of 5,970 articles compared with February 2015. That’s according to the latest figures released today by the four UK assay offices, and compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office, which found there was a total of 766,310 articles…
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15 March
Cooksongold to debut first platinum jewellery printing powder
Cooksongold has announced it will debut its 950Pt/Ru advanced metal powder at Baselworld – which will produce the world’s first 3D-printed platinum jewellery. The 950Pt/Ru powder, which will be launched in collaboration with the Platinum Guild International (PGI), has been designed to use with the company’s direct precious metal 3D…
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15 March
Rare blue diamond could fetch £24.7m at auction
Sotheby’s is set to auction the world’s largest oval fancy vivid blue diamond ever to go under the hammer. The De Beers ‘Millennium Jewel 4’ – set to be auctioned at Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite Spring Sale on 5 April, 2016 – is expected to sell for between $30m…
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14 March
International Jewellery London to focus on Germany for 2016 show
The organisers of International Jewellery London (IJL) have name Germany as the the official ‘Market Focus’ for 2016. The Market Focus initiative was launched last year with a focus on Italy and a group of innovative Italian companies. It aims to facilitate links and boost trade between UK jewellery industry members…
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14 March
Retail footfall declines in February
Retail footfall has declined by 1.1% in February compared with the same period last year, according to the British Retail Consortium. UK Summary Footfall in February was 1.1% down on a year ago, lower than the 1.2% rise seen in January and lower than the three-month average rate of -0.8%.…
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10 March
Zero-hours contracts rise to record level
The number of workers on zero-hours contracts has increased by more than 100,000 over the past 12 months. The Office for National Statistics said the figure had breached 801,000 – the highest since records began. The figure represents 2.5% of the UK workforce, up from 2.3% in the same period…
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10 March
Houlden celebrates 40th anniversary at annual buyers’ event
Houlden Jewellers has celebrated its 40th anniversary at its annual buying event for members, held on Monday 23 February to Tuesday 24 February at the Waldorf Hilton in London. The two day event included a ‘Members Day’, allowing members to network and share past experiences in a bid to improve…
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