Year: 2014

Birmingham first year jewellery student selected for Argos range

A first-year jewellery student at Birmingham City University (BCU) has been chosen by Argos to produce an exclusive jewellery collection. Ruth Hallows, aged 32 from Darlington, County Durham, beat off competition from 48 other students from the School of Jewellery, part of BCU, with her ‘Pearl Swirl’ collection. She said:…

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BJA seminars aim to prepare craftspeople for business

The British Jewellers Association (BJA) is to host a series of seminars for craftspeople who want to become businesspeople. The day-long seminars, which are entitled ‘Marketing your Business’ and ‘Selling Successfully’, have been designed as a pair for maximum impact and will be initially staged in both London and Birmingham…

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IJL KickStarter, Kristjan Eyjolfsson wins People’s Choice award

IJL KickStarter, Kristjan Eyjolfsson, has been unanimously voted by the industry as the winner of the KickStart ‘People’s Choice’ award. Eyjolfsson’s fine jewellery is inspired by the energy of his London surroundings along with his Nordic heritage, crafted using sustainably-sourced gold, silver, platinum and precious gems. His work is often…

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Holts Academy announces retailer training in partnership with Brown & Newirth

Holts Academy has revealed that it is partnering with jewellery brand Brown & Newirth to offer retailer training services through its Professional Retail Development Programme (PRDP). The programme was launched earlier this yeah with the stated aim of “delivering affordable, flexible and specialist training for jewellery retailers”. Lee Lucas, CEO…

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Cartier smash-and-grab at Regent Street Mappin & Webb

Detectives are appealing for information and witnesses after more than £80,000 worth of Cartier watches were stolen from a the Regent Street Mappin & Webb store. The robbery took place at about 1740hrs on Thursday, 12 June, and police are hunting for three suspects. In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said…

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BRC: Retail sales growth slows in May

Retail sales growth slowed down in the month of May, according to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor said UK retail sales for May were up 0.5% on a like-for-like basis from May 2013, when they had increased 1.8% on the preceding…

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Petra recovers 122-carat blue diamond at South African mine

Petra Diamonds has recovered a rare blue diamond of 122.5 carats at its Cullinan mine in South Africa. The stone will require further analysis in order to assess its potential value and upon completion of this process, Petra will evaluate its “optimal route to the market”. It is understood that…

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Argos jewellery sales dip despite 4.8% overall growth

Home Retail Group, the owner of Argos, today announced 4.8% sales growth for the 13 weeks from 2 March to 31 May, but revealed that jewellery sales declined slightly during the period. Total sales grew by 4.8% to £868m, while like-for-like sales (which exclude new store openings) increased by 4.9%…

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Endless Jewellery breaks record with 230 new partners

Emerging brand Endless Jewelry broke all records for a new brand at the annual JCK trade show in Las Vegas this month, signing 230 new retail partners in the US. On the first day of the show, Danish entrepreneur Jesper Nielsen’s new venture signed 50% of its target for new…

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Raymond Weil named official London Music Awards partner

Luxury Swiss watchmaker Raymond Weil is to join forces with the Mayor of London’s Fund for Young Musicians after being announced as title partner for the inaugural London Music Awards. The London Music Award, hosted by Boris Johnson, will take place at the Roundhouse on Wednesday 11 June and will…

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