Year: 2016
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Mar- 2016 -18 MarchAuctions
Shirley Temple’s rare blue diamond ‘could fetch £24.2m’ at auction
A rare blue diamond that belonged to former child star Shirley Temple is set to be auctioned next month for an estimated price of $25m (£17.3m) to $35m (£24.2m), says Sotheby’s. The 9.54-carat ‘Fancy Deep Blue potentially internally Flawless’, VVS2 clarity diamond ring was purchased by Temple’s father for $7,210…
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17 MarchAuctions
Rising demand for coloured gemstones sees auction prices soar
There has been a surge in demand for coloured gemstones prompting rapidly rising prices, according to Bonhams. The auction house said sapphires have seen a particular rise in popularity, with consumers purchasing sapphire engagement and wedding rings. Bonhams said its clients are looking for something “a little bit different” from…
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17 MarchRetailers
F Hinds opens Doncaster store
Jewellery chain F Hinds has opened a new store in Doncaster’s Frenchgate Shopping Centre – its 118th shop in the UK. The store opened on Thursday, 10 March, with Emily Simpkins, full-time professional midfielder for Doncaster Rovers’ Belles Ladies Football Club, cutting the ribbon to its doors. The new shop…
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16 MarchEconomy
BUDGET: CBI welcomes business rates policy
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has called George Osborne’s Budget, announced today, a “strong and stable Budget for business facing global stormy waters”. CBI director general, Carolyn Fairbairn, said: “The Chancellor has listened to our concerns about the mounting burden on firms and chosen to back business to grow the economy out…
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16 MarchEconomy
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 MarchEconomy
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 MarchEconomy
‘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 MarchEconomy
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 MarchEvents
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 MarchAuctions
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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